(supplied/Friends of the Red Deer Public Library)

By Jordan Davidson (Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow)

5 mayoral candidates attended

Crime, homelessness, and drug use: RD mayoral candidates face-off in election forum

Sep 28, 2021 | 9:58 AM

Homelessness, crime, addiction, mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic were among the major topics discussed during an online mayoral candidates municipal election forum hosted by Friends of the Red Deer Public Library Monday night.

There are currently six people running for mayor of Red Deer, with five candidates speaking at the digital forum through the organization’s Facebook page.

James Allen, Bradley Magee, Jeremy Moore, and current city councillors Buck Buchanan and Ken Johnston were all in attendance. Dwight Hickey, who is also running for mayor, was unable to make it to the forum.

Questions were submitted beforehand and read by the event’s moderator, executive director of the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery, Lorna Johnson. Viewers also submitted questions during the event by commenting on the live video.

James Allen was first to speak, saying his focus is on keeping businesses in Red Deer, noting a number who have vacated the downtown and moved to Gasoline Alley.

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Allen says he will create a friendly environment for entrepreneurs, restore the respect between the City and businesses, especially in the downtown, and find a balance between economic prosperity and the environment.

“I think while we grow in the future we should be maintaining that environmental synergy. I think it’s a huge attraction and it also has a lot of long term growth impacts. As long as we maintain the trails that we have and the environment that we have alongside the businesses that we’ll start to develop and the residential parts we are going to develop, I think it will be an amazing opportunity for Red Deer to maintain that synergy.”

City Councillor Buck Buchanan was next up, citing his experience on council and his prior job experience in law enforcement as big reasons why he’s qualified to be mayor.

As a former member of the RCMP for 29 years, crime, safety and community engagement are big priorities for Buchanan. When asked about how he would improve resident participation in municipal decision making, Buchanan says people need to want to become engaged.

“Recently we had a city councillor who would say, “People choose to engage on their terms, they don’t choose to engage on our terms.” I think that somehow we have to get people to be interested and be concerned and want to take part. We certainly hear when things are not the way we should be. It’s an awareness piece, so that people understand exactly what we’re doing, when we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it.”

Fellow councillor Ken Johnston had the floor next. Johnston spoke about the numerous boards he’s been a part of, including the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, the Westerner, and S.T.A.R.S.

He spoke about how crime prevention can’t simply be solved by throwing money at it, which is also why forming our own local police force wouldn’t be a good idea, according to Johnston.

“Our direct cost for policing in 2021 in the budget is $40 million, which is about a third of our tax revenue. I’ve been vigorous over the years saying we can’t spend our way to a safe community. When we completed our police revenue in 2019, those costs would actually be 17 per cent higher if we had our own local force.”

Bradley Magee had his turn next, and spoke about wanting to get “a fresh outlook, and fresh blood” into city hall.

Magee, who’s worked in oil and gas for 18 years, says Red Deer doesn’t need its own police force; suggesting the current RCMP detachment just needs better training methods.

“Some of our constables that are brand new to the force are being trained by other police officers who have only been on the force for a year. After a year on the job, how much do you really know about your job? Those are things that we as city council can change where the person training that first year constable coming has been with the force for five years or reached a certain level.”

Jeremy Moore was introduced last. The businessman and entrepreneur owns several local businesses in the areas of property management and maintenance, excavation and gravel, and an electrical business as well.

When asked about what he thought was the most important issue facing the community, Moore said homelessness and drug use is the main topic he keeps hearing about from citizens.

“Its community wide, it’s from one end of the city to the other. The drug use, the needles people are coming across. It’s unacceptable and it’s unsafe for the general public, and you can’t tell me that it’s safe for the users themselves to be conducting themselves in this way.”

He also said those two factors are directly related to the amount of businesses leaving the downtown and setting up shop elsewhere.

More information on each mayoral candidate, as well as information on every person running for city councillor, and Public and Catholic school trustee, can be found here at elections.reddeer.ca.

To view the online election forum in its entirety, visit the Friends of the Red Deer Public Library Facebook page.

There will also be another municipal election forum on Oct. 4 at Red Deer Polytechnic at the Mainstage Arts Centre. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

The municipal election is Oct.18.