After spending years listening to Irricana council make decisions, Valerie Squires decided it was time to try her hand at municipal politics.
Squires – a seven year resident of Irricana and mother of three – will be seeking votes in the Oct. 21 election.
According to Squires, the Towns lack of transparency and communication hold back progress.
“I’ve been watching council for some time and involved with the Town and watching how things have been done,” she said. “The approach needs to be changed a little bit, a bit of negative press…that could have been handled differently.”
Squires refers to the Town’s communication policy – initiated in September of 2012, which requires outsiders to speak with the CAO who acts as the town’s spokesperson rather than current councillors – as an area that needs to be revisited.
“There is a perception of a lack of transparency when we need to know what’s up with our Town,” she said.
“I’d like to see Facebook and Twitter still used, but we should use our own website as the primary catalyst for all information. Further, councillors should have the ability to speak to constituents about their viewpoints openly. The current communication policy constricts this.”
In addition to an increase in communication from the councillors to the residents, a more transparent budget is also on Squires platform.
“I would like to see a return to a detailed budget,” she explained. “With expanding the detail on the budget, council and residents are more aware of each cost, accuracy is vastly improved, and transparency is inevitable. It is our money and if an increase is truly necessary, council is better prepared to advise why.”
Squires is a vocal participant on Irriciana’s ratepayers website – a forum for residents to voice their concerns with issues pertaining to the town – and she feels that councillors should be allowed to participate in those discussions.
The credit and accounting manager said the business skills she’s learned over the years, will help her if elected to council.
As for why people should vote for her, Squires explained that “(she) has been attentive to council’s activity for a long time, and has the time for the commitment.”
