Red Deer mayor Ken Johnston taking his Oath of Office on Oct. 25, 2021. (City of Red Deer)

By Alessia Proietti

Oath Of Office

Red Deer city council sworn in

Oct 26, 2021 | 11:13 AM

Red Deer’s new Mayor Ken Johnston and city council were sworn in on Monday, with each member officially accepting the Oath of the Office during a ceremony held at the Cambridge Hotel.

“Today’s ceremony is a humbling experience that signals a new era for Red Deer city council,” says Mayor Ken Johnston. “I am confident that we, as a city council, are all committed to representing the views and perspectives of our many citizens as we continue to navigate the pandemic and set a path forward for our great city.”

That path, according to Johnston, begins in Red Deer’s downtown core.

“I can’t think of a single councillor that isn’t devoted to restoring downtown as a destination place, as a good place of business, as a place of celebration, as a centre, if you will, of our city, and I look forward to working with council that will certainly include the downtown as a focal point,” says Johnston.

“As it relates to the downtown shelter, it’s an issue we’re going to have to address certainly relative to the state of local emergency; that’s why it’s still operating. I expect administration will give us some guidelines on where they see that particular opening being at this point in time. It’s certainly at the top or near the top of the agenda,” adds Johnston.

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Also on that agenda is a phone call with Premier Jason Kenney this Friday to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think the province understands that a healthy city is a healthy Alberta; a healthy Red Deer is definitely a healthy Central Alberta,” says Johnston.

While acknowledging the challenges that remain with the ambulance dispatch centre change from August 2020, Johnston says there is foreseeable progress, however, for Red Deer’s hospital expansion. “There has been movement, as you know on the hospital issue. There is funding allocated for that, including the cardiac centre,” notes Johnston.

To tackle these issues, Johnston says his team will look ahead to Red Deer’s future.

“I’m going to invite council to look at 2025 and work backwards. For example, what does a successful Red Deer look like in 2025 from an economic perspective? And then work our way backwards to be able to say, ‘how do we start that process right out of the gate’ so that we’re continuously focused on four years and building towards that 2025,” says Johnston.

The eight city councillors sworn in include Michael Dawe, Cindy Jefferies, Dianne Wyntjes, Lawrence Lee, Bruce Buruma, Vesna Higham, Kraymer Barnstable, and Victor Doerksen.

“The public expects us to accomplish great things,” says Johnston. “Our mission is clearly one of service; it’s not one about ourselves.”

Council will begin their two-week long orientation process starting Tuesday, Oct. 26, with the first official council meeting of this term taking place on Monday, Nov. 15.