Springbank resident Kim McKylor will be throwing her name in the ring, running against Div. 2 Coun. Jerry Arshinoff in the Rocky View County election this fall, who will be seeking re-election for a second term.
A self-described “big picture thinker with a long-term view” McKylor has spent upwards of two decades living in Springbank and will advocate for some aging-in-place solutions and sustainable development that could help shape the community’s identity.
“It’s about bringing services to the community so people aren’t always on the highway,” said McKylor, who with her husband, Brian, raised their one daughter, Emily, who graduated from Springbank High and is attending her fourth year of post-secondary.
McKylor has 25 years in IT and customer service management in the oil and gas sector. Following a layoff two years ago, she recently took on a position as manager of the Discovery Centre for Harmony – the newest neighbourhood with residential/commercial in the Springbank community.
On balance, she thinks the Harmony development is a plus for the community – as would Bingham Crossing be – which has all approvals in place and is yet to move forward with development.
She would also like to see the community with a population of around 3,000 - according to the 2016 census – develop more of a community core without taking away from the “country-residential” feel.
Areas of interest for McKylor include developer accountability, seniors housing, recreation and community engagement.
She said if her campaign is successful she would focus on the team element of being a councillor and being open to change – rather than “starting every sentence with the word no.”
Arshinoff is looking forward to kicking off his campaign run, vying for a second term as area councillor.
No stranger to being the voice of opposition on the nine-member county council, Arshinoff feels he has achieved reasonable success with resolution to many of the flood mitigation issues in Springbank and would like to see through the Springbank ASP revisions.
He is hopeful with respect to the Springbank ASP that “the will of the majority be adhered to” and that Springbank remain primarily country-residential.
He will continue to advocate for changes to county policies and procedures – including the implementation of a Voter’s List; ongoing debt issues; fiscal responsibility; and the transportation offsite levy collection – which Arshinoff said is out of balance with its current ratio of charging per acre rather than residence, creating un unsustainable model where the resulting traffic will exceed the levies collected.
Much like his first run, Arshinoff will not accept any campaign contributions and will run a completely self-funded campaign.
Campaign websites will be operational in the coming weeks.
