Liam Milaney is a Red Deer city council candidate.
The path that led me to decide to run for city council has been one of many trials and tribulations, many ups and downs but is centered on my belief that I can contribute from what I have witnessed and learned in the last 35 years living in Red Deer, travelling abroad, working in project management and the construction industry. I have witnessed a downturn in the quality of life, community, culture, and city pride. I remember when you could feel safe not locking your doors at night and when security cameras weren’t at everyone’s front door. Although I realize this is a bygone era, I still feel we need to do more to make people feel comfortable in their homes and communities.
My platform consists of focusing on the high unemployment and fiscal responsibilities of city spending and budgeting with cost efficiencies in mind. The rejuvenation of downtown business with an effort on reducing crime in our core and moving outwards. City planning and development encompassing the need for parks and recreational facilities throughout our neighbourhoods including ease of access roads and walking paths. Transparency and community involvement. Crime prevention and the migration of the safe injection site to the proposed location.
I am a mechanical engineer at heart and love the way things interact the cause and effect of life, how the slightest change of angle can cause a high degree of change in perspective. I like to approach problems and review even highly efficient projects or policies with an outside the box mentality and ask the tough questions. I have worked in project management, maintenance management and in the construction sector for the past 12 years mainly focusing on senior living and long-term care facilities, maintenance, and home care. I see the growing demand for this sector and believe in the near future, this will be an issue that needs to be addressed. I have a keen interest in the green movement but not at the expense of employment and a further slow down in our economy. I believe that community and culture are some of the most fundamental building blocks for the health and vitality of our city and hold these ideals in high regard. I have experienced the importance of sport and live performance in a way that I know is crucial for tourism and building community pride and am determined to build a stronger society by encouraging these events to be accessible to all.
I come from a highly entrepreneurial family and know Alberta to be one of opportunity to those who dare to dream, with hard work and determination can see their goals realized.
I believe that Red Deer needs to pay homage to our past by preserving historically significant sites as well as our public spaces. I have lived downtown for the past 17 years and over that time have restored and rebuilt my home, one of the oldest Victorian style houses left in Red Deer. It was built in 1904 and one of the last remaining houses on my block. I am slowly seeing our history be erased and believe that we need to do more in ways of concreting our history for future generations.
Thank you for taking the time to read my profile and hear my perspective on Red Deer life as I have witnessed it and how I hope to improve it. I hope we can make Red Deer great again, a place of pride and a destination to be desired.