There will not be any suspense at this yearís municipal election when it comes to who will fill the mayorís seat for the next four years, as Mayor Peter Brown was acclaimed on Sept. 23.
ìItís kind of surreal and Iím not really sure how to feel about it right now,î said Brown. ìI was expecting to run a campaign but Iím still going to work just as hard as ever for this city.î
This will be Brownís second term as mayor of Airdrie, after serving a three-year term following his 2010 election victory over Linda Bruce. Bruce sat as Airdrieís mayor for six years after nine years as an alderman.
Brown admits that being acclaimed wasnít his ideal outcome, but he is thrilled with the support he has received.
ìI donít know whether democracy is being served this way and my preference would have been to be electedî said Brown. ìI hope that people feel confident in the job Iíve done these past three years and the job I will be doing going forward.î
In his three years as mayor, Brown and his council have seen the annexation of more than 12,000 acres of land from Rocky View County, the completion of phase three at Genesis Place and most recently, the approval of an anti-bullying provision to the Cityís Public Behaviour Bylaw.
Airdrieís population has grown from 39,000 in 2010 to nearly 50,000 at present, and as a result, the number of eligible voters is now approaching 32,000.
Though Brownís role for the upcoming term has been solidified, he says he will not be taking a back seat during the election process and will be keeping a close eye on the alderman race.
ìI have said to all candidates that my door is open if they have any questions,î said Brown. ìI will definitely be involved in any way I can and if I feel that the city is not being served through the election rhetoric or if any issues require clarification, I will step in.î
Brown will be present for the all-candidates forum to be held at Bert Church Theatre on Oct. 15, but this time as an observer.
ìI may have some questions for the candidates,î said Brown. ìThese are the people that I will be working with for the next four years.î
Deputy Mayor Allan Hunter is one of 15 candidates running for an alderman seat and one of four current aldermen running for re-election.
He was pleased to see Brown acclaimed and says itís good for the City in more ways than one.
ìThis tells the people that he (Brown) has been doing a good job and is the right person for the next four years,î said Hunter. ìWhat this does is it frees him up from campaigning to carry on with City business.î
With Brownís job secured, the aldermanic candidates now take the spotlight, but Hunter says heís not feeling any added pressure.
ìWhat this does now is people want to talk to me more in depth when Iím out there knocking on doors,î said Hunter. ìNow that they know that the mayorís position is settled, they want to really know what Iím going to be doing if Iím re-elected.î
