Malcolm Parker is hoping it will be a case of third time lucky as he adds his name to a growing list of city council candidates.
Parker announced in a Gazette advertisement last week he would be running and confirmed it this week.
He said several supporters from previous campaigns had been encouraging him to get in the race.
“I feel comfortable that I have a core support group simply because I came so close during the last election,” he said.
Parker came just shy of a council seat in 2007 with 5,819 votes, just behind Coun. Carol Watamaniuk who had 5,954 votes and has announced she will not be running again.
Parker worked for 30 years with Imperial Oil and now works a private consultant. He is chair of the Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI) and the St. Albert economic development advisory committee (SAEDAC).
He also works on the SEE St. Albert tourism committee, with the chamber of commerce and is a past-president of the St. Albert men’s slow-pitch league.
Parker said he wants to see more financial restraint brought to city hall and more work on economic development to balance out taxes.
He said to have taxes become reasonable, the city will have to stop putting such a burden on residential taxpayers.
“We are not a well-balanced community and we have to become a well-balanced community and that means we have to have our residential growth, commercial, industrial and even institutional and it has to be in balance.”
He said the city needs to better market itself and put more emphasis on economic development.
“We have to do all the right things we can to encourage economic development in the community and it hasn’t happened to the extent that it should.”
He added that the lands annexed from Sturgeon County have been a missed opportunity so far.
“It has been annexed for four years now. This council has had it for three years to do something and it is still the same way.”
He said the recession had an impact, but other cities continued to grow.
“When you compare us to other municipalities we are not growing at as fast a rate and when you look at that in a business sense, we are losing market share.”
He said there are many other opportunities the city needs to take advantage of.
“If you don’t get out there and brag about your community and what you have to offer then how do you get other people interested?”
Parker endorsed the downtown area redevelopment plan (DARP) and stressed people need to think about it over the long term.
“You are going to have higher density, more people down there paying taxes and have more businesses come in and they too are going to be paying taxes.”
He said he also thinks it is important to have change on council and said if elected he would serve only two or three terms before moving on.
“If you want to be at the top of your game, you have to continue to have change and strengthen your team.”
With Parker’s announcement, the race for city council has eleven candidates, including challengers James Van Damme, Aisling Pollard-Kientzel, Cam MacKay, Stanley Haroun, Cathy Heron, Wes Brodhead, and incumbents Roger Lemieux, Gareth Jones and Len Bracko.
Election day is Oct. 18.
