With only 78 days left until the municipal election, the list of candidates continues to grow. Rick Northey is among the hopefuls seeking a seat on City Council.

A resident of the City since 2011, Northey said he is motivated to run in the upcoming election because of a passion for political science and desire to see more community members engaged in the democratic process.

"Part of the reason why people show up at City Council meetings and they're kind of upset with what's going on is, I don't think they're really plugged in and aware of what the City's doing. I'd like to kind of help increase awareness and get more people out being part of the conversation, and then we can have a city government that's more responsible to things that people actually want."

Northey sees himself as a political outsider. He's never held elected office, and this is actually his first foray into municipal politics. Northey sees that as a strength.

"I've always been a working class guy and I've always dealt with working people and working families, so I think mostly what I have is just a different perspective on things because I'm not a professional politician, I haven't sat on boards or committees or commissions, so I don't have that in the box thinking that a professional politician might have. And personally, I think that's a good thing."

Northey will campaign this fall on three main priorities.

"Number one priority is getting the West Side rec centre built. Two would be democratic accountability and three would be the women's shelter."

Northey believes that getting a new rec centre built is something that has sat on the back-burner too long. He finds it problematic that working families need to drive to Calgary, or make time for inconvenient time slots to use aquatic services or ice time. He also wants Council to take a hard look at how to get a women's shelter built for Airdrie.

Northey also wants to see more people involved in the democratic process, and hopes that voters will get out and cast their ballots in this upcoming municipal election.

 

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