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Town of Stettler election candidate profiles

Mayoral candidates

• Will Brown

I am the pastor of Stettler Community Church where I have been since moving here four years ago.

My wife and I both enjoy Stettler very much and desire to raise our children here.

It is out of that desire that I want to see our town grow and flourish.

I want to see our community become more business oriented and safer for children to grow up in.

I feel that I would be able to help our community achieve this as mayor on our town council.

We need to become a more business-friendly community by creating incentives for new businesses to come to town and for existing businesses to expand.

We also need to examine ways to make this community safer for children and one area that we can fix is our current school zones and changing them to better protect the children in this community.

• Dick Richards

I am the owner of Richards Insurance Services representing the Cooperators insurance, located in Stettler and Bashaw.

I have been a member of this community for over 30 years.

I have served on town council for the last three terms (nine years) and served as mayor for the past year.

I do this because I have a passion for this community and I want to be involved in the decisions that move our town forward.

I am proud of the fact that Stettler has taxes both commercially and residentially that are below the provincial average for communities of similar population.

That coupled with the services we are able to offer is something special.

Health care and policing are two areas that top my list at present.

I am currently working with police K division (Alberta) and the office of the Solicitor General to ensure that we maintain the highway division of the RCMP and continue to maintain and/or increase the present complement of members we have serving our community.

Health care is also of great importance and we continue to recruit physicians to Stettler and we are currently working with the provincial government to develop an 88-bed care facility and this will go a long way to enhance the quality of life of seniors in our area.

Councilors candidates

• Darcy Bachman

I am employed as an area sales representative with CE Franklin and I have worked with them for almost five years.

I am a strong believer that you get out of a community what you put into it. I have served on town councils for 14 years; two of those years as mayor in the Town of Bashaw.

I would like to see the commencement of the 88-bed care facility and also continue to lobby the government for enhanced health care facilities in our community.

I am also interested to continue working closely with the county to attract new physicians and RCMP to the town.

As councillor, I would like to get all parties involved in updating Stettler Recreation Centre and expand the library as we see continued growth and usage.

My first priority is to see the completion of the waste water facilities that will in turn reduce the odour and to accommodate future residential and commercial growth of the community.

The second priority is to keep Stettler taxes below provincial average for towns with population between 4000-6500 and maintain debt levels while enhancing services to the town of Stettler.

• Al Campbell

I am retired, having spent my entire business career in the Town of Stettler.

I want to continue to serve on town council as I enjoy working with administration and other council members on a variety of projects for the betterment of our wonderful community.

I also enjoy interacting with ratepayers in trying to find solutions to some of their problems.

Fortunately our community has no contentious issues. However, in the past three months I have talked to Alberta Seniors Minister Mary Anne Jablonski regarding the 88-bed assisted-living complex in Stettler

Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky called me for input on the placement of the above facility.

The request for proposals is now being reviewed by the minister’s office.

As a councilor, I consider it our responsibility to see this job completed.

Our residential recycling program has benefited the landfill by reducing waste by one ton per month.

Stage 2 of our recycling program will include apartment buildings as well as businesses.

Council will strive to have this incorporated into our recycling program.

• Malcolm Fischer

I am semi-retired, formerly a teacher and principal of Stettler Elementary School, and still doing some work with student and beginning teachers as well as substituting in town and county schools.

Having been approached on more than one occasion to run for council, I decided now to have a closer look at it.

In doing so, I believe that I do indeed have many skills and a wide array of experiences to work with, and that I would let my name stand.

Being an avid Stettler and area supporter all my life, and having lived and worked in both the town and county, I feel my perspective is realistic, common sense, and objective.

I bring no particular burning agendas or issues to the table, either stated or hidden. Having often been told that I am a good listener and trusting of others’ opinions as well as my own, I am quite prepared to study any and all issues before council and act upon them in a conscientious and honourable fashion which reflects the needs and opinions of my fellow Stettlerites.

I do view council duty as valued public service, not an exercise in politics.

• Dave Garbutt

This is my sixth year as principal of Stettler Middle School. I have been a school administrator for the past 12 years and a teacher for 18 years.

I have served as a Stettler town councillor for the last three years.

I wish to continue working for the residents of Stettler to ensure that our community remains a great place to live.

I have lived in various communities in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

I continue to be amazed that a community of our size has so much to offer to residents.

I will work to provide the services desired by community members in a fiscally responsible manner.

A desirable council member is one who wants to give time and effort to making Stettler the best it can be for everyone in our community.

As for my priorities, first, I would like to see Stettler further develop as an economic center in east central Alberta.

The proximity of other communities in the area gives us the opportunity to expand development and become a “hub” in this region of Alberta.

Becoming an economic center should enable us to provide even more services and opportunities for our residents.

Secondly, and somewhat related to the first, I would like to see the expansion of health services in our community.

Not only do we need more family doctors and nurses, but there is a need for more specialized services that currently require travel from Stettler.

Our community is a very desirable place to live. I believe that with the right leadership expansion and development is inevitable.

• Boyd Jackson

I am a retired farmer and a former County of Paintearth councilor and a retired partsman for Homestead Equipment.

The work of councilor can be challenging and I enjoy the job.

My priorities at present is a voice for seniors and being a farmer by birth, I would like to see noxious weeds controlled by the staff and council.

Being that the seniors’ population as such is increasing in the next 10 to 15 years, I think they need representation.

I like to see noxious weeds better controlled by council.

As a concerned taxpayer, I would like to have better control of spending as best as can be accomplished.

I want to address these concerns, as a taxpayer to check the demands of each of us and make sure we know the costs first-hand.

• Len Kostenuk

For the past few years, I have taken a lot of time off to figure out what I want to do next.

I owned my own pipeline/ facilities company for 13 years, prior to that I spent 23 years with a major oil company as a team leader where I was responsible and accountable for all aspect of the business.

I believe, if elected to council, I would be an asset to the council team with my experience in budgets, project management and leadership skills.

My two concerns are there’s a few intersections in town that need to be addressed to see what can be done to improve the traffic flow. Also, I’m a member of the Stettler Citizens on Patrol and have seen firsthand the need for a new RCMP police building.

• Peter Simons

I have been employed as the chief administrative officer for the Village of Donalda for the past seven years and for the past year-and-a-half, I have also represented the Stettler ward on the Clearview School Division.

As a long-time resident committed to maintaining an attractive, affordable and commercially vibrant community, I am running for council because I believe I have the necessary municipal government experience, good judgment and ability to cooperate that will be vital for a successful council in the upcoming term of office.

If elected, one of my priorities would be to ensure successful integration of the newly annexed lands into the town.

As councillor, I would like to get all parties involved in updating Stettler Recreation Centre and expand the library as we see continued growth and usage.

My first priority is to see the completion of the waste water facilities that will in turn reduce the odour and to accommodate future residential and commercial growth of the community.

The second priority is to keep Stettler taxes below provincial average for towns with population between 4000-6500 and maintain debt levels while enhancing services to the town of Stettler.

• Wayne Tebbe

I am the account manager for Acklands Grainger, I own WTS Manufacturing & Sales Inc. and am the vice-president of Stettler Board of Trade.

I believe that I have a fresh new look at the town and can offer some new and innovative ideas to lead Stettler into the near future while keeping traditions going.

My priorities are:

1. Plan on keeping tax dollars in Stettler, bring back “Shop Locally”, by holding all purchasing authorities responsible for day-to-day local purchases as well as a minimum of three quotes for project expenditures.

2. Making Stettler a safer community for our kids and citizens by expanding the Citizens on Patrol, working with victim services and the RCMP.

• Dave Thiessen

I am in-between professions at the moment and am looking at going back to college.

I am running for town council hoping to bring some new ideas and to serve the community in which I enjoy living,

I hope to promote small business in coming here and to help maintain that the town administration will be fiscally responsible.

• Leona Thorogood

Community – for me as an incumbent town councillor that just about says it all.

As a councillor I have a responsibility to the residents of Stettler to ensure that we have a well-run municipality that represents the needs and the future growth of those who live in it; actually, not just those who live but all who live, work, shop, obtain health care and travel through Stettler.

Growth and development of our town is dependent on our ability to work collaboratively with all our partners in the area.

I have been proud to call Stettler my home as I have travelled in official and non-official capacities across Canada, and will continue to strive to make Stettler the welcoming, progressive community it is.

As a Certified General Accountant, I feel that I have the skills to make well informed and balanced decisions representing you.

I am dedicated to listening to those who wish to have their opinions heard and will strive to make the best decision in all issues that are presented.

• Steven Wildeboer

My current occupation is sales and store manager of AGRO Stettler, the local John Deere dealer.

I want to serve on town council because I believe I have gifts and skills that are well suited to a setting such as this.

I have served on a number of boards and committees over the years, including chairing Subdivision and Development Appeal Board for Lacombe County.

The experience I gained from that and others is going to be valuable as a town councillor.

The number-one concern is to attract business to Stettler to provide employment opportunities and a growth for the town, sustainable growth.

This would be done by encouraging business development through easements in building regulations and developing a sense that Stettler is open for business through policies.

The second priority is to address the growing concerns of vandalism and abuse of current infrastructure, this would be taken care of by a full-time bylaw officer for the Town of Stettler.