We are fortunate to have the Chamber of Commerce sponsoring an election forum tomorrow (October 13) that gives Peace River residents the opportunity to hear from all the mayor and councillor candidates. The event is at the Sawridge Inn & Convention Centre (thanks to the Sawridge for donating the space) and will start right at 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30).
Candidates draw lots for speaking order. Mayoralty candidates Iris Callioux and Lorne Mann will each have five minutes to present themselves to the audience. Then candidates for councillor (Ayre-Jaschke, Darling, George, Grimmelt, Lafontaine, Laurin, Milligan, Needham and Tarpey) each have three minutes. Following a 15 minute break and a Q&A period, each candidate has time to sum up (3 minutes per candidate for mayor and 1 minute per councillor).
The formal portion is over by 10:00, with time for candidates and audience members to chat afterwards. I hope there will be a big turnout and lots of questions and that help each of us elaborate--three minutes is an awfully short time to capture the essence of who we are, what we stand for, and what we want to accomplish. But it also encourages us concisely capture what we think is most important to get across. Should be an interesting night--please plan to attend if you are a Peace River resident!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Mayor Callioux's website
Check out Mayor Callioux's new website for her platform and background and also for her perspective on the work of the 2007-10 Council.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Speech writing/Council activities
I've been working on my speech for the Election Forum next Wednesday. Trying to compress three years of experience into three minutes is very difficult, and I'm reminded of the Woodrow Wilson quote: "If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now."
To round out what will be a very cursory overview during that speech, here's a bit more about life as a small town councillor for anyone who is curious.
Since my election in 2007, I've participated on many Town, Council and community committees. Those with a star are ones I'm currently serving on.
These committees require varying time commitment. Many are monthly meetings lasting for a couple of hours and not requiring much preparation or follow-up (other than reading minutes and the agenda) while others are more time-consuming. I receive the Council reimbursement of $47.50 for the first hour and $19.00 for each additional hour to a maximum of $95.
With many committees and a small Council, we all need to take on quite a few commitments outside regular Council meetings, which can eat into the work day. To compensate and still do my consulting practice, I start early and work late and on weekends.
Here's the list of committees:
* Aboriginal Interagency Committee (which organizes the annual Aboriginal Gathering & Pow Wow, Sisters in Spirit Walk, among other activities)
* East Peace Landfill Authority (soon to be a Part 9 Company called the Peace Regional Waste Management Company)
* Municipal Planning Commission
* Off-Highway Vehicle Committee
* Library Board
* Library Building Committee
* Library Fundraising Cabinet
* Peace Regional Housing Coalition
* Town Beautification Committee
* Peace Oilsands Synergy Group (now called Peace Synergy Group)
* Chamber of Commerce
Peace River Community Health Council (until it was disbanded by Alberta Health Services)
Town of Peace River Health & Safety Committee (Councillor Milligan is the current Council rep)
Town of Peace River Risk Management Committee (Councillor Milligan is the current Council rep)
Business Vitality Initiative Sponsor Committee (this has now become the Community Economic Development Committee and I'm not a part of that other than through the Town Beautification sub-committee)
To round out what will be a very cursory overview during that speech, here's a bit more about life as a small town councillor for anyone who is curious.
Since my election in 2007, I've participated on many Town, Council and community committees. Those with a star are ones I'm currently serving on.
These committees require varying time commitment. Many are monthly meetings lasting for a couple of hours and not requiring much preparation or follow-up (other than reading minutes and the agenda) while others are more time-consuming. I receive the Council reimbursement of $47.50 for the first hour and $19.00 for each additional hour to a maximum of $95.
With many committees and a small Council, we all need to take on quite a few commitments outside regular Council meetings, which can eat into the work day. To compensate and still do my consulting practice, I start early and work late and on weekends.
Here's the list of committees:
* Aboriginal Interagency Committee (which organizes the annual Aboriginal Gathering & Pow Wow, Sisters in Spirit Walk, among other activities)
* East Peace Landfill Authority (soon to be a Part 9 Company called the Peace Regional Waste Management Company)
* Municipal Planning Commission
* Off-Highway Vehicle Committee
* Library Board
* Library Building Committee
* Library Fundraising Cabinet
* Peace Regional Housing Coalition
* Town Beautification Committee
* Peace Oilsands Synergy Group (now called Peace Synergy Group)
* Chamber of Commerce
Peace River Community Health Council (until it was disbanded by Alberta Health Services)
Town of Peace River Health & Safety Committee (Councillor Milligan is the current Council rep)
Town of Peace River Risk Management Committee (Councillor Milligan is the current Council rep)
Business Vitality Initiative Sponsor Committee (this has now become the Community Economic Development Committee and I'm not a part of that other than through the Town Beautification sub-committee)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
New Website Launched for the Town of Peace River
Peace River has finally has launched its new website and it looks great. There are still some issues to work out, content to load, and redirecting to take place (Google is still finding the old website), but it's live and much easier to navigate than the old one. Congratulations to past and current Town staff who have worked so hard on this!
The new site's address is www.peaceriver.net and will later also be reachable by www.peaceriver.ca
The old site can still be accessed (for awhile yet).
The new site's address is www.peaceriver.net and will later also be reachable by www.peaceriver.ca
The old site can still be accessed (for awhile yet).
Friday, September 24, 2010
Learning About Islam in Peace River
In the interests of promoting cultural understanding, I'm once again moderating a short session about Islam tomorrow (September 25) at 2:00-3:00 PM at the Sawridge Inn in Peace River, (doors open at 2:30). The event is presented by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at. There is no charge but registration is requested so organizers know how much is needed for refreshments--call 1-866-208-2683. The topic is the Islamic perspective on the theory of evolution.
Peace River's Candidates for the 2010 Election
Former Mayor Lorne Mann is challenging incumbent Iris Callioux. These two candidates faced each other in 2007, with Ms. Callioux defeating incumbent Mann.
There are nine nominees for the six spots on Council. These are, in alphabetical order:
This is a strong group of candidates, which speaks well for citizen engagement in Peace River. In the best of my worlds, the election on Oct. 18 will see the return of Mayor Callioux, the three incumbent councillors, and three newcomers. When I was elected in 2007, it was reassuring to have the experience of three people who had been on Council for many years as we newbies climbed the steep learning curve of our first year.
We were welcomed and our perspectives heard as relationships and trust were built within Council, with administration, and with our neighbouring municipalities. Mayor, councillors and administration have formed an effective team with a long list of accomplishments in three short years. (More on these accomplishments in future posts.)
Of course, we didn't always agree and there were heated discussions at times. But we were always respectful and maintained the spirit of finding effective ways to address the challenge of balancing the many competing demands on Town resources. I hope this spirit will remain, regardless of the election results.
There are nine nominees for the six spots on Council. These are, in alphabetical order:
- Leslie Ayre-Jaschke (incumbent)
- North Darling
- Cole George
- Kristjanna Grimmelt
- Robert Lafontaine
- Wanda Laurin (incumbent)
- Geoff Milligan (incumbent)
- Colin Needham
- Tom Tarpey
This is a strong group of candidates, which speaks well for citizen engagement in Peace River. In the best of my worlds, the election on Oct. 18 will see the return of Mayor Callioux, the three incumbent councillors, and three newcomers. When I was elected in 2007, it was reassuring to have the experience of three people who had been on Council for many years as we newbies climbed the steep learning curve of our first year.
We were welcomed and our perspectives heard as relationships and trust were built within Council, with administration, and with our neighbouring municipalities. Mayor, councillors and administration have formed an effective team with a long list of accomplishments in three short years. (More on these accomplishments in future posts.)
Of course, we didn't always agree and there were heated discussions at times. But we were always respectful and maintained the spirit of finding effective ways to address the challenge of balancing the many competing demands on Town resources. I hope this spirit will remain, regardless of the election results.
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