Earlier today (September 12) Mayor Peter Brown announced that he will run in the October 16th election.

Mayor Brown spoke to several supporters, friends and members of his family at Il Forno restaurant, declaring his intentions to run for a third term in office.

"I want to humbly announce that I'm running once again, and asking for your support on October the 16th and continue to move this city forward."

Brown also took some time during his announcement to encourage everyone in Airdrie to vote regardless of who they support.

"I know our Councillors have got other candidates in their group, I know the mayor has got other candidates in his group, so it gives people choice. But all I would ask is, number one, you vote. I don't care who you vote for. We should be knocking it out of the park. This 30 percent turnout is a joke. We need to turn it up a notch. I'd like to see 20,000 people out voting and having a real connection to the community and taking ownership, because if you don't vote, in my opinion, you don't have an ownership in your community." 

Brown said that there are several reasons for his decision, but a main reason is that members of the community want him to seek reelection.

"I have spoken to hundreds of residents, not all of them supporters but the vast majority were, and they encourage me to run. I've received a lot of text messages and Facebook messages and a number of other things basically saying, 'We want you to stay and we want you to continue what you've started'"

Brown said the support of his family, who also encouraged him to run, was another reason he decided to seek a third term as mayor. During his announcement, Brown held back tears as he talked about his family, acknowledging the sacrifices they've made during his tenure as Mayor.

Brown was also emotional and passionate while talking about the Airdrie residents that have turned tragedy into triumph for the community, including Michelle Bates, who founded the Airdrie Health Foundation, and the Titus family, founders of the Thumbs Up Foundation. Brown praised those organizations for not only doing great things for our community, but also garnering attention and support from other places in the province.

Brown said a highlight of his time as mayor has been the way the community has taken care of one another, and he hopes that if he's reelected he'll continue to play his part.

"I love my work. I guess you could say, I like to get out and talk to people. The compassion and generosity that Airdrie shows to everyone, it's just incredible and I want to be a part of that."

Addressing Airdrie's infrastructure needs will be a key campaign issue for Brown, who believes it is vital to maintain and expand the city's roads.

Brown also believes the conversation around additional recreation facilities needs to take place to address Airdrie's growth and allow the city to become a sport tourism hot spot.

In regards to Health Care, Brown said having 24 hour urgent care is a step in the right direction, but he wants to work extra hard to build more services through the Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Cooperative. Brown said health officials from Calgary have praised Airdrie's work on healthcare.

Brown wants to engage with community members during his campaign. 

 

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