Czember and McRobb face off in Redcliff mayoral race

“I have owned a few more businesses throughout the town and Medicine Hat. I also own The North Pub in Medicine Hat and a motel in Redcliff.”

Czember said he enjoys working with the council.

“I love the decision-making process. I love the feeling and involvement of being in the decision-making process for the town,” Czember said.

“I just love my community. I owe a lot to my community. They’ve really supported me over the years,” he added.

“So it’s one of my ways of giving back.”

Czember wants to continue building on what has been started.

“We’ve got a new school coming in our east side development that I would love to see that come to fruition and finish the project. We’re in the planning and engineering phase right now. To see a big project like that from beginning to end, that would be so gratifying,” Czember said.

“Another big thing that we have in the plans is that we need a new raw water intake. We have one currently that is working just fine, but it’s old. So if it ever fails or the river goes too low, we’re going to be in trouble,” he added.

“It’s a big, expensive project, but it’s a redundancy that we need. You’ve got to have running water. Every community needs that. That’s just a basic necessity of life. We need redundancy to ensure the longevity of that.”

Czember added that the raw water intake project is currently in the tendering phase and is hopeful that it can get underway soon.

He says the town has also committed some money for some infrastructure upgrades that the future school site is going to need.

Czember said he first developed an interest in politics when he was about 22, and had to speak in front of the council for a special events permit for an event he was planning.

“I was very nervous and I didn’t want to speak in front of them. So I asked if I had to speak, and they informed me that no, I don’t have to speak. But she said, candidly, you’re really well respected in that room for being a young businessman here in Redcliff. So you probably should speak. It would probably help my case. And I never forgot that,” Czember said.

“To earn the respect of council just by being a local businessman, that meant a lot to me, and I was very proud of that. So right then and there is when it’s kind of planted in my mind about possibly joining council one day,” he added.

“I always felt that I was far too young, and when I was 39, I finally said to myself, I’m not too young for anything anymore. I’m gonna run.”

Czember said his experience in the community, knowing the people and having access to the people is a very big asset in this.

“I certainly have managerial and leadership qualities built up in my businesses over the years. I’ve just always kind of been a leader, I think, naturally. I’ve never been one to follow everybody else,” Czember said.

“I like to take charge and move things forward. Just out of high school, I bought my first business, and also bought my first house when I was 19. So I’ve always been interested in investing and just taking the bull by the horns, I guess you could say.”

Czember is going to continue knocking on doors in the community over the weekend.

“This is the first campaign that I’ve actually done some door-knocking. The one thing that surprised me about it, I thought I’d get in hundreds of houses, but I’m getting in 30-minute long conversations with people and answering questions,” Czember said.

“It’s been good. We’re not getting to as many houses as we thought we were going to get to. But we’re having some good in-depth conversations and seeing some faces that I haven’t seen for a long time,” he added.

“I have a list in my phone right now of suggestions from people that I think are very reasonable.”

Czember said you don’t really get the same feedback from people unless you go out and knock on doors.

“It’s too bad we only tend to think of this one time every four years. But I will try to be as accessible as possible to anybody that does have an issue like this moving forward,” Czember said.

Don McRobb

McRobb, 78, would be new to the council in Redcliff, but has prior experience in Saskatchewan. He has lived in the community for 13 years.

“I was working in Saskatchewan 45 years in the public service. 22 with the federal government, four with municipal as a councillor for the city of Melfort, and 20 with the provincial government,” McRobb said.

“When I retired, tired of big city living, I went looking for a small town and we found Redcliff, fell in love with it, sold our house in Regina and moved.”

McRobb didn’t run for council in Redcliff previously because his son was working for the Town at the time.

“It was a conflict position. He got a new job, and I’d been watching, and a number of people were asking me why I didn’t put my name forward and seeing the opportunity. So then signed my papers and here I am,” McRobb said.

Priorities for McRobb include communication, transparency and accountability.

“I’d be pushing for that, trying to make council a little more accessible, decisions to be live-streamed. So public meetings could be watched or observed by the public. And if we can do that, you know, the accountability will come into play,” McRobb said.

“My big desire is to mentor some younger people. I’ve got some younger people in mind that should be looking at, serving the public in the process,” he added.

“They’re almost ready, but they keep giving me the old, I haven’t got enough time and don’t want to. So my big hope is in the next four years, to be able to convince two or three of them to run for council.”

McRobb said he prefers to avoid closed sessions of the council as much as possible.

“The in-camera or that type of meeting. Although they’re required, they should be kept to a minimum,” McRobb said.

He said he would also like to see some set hours people could meet with those on the council.

“Not eight hours a day, but maybe a couple of days a week, where the mayor or if they want a council member, if he has time, be available for a couple of hours for appointments for the public and ratepayers to be able to come in and talk to them,” McRobb said.

“Communication is a big thing, a big thing.”

McRobb has some ideas for economic development that include greenhouses and the produce sector.

“You know, Coaldale has the potato chips. Why can’t we be canning tomatoes and fast-freezing vegetables? I’d like to look into maybe finding something like that, or at least some interest in it, and maybe coming to our neck of the woods here,” McRobb said.

Council

Ten candidates are running for six councillor positions.

Included are current mayor Dwight Kilpatrick, and incumbent councillors James Allen, Cathy Crozier, Larry Leipert, and Matthew St. Pierre.

Also seeking a position on the council are Bernie Bakker, Shawna Gale, Eric Solberg, Brandie Burns, and Korey Lindberg.

by Jesse Gill

Czember and McRobb face off in Redcliff mayoral race

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