Trevor Cameron has lived in Airdrie for 14 years and ran for council in 2010. The technical sales specialist says he is trying again because he wants to make the city a better place for his family and local residents.
Q&A Portion:
- Why are you running for office?
I have been involved in charities giving back to the city, but my funds only allow me to do so much. By being part of City council, I feel I can do so much more. I also want to use my ability to connect with others to strengthen the connection between council and citizen.
- How will you help to make Airdrie a better place to live, work and play?
I will champion small businesses in this city to allow more of our citizens to work and shop where they live. This is especially important as we come out of this pandemic that caused so much turmoil and tragedy for our business community. Additionally, I want to focus on activities for our youths and teens. I see the lack of outlets for these age groups having a direct effect on the crime rates in our city.
- What is the most important issue in this election and how do you plan to address it?
Mental health, particularly amongst our young population. This pandemic has exposed how desperately we need more support in this area for not only those already vulnerable, but it has taken a toll on those who previously hadn’t suffered. While our provincial government wants to cut back on mental health support, I want to ensure we increase funding locally through programs already available via Community Links as well as finding new ways to ensure nobody goes without support when they need it most.
- How do you plan to be transparent and accountable to your constituents?
I feel we need more connection between council and the citizens. Right now, it seems there is more of a “pull” when it comes to critical information about how the city is run rather than a “push.” We need our council out in public talking with the residents to the point that you can’t attend a public event without seeing our council represented and available for questions.
- Why should residents vote for you?
I hope residents will see me as someone who honestly wants to represent them as one of them. I am not a career politician looking to use this as a step towards something “bigger” or someone who sees this as a part-time job to earn some extra money. I want to do this because I think my strengths and beliefs will benefit this city. I want to help us grow this city into the best version of itself and I think my life experience in the Armed Forces and civilian world including leading teams of people, project management, and conflict resolution will help me to do that.
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?
I am so glad to hear this is on your readers minds as it has weighed heavily on mine as well. I think the most important thing to recognize is that as of now only 14 actions have been completed. Considering they were published over 6 years ago, this is unacceptable and only recently has the spotlight of accountability been shone on them so directly. Secondly, we need to continue to shine that light on this issue. There are too many people out there who don’t want to talk about uncomfortable issues. However if we don’t look at the ugly in our history there isn’t the opportunity to learn, grow, and change…be better. This is a part of our history as Canadians no matter how shameful. It is beyond disappointing that Number 58 has yet to be addressed even though progress has been made to have the apology from the Pope closer to a reality. But for actions that I think we as a Council could have an effect on and one that I think is critical we need to focus on Number 1 ensuring the most vulnerable, the children, are protected. Keeping these children amongst their culture and people and safe is paramount. We also need to ensure that those entrusted with this, the social workers, are properly prepared and educated.
2. How would you work to improve arts and culture infrastructure and opportunities in the city if you were elected?
This is a huge challenge for our city. While we need to do more to support arts and culture we have also seen a lack of community involvement lead to the Airdrie Regional Arts Society shutting down and the annual event ARTember being cancelled. Obviously COVID played a part in this, but I think the first step is revamping resident’s interest in our art community and the many talented artists that live here. That education can come from the city itself through various social channels as well as our Council members championing these artists. I would also propose we expand our Street Art Gallery program throughout our city to allow our citizens to express themselves artistically.
3. What is your vision to help progress Airdrie’s economic growth over the next 10 years?
I think the key to our economic growth is empowering and supporting our business community. I see this progressing in several ways. We need to help cut through the red tape and reconnect businesses and the city. In talking with several business owners in our city one of the predominant issues they have brought up is how difficult it is to work with the city, how some rules and regulations make it prohibitively challenging to conduct business within our borders. The city should be there to work collaboratively with business owners, not be an obstacle. As a city we do have some programs to encourage our citizens to use local businesses, but I feel we need to do more in this avenue and expand it to surrounding communities. I want to work with local businesses to create an identity for Airdrie as a place to shop and play, strengthening our economy. This goes beyond just the act of commerce as many of our businesses are key supporters of our local charities so increasing our business presence will help those in need among our populace.