Making connections.
The youngest candidate in the mayoral race is confident he offers something his competitors cannot – a refreshing change of pace.
“As for what I offer, I would say it’s a fresh perspective on problem-solving that utilizes different ways of thinking that have been cultivated through my education and life experiences.”
Hardy said he has been met with more positive reception than negative. The 25-year-old said he will be “revving things up” as of today, when he takes a leave of absence from work.
The graduate in health sciences currently works at Canadian Tire in town and has his sights set on an eventual career in medicine.
Hardy isn’t taking the traditional approach of dotting the town’s green spaces, business lots and resident yards with signs. Instead, he is focusing on face-to-face engagement.
In an effort to elevate publicity, Hardy said morning commuters can count on seeing him at the corner of Centre Avenue and Highway 1A, twirling a Tom Hardy for Mayor sign – inspired by the Little Caesars sign twirlers.
Slowing down growth, better planning and public engagement are at the top of Hardy’s to-do list.
He wants to talk about some of what isn’t being brought up – a need for more mental health clinics and for the town to reduce the red tape to pave the way for such facilities that could alleviate mounting pressures on the Urgent Care Centre.
He thinks the town can also hack through red tape and take a big step forward in favour of green by opening up the town bylaw prohibiting clotheslines, as “green doesn’t have to be expensive.”
Hardy also thinks the town should open the Cochrane Sustainability Plan for a revision or rewrite.
Keeping the Lions Rodeo grounds is something Hardy believes will keep Cochrane’s western flavour alive and set the foothills community apart from the rest, but said the town will have to work with the service club to help them identify the need.
“There’s even an internal shift where some (club members) want to move it and others don’t.”
