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The race is on

Airdrie mayoral candidate Ross Mann wants to make Airdrie a great place to live, work and play. “This is where I grew up, I was born and raised here and it is a great place to live,” said 27-year-old Ross Mann.
Ross Mann will give Airdronians a choice in the upcoming municipal election when he runs against Mayor Linda Bruce.
Ross Mann will give Airdronians a choice in the upcoming municipal election when he runs against Mayor Linda Bruce.

Airdrie mayoral candidate Ross Mann wants to make Airdrie a great place to live, work and play.

“This is where I grew up, I was born and raised here and it is a great place to live,” said 27-year-old Ross Mann.

“I think it can also be a great place to work and play.”

Mann doesn’t think the City has done a good job of attracting big business to create jobs locally.

“I can bring the entrepreneurial spirit back to City hall,” he said. “I will bring new ideas and new energy to the City. We need to be more business-friendly. I find many of the local businesses are upset with all the regulations and red tape. We need to concentrate on attracting big business, bigger than you normally see in Airdrie, such as IBM and tax firms.”

Mann is an IT consultant at a software company in Calgary and he lives in Airdrie with his wife Katy, a middle school teacher.

“I, like many other young people, want to raise a family here but we are losing the Airdrie advantage,” said Mann.

“Airdrie residents want quality of life and access to amenities. The Airdrie advantage was all about affordability and years of tax increases and poor management are threatening this advantage. I want to help restore the Airdrie advantage, so that Airdrie continues to be the first choice for families.”

Mann said he became interested in politics at an early age.

“My mom gave me the political bug,” he said.

“She was involved in Ted Morton’s campaign. Then recently, I’ve been speaking with Danielle Smith (leader of the Wildrose Alliance) and I think she is an honest politician with a lot of great ideas, but I realized municipal politics is where people can make a difference and that’s where I want to be.”

Mann said one of Airdrie’s most important issues to address is taxes.

“The City is taxing when we need more money and that is not the way to run the City,” he said.

“We need to be more creative through improved planning and better management of our hard-earned tax dollars.”

Mann said he has found plenty of ways to be more efficient in managing City money.

Mann is also against the City interfering with private business.

“The City needs to get out of private businesses such as transit,” he said.

“We need to make the City less involved in the day-to-day operation of people’s’ lives.”

Although people suggested he run for alderman before jumping into the mayoral race, Mann feels this is where he can make the biggest difference.

“I wanted to give Airdrie residents a choice this time around,” he said.

“Residents of Airdrie want change. Airdrie is a young city and it wants choice. We have been knocking on doors and most people we are talking to are very happy that someone else is running. I want people to know I will protect their property values and their ways of life.”

Mann said he is also concerned about the City’s plans to annex 11,000 acres of land.

“We will hit Calgary’s border soon enough,” he said.

“The chance that we will soon be amalgamated with Calgary is very real. I think that needs to stop. We don’t need to continually expand our borders. We will destroy the Airdrie advantage if we become one big mega city.”

For more information on Mann, visit www.mannformayor.ca


Airdrie Today Staff

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