Page 14 - october 20, 2016 - martensville messenger
Q & A With Your City Council Candidates
bob blackwell
What motivates you to run for council?
I am motivated to again run for council because I believe
I have and can make a difference. For most of my adult life l have
volunteered to give back to our community that has been so good to us
and home to my family. I enjoy working with and for our community
and have made many new friends along the way. I enjoy the interaction
with council and administration and also assisting citizens with their
problems and concerns. For the past 4 years I believe I have served our
great city with professionalism and dignity and will continue to do so.
randy elliott
What are your top 3 priorities on City Council if elected?
I’m committed to being available, approachable and
accountable. During this campaign I have been speaking to as many
residents as possible to get their input on what they see as their
future goals for Martensville. My platform for the next four years
encompasses many of the same ideals I am told are important to you;
the citizens.
1)
To improve crosswalk signage and safety; adding new
crossings to busy streets including Centennial Drive. With the continued
growth of our city we must commit to making sure accessibility for all
our residents is maintained, not just citizens with vehicles.
2)
Looking into ways to maintain our streets year round in a
more effi cient manner; I plan to speak to other municipalities to see
what is working well for them. Snow removal and street maintenance
is something that affects almost every resident daily and is something I
believe we can improve on.
3)
To expand our recreation programming reach, hence engaging
more citizens of all ages with diverse and affordable leisure activities
right here at home. The ability to keep residents staying and playing
here is very important to maintaining a healthy and vibrant community.
On October 26th vote Randy Elliott for City Council.
Working with you to make an even better Martensville.
Provincial
Politics
with
Murray Mandryk
A Not-So-Quiet Session?
The Saskatchewan legislative sitting begins this
week. As sittings of the assembly go, it looks like this will
be a rather uneventful one. There will be no budget until
the spring. Even the usually obligatory throne speech (for
however signifi cant it ever is) isn’t required. And given
this is now a third-term government, the desperate need
for game-changing legislation isn’t there. (That said, we
might see legislation to toughen drunk driving laws, that
may spark some controversy.)
So one might be led to believe this should be a
pleasant little gathering for Premier Brad Wall and his
forces - a bit of victory lap after the craziness of a spring
election followed by a throne speech and a budget. In
fact, what controversy we may see this session will likely
centre around an issue that really doesn’t even emerge out
of Saskatchewan.
Certainly, Wall has every intention to make
this a session about unifying the province against Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau’s $10- to $50-a-tonne new carbon
tax. Notwithstanding the fact that Wall has offered nothing
resembling a well-rounded alternative policy to combat
greenhouse gas emissions, there is little reason to question
his assertion that carbon pricing could cost Saskatchewan.
Even if one accepts the “revenue neutral”
argument put forward by the federal Liberals who argue
their carbon pricing revenue will remain within the
province from which it is taken, it still is rather problematic
for a province like Saskatchewan so dependent on its oil
and mining sector.
How drilling companies might react to such a
levy when they might have an option of drilling south of
the border is something the Liberal government hasn’t
really answered. To this end, Wall has valid reason to re-ask
questions about its impact on Saskatchewan jobs. These
are the points that Wall would clearly like to make the
focal point of this session. But as relevant as the economic
Darren macDonald
Are you happy with the progress being made on the roadways entering & exiting
our great city?
I am happy with the progress we have made and we continue to work to make it better. Martensville
faces large challenges when trying to improve the traffi c fl ow entering and exiting our community. One
of the biggest is that we have a large commuter population and only one primary route in and out of the
city, which is Highway 12. The next large challenge is the fact that access to Highway 12 is outside
of Martensville’s boundaries and is handled by the Department of Highways. This means that we have
limited options that we as a city can actually implement ourselves when trying to make improvements.
In the past four years I have been on council we have seen the paving of 10th Avenue, turning
lanes at Lutheran Road, resurfacing of the Service Road south to Lutheran Road and most importantly an
approved overpass at Main Street and Highway 12.
These are no small tasks and I believe they wouldn’t have been completed in the time frame they
were without the continued lobbying of the current council and mayor to the province.
With all that said, we haven’t stopped working to improve things. We are currently completing a
Master Transportation Plan to assess our current and future infrastructure needs and to gather input from
residents on how things can be improved. We are also working to make sure that there are no missed
opportunities when the overpass is constructed and that it is built to handle current and future needs.
michael cox
What motivates you to run for council?
I have been asked this question a number of times over the past few weeks. I am running for City
Council because I feel I have valuable leadership skills, experiences and knowledge of our community that
will benefi t Martensville moving forward. In my role as Vice Principal, I have experience in developing
shared vision, long-term planning, managing resources and working collaboratively with all to make
informed decisions just to name a few. In my 16 years in education I have proven myself to be a positive
leader in my schools and my community.
I want to be a City Councillor so that I can work with community members by listening and
assisting people in having a voice in moving Martensville forward. Many of the people I have talked to
over the past few weeks about the election have indicated to me that they have never voted or involved
themselves in City politics because they weren’t connected to those on council. My hope is my work in
the community and the connections I have made will allow for more engagement in city politics going
forward.
I want to be a City Councillor so that I can give back to this great community that has been so
good to me and my family. I am fortunate that I get to live, work and play in our beautiful city.
Please vote for Michael Cox on October 26th. A vote for me is a vote for Responsible Planning
for the Future. Thank you for your support!
concerns of carbon pricing might very well, it’s hard not be
If everything is on the table, than everything is on
somewhat suspicious that one reason Wall wants to make the table. It is this sitting where we may start to see the reality
them the province’s exclusive issues is to defl ect from of that hit home. After all, we are already hearing rumours
another very real economic reality.
that rural MLAs are not exactly overjoyed at the 2017 budget
The other very real economic reality is that this preparation that may soon impact their constituents.
is a province - regardless of whatever fi nancial straits
Is it really any wonder that Wall would rather see
Trudeau’s new carbon pricing might put us in - has its own the focus on Trudeau’s carbon tax and its impact than his own
economic and budget problems that Wall doesn’t much decisions? It could be an interesting session, after all.
want to talk about.
We are a province
that is clearly reeling from
$40- to $50-US-a-barrel oil
after experiencing prices
nearly
$100-US-a-barrel
higher. But we are also a
province reeling from the
decision to borrow $700
million and $1 billion in the
last two budgets to pay for
the government’s aggressive
infrastructure plan.
Obviously,
the
Wall government defends
this as a wise plan. That
said, one seriously doubts
there is much interest in the
government dwelling on
this issue - especially when
the consequences of nine
years of spending choices
are quickly becoming all too
evident.
Already, we are
seeing the government chip
away at so-called marginal
programs - many of them,
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