In the months to come, think about what you want in a councillor, what questions you want to ask them and what answers you’d like to hear. Think about what the current council’s done right and where it has faltered.
Pay attention to what’s happening on the municipal level today and in the months to come and decide if you like the current direction or if you want a change.
If change is what you’re after and you have the time and passion, you can also put your name in the running. That is, of course, if you’re 18 years or older, you’re a Canadian citzen and on nomination day—Sept. 23—you’ve lived in Jasper for at least six consecutive months.
Now, for some, municipal politics might be boring, but it’s important to remember that the decisions made right here in Jasper are the ones that affect us on a day-to-day level.
The municipality provides basic everyday services—like garbage pickup, sanatation, pothole patching and snow removal—that we easily take for granted, often forgetting that it’s because of our current mayor and council and the ones that came before them that these basic services have become priorities—council, after all, approves the operations budget for the town.
Moreover, council is also responsible for making decisions about capital investments, like the expansion of the activity centre to include a new fitness centre and the ongoing expansion and renovation of the library—a project that will now fall on the laps of a newly elected council in October.
It’s decisions like these, as well as many others, that, although sometimes mundane, keep a community growing and functioning.
If Jasperites educates themselves between now and Oct. 21 and fill out ballots on that day, the community gets to decide what direction that growth and functionality will take.
Jasper has six councillors and a mayor, who are elected to represent the community for three years.
When the time comes to fill out your ballot this fall, make sure you’re not scrambling to educate yourself. Take an interest now and make an informed decision.
