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Election on Oct. 18

First candidates for 2021 civic election announce bids for council seats

Jan 8, 2021 | 1:40 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The race is on for this fall’s civic election as the first candidates for mayor and council have announced their intention on running for public office.

Alan Rose and Phil Turnbull say they will be running for mayor and council respectively.

Rose says his platform will be aimed at making the city a financially attractive place to live and do business.

“I want to bring back the Medicine Hat advantage,” said Rose, highlighting city residents annually pay $78 less a year to live in here versus in Lethbridge, “and that’s not an advantage.”

Turnbull says his motivation for running is he wants “to be around to finish what we started,” including reducing city spending while maintaining services.

He says his platform will include pushing forward with riverfront development in the city and looking at ways to best manage the future of the city’s aging recreation facilities.

Mayor Ted Clugston says he will announce whether he intends to run or not during the State of the City address on Jan. 26.

This year’s address will be held virtually via Zoom.

Voters in Alberta’s municipal election this year will head to the polls on Oct. 18.

Nomination packages are now available for download on the city’s website.

New rules passed by the provincial government allow candidates to file their nomination papers at city hall on Jan. 1 instead of the regular September date a month prior to the election.

Rose and Turnbull both say they intend to file their papers shortly.