Red Deerians jam-pack municipal election forum hosted by local firefighters

Among the mayoral candidates’ remarks:

Lawrence Lee (current councillor) said the next council, with him as mayor, “will find a new way forward.”
Cindy Jefferies (current councillor) called it a difficult situation, offering some perspective for those who haven’t been in the middle of the decision-making, and suggested this model has been used in other cities, though sometimes under other names. She said a council under her leadership would “take a look at it.”
Victor Doerksen (current councillor) offered a similar perspective, insisting the fire department’s management also prioritizes safety, despite outcry suggesting the opposite. He noted the city spends 21 per cent of its budget on RDES, and said the city and council are “not naive” to the deeper issues.
Gareth Scott said he would support a hypothetical notice of motion pitched by council candidate Calvin Goulet-Jones which would propose doing away with dynamic staffing.
John Gallagher was not in attendance.
Brad Readman, president of the Red Deer Firefighters Association, welcomes the crowd to that organization’s municipal election forum in Red Deer on Oct. 10, 2025.

Brad Readman, president of the Red Deer Firefighters Association, said what we heard was mostly positive, from the union’s perspective.

“I’m encouraged by candidates running who say they want to get rid of this [dynamic staffing] policy. I’m concerned though, I’ll be honest, that some of the incumbents were saying all options are on the table, and that they said there was a full discussion with all parties involved, because all parties weren’t involved,” he said.

“Is overtime an issue? 100 per cent, we don’t disagree. The fact we’re facing being short-staffed all the time, we need to change that.”

Several candidates pointed out the $3 million spent on overtime over the last handful of years.

Readman said candidates refusing to commit to shelving dynamic staffing showed a lack of accountability.

“I’m humbled by the support of the community, and of our members,” he added, asked about the large crowd.

“I didn’t think this would be this big of an election issue, but I’m proud of our membership and local for getting this to the forefront, because it is about community safety. I’m blown away by tonight.”

There are two more scheduled Red Deer election forums:

Oct. 14, 7-9 p.m., for mayor and city councillor candidates – Topic: Indigenous Voices
Oct. 15, 6-8 p.m., for city councillor candidates – Topic: Social Profit

Advance voting runs Oct. 14-18. Details here. Voting day is Oct. 20.

Find all of rdnewsNOW’s election coverage here.

Listen to this recent episode of The Everything Red Deer Podcast featuring all five candidates running to be Red Deer mayor.

by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Red Deerians jam-pack municipal election forum hosted by local firefighters

What's Trending