Former Rocky View County councillor Norman Kent is back in the running after eight years out of chambers.
A familiar face in County politics having represented Bearspaw from 1998 to 2004, Kent, now a resident on an acreage west of Cochrane Lake, is seeking election for Division 9 in the October election. He served as Deputy Reeve in 2002 and 2003, and although he ran in the 2010 election, he came second in a four-way race to incumbent Deputy Reeve Paul McLean.
“I am totally dissatisfied with council representation. It is the most dysfunctional council I’ve seen since 1998,” he said, adding he thinks the political climate at the time was similar to how it is now because of a large portion of residents’ dissatisfaction.
“They (council) just don’t get it. They are making dumb decisions on a regular basis,” he added.
Although semi-retired, Kent has worked as a development consultant with small landowners across the County for 10 years, was a farmer for more than 20 years and owned several small businesses such as a sporting store and manufacturing business. He said he thinks the skill-set he has developed over the years will serve him well in council proceedings.
“Because I have the farming and the business background, I can see things from both sides. I straddle a bunch of different demographics and lifestyles, which means I look at things from different perspectives and with balance.”
He said it is time for the County to change because the status quo is not working anymore and believes that change can be effected with new representation.
“I think we’re going to see a huge turnover like we did in 1998,” he said about seven of the nine councillors being replaced in the 1998 election, adding the current council is “so unpredictable.”
He says a common complaint he hears is that proposals by “everyday residents” for applications to subdivide their land or receive a permit to build a garage on their property, for example, takes too long to come before council. He would like to encourage small-scale and intermediate-sized projects and developments.
“Councillors need to remember that they were elected by their division but need to have a County-wide vision,” he said.
He would also like to see an improved work-ethic among councillors.
“(We) need to remember that the taxpayers are our bosses, they pay our wages, we’re here to serve them.”
Kent said the next term needs to see more fiscal responsibility and a commitment to paying down the County’s debt, which sits around $66 million.
“This is a great place to live. We have great view, nice clean air and for the most part, a very affluent environment. We need to protect that,” he said, adding that as a re-elected councillor, he would bring back “instant-expertise.”
