A long-time community member, who is no stranger to elections, has decided to throw her hat into the ring for a spot on City council.
Dawna Morey, who has lived in Red Deer for 17 years, has announced her candidacy.
This will be Morey’s third try for a council spot. Her first run was in 1998, just a couple of years after she came to the City. She also was a candidate in the 2004 election.
“It’s been nine years since I ran, but I think those nine years have been good years to continue to grow and train in my knowledge on how municipal government works,” she said. “When I look over what my message and what my philosophy was back then, I don’t think it has changed a whole lot.
“I’m strongly about community development and inclusivity when we look at planning and development. I truly believe in the development and inclusion of community associations.”
Morey sat as president of the Parkvale Community Association for seven years and remains actively involved.
“Our community is one of the oldest established neighbourhoods in Red Deer – it was established in 1905 and we believe we helped to make significant impact on design and guidelines in our community.”
If elected to council, Morey said she will bring many attributes.
“I certainly think the work that I’ve done from operating my own business to running a non-profit organization to understanding how to make cuts when cuts are necessary will be a benefit. I went from operating a very vibrant organization that was well-funded to an organization that maybe was not seen as being as necessary and because of decisions that were beyond our control had to make necessary cuts. But we also informed the community of those losses,” said Morey. “Beyond that I have sat on the Crime Prevention and Policing Board, I have sat on the Red Deer and District Community Foundation. I have sat on the Museum Society and the Greater Downtown Action Plan committee. I continue to sit on a few provincial initiatives in terms of workforce councils. I also coordinated CentreFest for a few years.”
Meanwhile, Morey added there is already a lot of buzz about a few key issues, a ward system being one of them.
“This was discussed when I came into this municipality and it was discussed in 2004 when I last ran. I always say a ward system does not negate people’s responsibility to represent everybody. I think that all councillors need to be accountable to all citizens,” said Morey.
Overall, Morey said she is looking forward to hitting the campaign trail and talking to Red Deerians.
“I believe in looking for solutions. I believe our municipality is growing and changing and in order to stay current with that we have to review and we have to tweak. There are some really good things happening in this community. I think we can learn from some things in the past that we haven’t done so well and make improvements on them but it’s about looking forward and it’s about growing as a community.”
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
