The municipal election is in October.
With that, it is time to think about what we want from our next elected Red Deer city council.
I want to see a more open, business and free enterprise approach to city’s involvement in the Westerner – perhaps a majority of the board being our business leaders, such as accountants, lawyers and contractors and bylaws prohibiting operating deficits. The city and Red Deer County certainly have enough leverage to require their auditors and consultants to pony up volunteers.
Another topic for me is the revolving saga of our downtown homeless issue. While fully supportive of the need to assist, I would like councillors to be more aware that it is my municipal, provincial and federal tax dollars that is funding this issue and I expect better results. I would like councillors who are brave enough to talk about the elephant in the room: confinement. Where are we with vagrancy laws? Why cannot we require a week of confinement for a warm bed, clean clothes, food, health care, psychologists, body and property search, etc?
My wife Betty would like councillors that support a bylaw that requires a minimum level of education to become a councillor/politician. We require it in almost all other important roles in society, so why not require a vetting process for our elected officials?
Her second contribution is a bylaw limiting the position of councillor to two terms. She recognizes that their are constitutional issues (such as all municipalities exist but for the grace of our Provincial Legislature) but someone has to lead; we cannot all be followers. She says she never let the weakest parents in our neighbourhood lead her family and neither should the city let the weakest councillors lead ours (for example, councillors on the Westerner Board of Directors).
Terry and Betty Welty, Red Deer
What do you want from the next elected Red Deer city council? Email us at editorial@reddeeradvocate.com.