Reggie Lang has been an Airdrie resident for 12 years and says he has decided to run for municipal office to be part of the energy and growth that’s occurring in Airdrie.
Lang works for WestJet Airlines as a key account manager in specialty sales and has been with the company for 15 years. He has been on the board of directors for: Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance and Meetings Mean Business Canada.
- Why are you running for office?
Airdrie is a great, affordable and family oriented community. Airdrie has seen tremendous growth in the 12 years we have lived here, I think we can all agree that we need more facilities and infrastructure to support this growth. I have the drive, knowledge and experience to work with others on a plan to gain the facilities and infrastructure and continue to move the city into the future. We can attract more medium and large businesses to help generate revenue for our city. We need a plan to enhance Airdrie’s downtown core. Let’s work to make it a place where people want to be. I will work to use available funding sources (ie: government grants) to build more facilities to attract festivals and sporting and cultural events, which drives economic growth.
- How will you help to make Airdrie a better place to live, work and play?
We are a community, I will listen and consult with Airdrie residents to understand what is important to them. For example, we had a local Grade 6 student, Diwan Deo, take action and gather a petition for a second skate park; that’s great. Let’s find out what else is important to this community. I want to bring these ideas forward and work with Airdrie Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce teams for future development.
- What is the most important issue in this election and how do you plan to address it?
A plan for economic growth and enrichment to enhance the lives of all Airdrie’s residents. A clear plan to continue to support and sustain our growth.
- How do you plan to be transparent and accountable to your constituents?
I will do my best to be available for open communication and be at as many local events as time permits. I am open to discuss any matters with residents through email, phone calls and personal meetings.
- Why should residents vote for you?
I want to give back to this great city that I raise my kids in. I’m hard working, I can bring experience, and new perspective from my 20-plus years of working in business. I have a passion, and a vision for how we can elevate Airdrie as a memorable city.
Your Questions
We asked our readers/followers on social media what they wanted to know from City of Airdrie candidates and came up with three questions.
The answers for each candidate will be listed here and posted to airdrielife‘s social media channels on Sept 22 (question 1), Sept 29 (question 2) and Oct 6 (question 3).
Editor’s Note: The answers below are completely unedited and appear here exactly as they were sent to airdrielife via email.
1. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action published 94 “calls to action” urging all levels of government — federal, provincial, territorial and aboriginal — to work together to change policies and programs in a concerted effort to repair the harm caused by residential schools and move forward with reconciliation. Which of the Calls to Action do you believe the City of Airdrie council should focus on?
Airdrie is located in Treaty 7 and the traditional territories of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina and Michif Piyii (Metis people’s). As a councillor, I would work with my colleagues in council to ensure we understand the rich history of the First Nations and Metis people that were here before Airdrie was created. We need to acknowledge the people that came before us and ensure that the citizens know the history of our First Nation’s people. We need to acknowledge their rich history, the injustices, and do our part to facilitate the reconciliation process. We need to discus, and understand, our role as a municipal government to help in the process of national reconciliation.
2. How would you work to improve arts and culture infrastructure and opportunities in the city if you were elected?
My platform is about developing and taking advantage of our cultural, art and sporting venues opportunities. We need to build new facilities to grow the opportunities within our community. A penny saved now could cost us a dollar in the future. What does that mean? Let’s ensure the facilities we are building now support future growth by being multi-use. We need to work with the user groups to determine what is needed for the future. We need to provide tools to the economic development and tourism team, to support new festivals, cultural and sporting events. These events drive economic growth to the community. Hosting national or provincial events, we can take advantage of grants from the federal and provincial governments to enhance our facilities, or and build new ones. The Alberta Winter Games provided over 4 million dollars in economic benefit to our community. We need to host more events like this as it brings a sense of pride, brings the community together, and supports local business. These new facilities can be sustainable, profitable business within our community. This will ensure that the facilities are self-sufficient and do not require subsidising from property taxes and provide access to our citizens.
3. What is your vision to help progress Airdrie’s economic growth over the next 10 years?
My vision for Airdrie is to have a land development corporation. Most cities have these entities, and they provide additional revenues to the city to support future growth. We are located next to large city and an international airport which makes us the perfect location. We need to be big, and bold to draw companies to the community so they can provide good paying jobs and support the community. We have missed on past opportunities because we have not had the resources to support companies to move to the city. The world is changing, and companies are looking at different models for their work force; Airdrie meets all of those needs by being a family friendly community with affordable housing. We can be more attractive for those companies by adding facilities and continuing to be an environmentally friendly community . The Economic Development and Tourism team needs tools to bring those companies to Airdrie. Economic development is a long play, but the seeds need to be planted and cultivated now. Companies and their employees want a balance in life and live in a great community, let’s be their new home.