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By Jett Schwaier

ELXN25

The Cypress County council candidates from Ward 4 are Kurpjuweit and Thompson

Oct 17, 2025 | 5:51 PM

Cypress County councillor candidate Robin Kurpjuweit, representing Ward 4, has been on council for eight years, and says he will bring his experience to the table.

“I was on Lauren Taylor’s board when I was 14 as a youth delegate in provincial government,” Kurpjuweit said.

“I spent two or three years on the Municipal Planning Commission, which is always a good way to get your feet wet, you understand a little bit about what’s going on.”

“Nothing beats experience like being actually in that chair,” he added

Kurpjuweit said his priorities, if re-elected to the council, will be to secure access to potable or raw water.

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“There are a lot of acreage subdivisions that are currently on wells that are having to haul water in,” Kurpjuweit said.

“When it comes down to watering your yards, your tree lines, your shelter belts, and things like that, it gets problematic.”

“So water projects continue to be a big part of what we’re looking at that also fits in with a lot of our economic development opportunities,” he added.

Other priorities Kurpjuweit will focus on are continuing to make good financial decisions for the county.

“We have put things in place right now that have us in a financial position that is rivalled in the province,” Kurpjuweit said.

“I want to position ourselves for some of these bigger, more dreamer-type projects.”

Kurpjuweit was born and raised in the county and lived on a farm in Ward 4.

At home, Kurpjuweit and his wife have seven kids, four of whom were adopted.

Kurpjuweit moved to Vancouver when he was 19 and later moved to the United States to work as a lobbyist.

Also representing Ward 4 as a councillor candidate in the election is Bill Thompson, who has been on many committees in Cypress County.

“I’m currently on the Municipal Planning Commission. I was previously the mayor of Beaumont, Alberta, back in the 80s,” Thompson said.

“I’ve been involved in very large businesses in the financial, banking and administrative end, and so I bring a solid business background to the job.”

Thomspson said he is fully retired and has a lot of time to deal with concerns in the county and work with the other councillors.

Commercial development in the county is Thompson’s number one priority.

“We’ve had lots of residences in the hamlets and small areas where I think we need to encourage more people that bring commercial development to bring jobs and opportunities,” Thompson said.

“With Residences, of course, it adds to the tax base as does the commercial development.”

Thompson lived in the county from 1985 to 1995 before moving to Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton for his career in the automotive industry as a Chief Financial Officer.

In 2017, Thompson moved back to the county and has lived there ever since.

Ward 4 is located east of Dunmore, south of the borderline on the west side, and south to Township Road 100, east of the 41 Highway and Southeast of the number one highway.