Election signs at Candiates at the Park event at Kin Coulee on Sunday (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Municipal election sees number of new candidates grow

Aug 29, 2021 | 6:55 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB– At Kin Coulee Park, election signs, posters and pictures were on full display, a sure sign of a municipal election as candidates set up to meet with the public.

The race to earn a seat on council is tight, with 24 council candidates declared as of Friday. The candidates are vying for one of eight positions on council, and the deadline for nominations isn’t until Sept. 20 opening the door for even more candidates to step into the race.

Two-time city councillor Brian Varga said the sight is something he has never seen before.

“This will be my fifth time running for council and not really. I think last time we had 15 come into the race, so not like this where there might be 30, so it is a rarity,” Coun. Varga said.

The mayoral race is also competitive with four candidates listed on the city’s website. While his name isn’t on the website yet Mayor Ted Clugston also announced his intentions to run at the State of the City and on Facebook on Friday.

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Many of the candidates running have no prior election experience and they come from diverse backgrounds, with differences in business, age, race, education and life experience.

“I think it is really exciting. I think it shows that people in Medicine Hat are looking for a change, and they are looking for a government that cares about data-driven decision-making, that is accountable and transparent,” said Mayoral Candidate Linnsie Clark.

Clark is the only female candidate running for mayor so far, and her excitement for the diverse pool was shared with others including city council candidate Bill Bergeson.

“ We have got retired RCMP, a retired firefighter, we’ve got realtors, we have got business people, and members of the community with concerns that they want to address. It is going be an interesting election,” said Bergeson.

For many of the new candidates, a love for the community, and a desire for change is part of the push.

“ I always say that even in sports we have to change out players because change is required. Politics also I think we should give a chance to new people and see what they can bring to the table,” council candidate Praveen Joshi said.

Mayoral candidate Alan Rose, however, believes more people are stepping up simply because they are fed up.

“I think it demonstrates a real dissatisfaction with the current course of the city. If you look we have had discussions about the pandemic issues, we’ve had job issues where the oil and gas has dried up,” Rose said.

Since the nomination period opened in January, there have been calls from some council candidates and the public to abolish the old boys club, a term that has been used to describe our current council for years.

But councillor Brian Varga said council works more like a team and he doesn’t think an old boys club exists.

“ I don’t think so. We have differences of opinion when we sit behind closed doors lots of time. Even in open council we have lots of time where everybody doesn’t agree with stuff. It might look like that but there is lots of discussion that goes on before we make those decisions.” Varga said.

Councillor Jim Turner said experience on council is also a major asset, something he hopes to bring if elected a third term.

“It is really important to understand that council is the board of directors for the City of Medicine Hat, and the City of Medicine Hat is a $400 million operation. So if you own stocks in your stock portfolio, would you not want someone managing that with some experience?” Turner said.

Turner added that while many of the candidates have been critical of the current mayor and council, he believes they are doing a good job, and that is especially evident right now during COVID-19.

“We had some supports out there for business, we had supports out there for our residents, and many communities could not afford to do that,” Turner said.

The upcoming municipal election is Oct.18.

A list of all the candidates running can be found here.