Mayor Tara Veer has announced she will seek a second term this fall.
She made the announcement at Veterans’ Park in downtown Red Deer on Wednesday morning.
“My fellow Red Deerians, I am asking for the next four years to continue to work with you and for you to make our community possibilities become reality,” said Veer.
“Over the past four years I have worked with our City council and administrative team, our community partners, the citizens of Red Deer and other orders of government to fulfill Red Deer’s potential. Together we have accomplished many things, together we have much to be proud of, together we have insisted that building Red Deer is the equivalent of building our province and building our country.”
She added much work has been done in the last four years.
“We finally secured funding for long-awaited projects such as the RDC Canada Games Gary W. Harris Centre, the Red Deer Airport runway extension, the QEII interchange, the Red Deer Justice Centre and modernizations of our recreation and transit infrastructure,” she said. “Together we have made the safety of our citizens paramount and for the first time in Red Deer’s history we established local priorities and local service expectations for our policing. We have made reductions in organized crime, persons crime and property crime. We have prioritized crime prevention, proactive downtown enforcements and increased police response for non-emergency calls.
“Together we have positioned Red Deer as a destination for economic diversification and tourism by securing major sporting events like the Canada Winter Games.”
Going forward, Veer said she has some top priorities she would like to tackle if she is re-elected.
“Personally I think there are a couple of key initiatives our citizens have consistently identified – that safety, transportation and core municipal services are their priority.
“Certainly the lead up to the 2018 budget, those will be the core areas that we would need to address.
“On the advocacy front, the top priorities are the Red Deer Regional Hospital capital expansion as well as Polytechnic University status for Red Deer College,” she said. “It would be working with the new council and developing our strategic plan – that would be the first order of business if Red Deer gives me a new mandate, we would hit the ground running.”
Meanwhile, Veer said she is looking forward to hitting the campaign trail.
“For the next 60 days, serving as mayor, one of my favourite things is being out in the community amongst the people that I serve and staying in close touch with Red Deerians and hearing their issues and concerns and what they think the positives of Red Deer are so we can build on those.
“In a campaign, it’s an elevated time, so the next 60 days will involve having those conversations with Red Deerians. I think there is an energy and excitement that comes with that,” she said.
“Throughout my time in public service, I have consistently listened intently to the will of the people. I have chosen you and what I have believed to represent your best interests in my daily decision making. Today and for the next 60 days in the lead up to October 16th, I am asking you to choose me through a renewed mandate so that we can continue to build citizen-minded, local government and build Red Deer’s potential together.”
