Vivian Cox has announced her intentions to run for town council this week – a vision that began upon her arrival to Cochrane from Stony Plain in 2013.
“It’s time to give back … I’ve always had a passion for local government,” said the Royal LePage Integrity realtor.
Cox is confident her diverse background – which includes finance for municipal government, an executive director of an organization that helps persons with disabilities, and her varied experience in strategic operations, stakeholder management and leadership roles – will provide her with a well-rounded perspective and allow her to respectfully contribute to a decision-making team of seven.
She is also the former executive director of the Stony Plain and District Chamber of Commerce.
Infrastructure, namely roads, top Cox’s list of issues to take to task.
The intersection at highways 1A and 22 pose a “huge safety issue and a big concern” and Cox wants to make sure the province is not just paying lip service to this promised intersection upgrade scheduled to commence in 2019 – which, as she points out, neatly coincides with an election year.
She would also advocate heavily for the “long-overdue” twinning of Highway 1A, as it runs down Cochrane hill and west through town.
“Our infrastructure needs to improve first before we have more residential growth,” she said, stressing that commercial and industrial growth also need to catch up.
Cox said she would also look to bring the voices of business owners to the table, applauding Coun. Tara McFadden’s idea of fostering more citizen committees, to spur better collaboration between town administration, council and residents.
A member of the Cochrane Business Network, her company, Cox Promotions, has brought numerous guest speakers and facilitated presentations and networking opportunities for community small business owners. She was also the founder of the Cochrane Cash Mob – a pop-up event that promoted spending blitzes at town businesses.
“I do feel the town could benefit with more input from the business community for business initiatives … I think we could get more done (cohesively),” she said, giving a nod to the Historical Downtown Action Committee, but noting that a more unified approach to small business representation is also needed.
When she arrived in town four years, Cox said she was surprised Cochrane did not have a transit system, adding she is encouraged that GreenTRIP funding has been expanded and will help with capital infrastructure start-up costs to get buses operational.
She commended the work of Cochrane Family and Community Support Services for taking the lead of social service sector issues in the community. She wants to ensure seniors do not feel like they are getting “left behind” with the town’s phenomenal growth.
Cox hails from Slave Lake and has spent most of her life living in Northern Alberta communities. Her husband works in the oil and gas sector and they have two children who attend St. Timothy High School.
She can be reached at 587-225-7653 and will have a Facebook page up and running in the next few days.
She has extended a community invite to a meet and greet event from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 13 and will participate in the Cochrane Eagle/Lions Club all-candidates forum at the Cochrane Lions Event Centre (former curling club) on Sept. 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
