Cochrane’s first official mayoral candidate has been announced.
Local business owner and consultant David Smith is stepping up to the plate in hopes of creating positive change in Cochrane.
A few local business owners planted the idea of his candidacy in his head. After deliberation and some discussion with residents, Smith said he was ready to take the plunge.
“I decided it was time for some qualified leadership in this town,” he said.
“It’s time for a change in focus — for the mayor and town council to become more business friendly and focus more on the community…. There has already been a lot of visioning done for Cochrane. I think it’s now time to begin actually managing the town effectively.”
Smith has been a part of the Cochrane area community for 18 years. He and his wife, Pat, run a home-based consulting business Creative Links, and have two teenage boys. He volunteers at a number of organizations, manages his sons’ hockey teams and is a former volunteer firefighter with the Ghost River Fire Hall.
In addition, Smith is no stranger to politics, volunteering as campaign manager for Wildrose MLA candidate Tom Copithorne during the last provincial election.
And he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, with his business experience helping to form the base of one of his platforms: improving town council accountability and fiscal responsibility of the Town of Cochrane.
Driving this leg of his platform is the hot button topic of transit.
Although he described himself as transit friendly, Smith said he is opposed to transit at this time.
“I don’t think there is a good business plan and the timing is poor,” he explained, adding that he’s taken it upon himself to do some fact gathering on the issue.
With council talking about increasing taxes by 6.87 per cent and with only a one per cent ridership rate, Smith said the majority of taxpayers would end up paying for a small minority of users.
“That’s not very business smart, they need a better plan,” he said. “I would put a hold on the transit system, make a better business plan for the town that people understand and support.
“There needs to be clear facts so the people of Cochrane can make clear decisions.”
Another key concept of Smith’s campaign is the idea of proactive communication and engaging people in discussions involving the changes Cochrane is undergoing.
“It’s about managing change proactively, rather than reactively,” he said.
Smith said he’d like to build on to the current Town of Cochrane’s 50-year and 10-year plans. He said there have been a lot of good ideas and work being discussed that need to be effectively implemented.
Smith will be set up at the 2013 Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce Trade Show May 10-11 to meet residents, gather feedback and roll out more of his platform.
Smith’s website, smith4mayor.ca, should be up and running as of April 17.
To contact Smith, email [email protected].
