Bearspaw’s Eric Lowther is the new Rocky View County Div. 8 (Bearspaw) councillor.
Following a Nov. 16 byelection to fill the late Al Sacuta’s seat, Lowther came out victorious. Running against Valerie Murdoff and Samanntha Wright, he won the byelection with 483 votes.
Wright was a close second at 462 with Murdoff third at 134.
Results are official Nov. 20 with Lowther scheduled to be sworn in Nov. 24.
After initially running for the seat in 2013 and being defeated by Sacuta, he went on to sit on the board of directors for Crest Leadership Institute of Canada, Equip International and Calgary Nose Hill Federal Conservative Association.
Lowther, who was initially hesitant to run, decided “it was the right thing to do” and that he was at a “good place in life” to take on the challenge.
He centered his campaign around protecting the people of Rocky View County and their property as the province gets ready to implement the Calgary Regional Growth Management Board, which may require mandatory participation from the county in planning transportation, land use, and water services..
“Home is a big part of your net worth,” said Lowther who is adamant in representing the views of Rocky View when dealing with the board.
According to his website, he is also concerned with a number of local issues such as a developing a “clear repayment plan” in circumstances “when Rocky View takes on debt,” providing options for seniors “to stay in the community,” and protecting residents during “planning processes that affect their homes.”
Lowther, who felt “elated and grateful to the community” when he heard the election results, would like to extend a thank you to his supporters and team, whom he credits the win to.
“[The night of the election] when I looked around the room I thought ,‘this is community’,” said Lowther.
“If I took anyone out of [that] room, we wouldn’t have won.”
Soon he plans to start running open office hours two days a week (one during the week and one on the weekend) at the Bearspaw Historical Society’s Horse Barn for people in the county to bring forward their concerns.
The county’s next general election happens in October 2017.
