A long time Red Deer resident is throwing her hat into the municipal election ring.

Dianne Wyntjes, 50, a resident of Red Deer since 1975, has officially declared she will run for City council.

“I love our City. I love the green spaces, our cultural and educational opportunities and our access to big city amenities in a small town atmosphere,” she said. “But as a rapidly expanding regional centre, we need bold new ideas and energy to meet growth challenges and retain that sense of safety and security in our communities.”

Wyntjes is the regional director for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Alberta, serves as an Alberta Labour Relations board member and is a past member of Red Deer’s parks and recreation board and the Red Deer College alumni committee.

“I’m a problem solver and I have budget experience, management experience, conflict resolution and basically I’ve worked with all sorts of people with all sorts of backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve basically come to a point in my career where I want to be apart of the decision making.”

Wyntjes said she sees budget issues and economic issues as City council’s biggest challenges in the coming years.

“People are most concerned with having a home over their head, putting food on the table and providing for their families,” she said. “Taxes come around and families are concerned how much they are going to go up.”

Wyntjes’ interest in politics stems from long ago where she has watched City council in action out of curiosity.

“Now that curiosity has evolved into wanting to make a difference,” she said.

Wyntjes said she encourages citizens to get out and vote this election.

“To me politics matters and I think it’s really important people participate in the public forums and come out and vote on October 18,” she said. “The last voter turnout was some 22 per cent and that’s somewhat frightening.”

For more information visit www.DianneForRedDeer.ca.