Volunteer recognition and social infrastructure are at the forefront of incumbent Coun. Ross Watson’s campaign platform.
Volunteer recognition and social infrastructure are at the forefront of incumbent Coun. Ross Watson’s campaign platform.
The 30-plus year Cochrane resident is seeking re-election for his sixth non-consecutive term on council and is going to address such social infrastructure issues as transit and connectivity, moving forward a community/cultural hub, better addressing sports/recreational needs and 24-hour urgent care services.
“I can only encourage the residents of Cochrane to get to know their candidates, rather than simply their campaigns, ” said Watson, who raised his two kids and welcomed two granddaughters with wife, Dolina, in a town he has been passionate about since 1986.
Watson credits the active service groups and volunteerism as the backbone of what makes the town tick. If elected, he will look to officially recognize those who have given their time.
“A lot of candidates have been talking about connectivity and engagement … I say look no further than the service groups, ” said Watson, who would like to establish a formal way to recognize such groups - such as the Cochrane Historical and Archival Preservation Society (CHAPS), Cochrane’s “only organization in town dedicated to the history of the town. ”
He also cited Cochrane Minor Soccer’s desire for a covered stadium as another example of a busy volunteer-based sports club in need of some extra assistance from the town.
Twenty-four-hour urgent care services are a crucial part of Watson’s campaign.
“I have always been offended that Canmore and Banff were given hospitals and Cochrane wasn’t, ” said Watson, who would also like to push for extended health care services - including ultrasound and dialysis options.
He said Cochrane’s significant growth has the benefit of drawing services and consumer options to town - furthering the town’s self-sustainability and warding off the bedroom community consequences. It has also kept Cochrane independent and says building on the south side of the river ensures the town controls its growth - rather than being faced with inevitable encroachment from bordering Rocky View County. He would also like to see through the Bow River south bridge project, slated to open in 2020.
An advocate for a “culture of accessibility, ” Watson is supportive of implementing a local transit system to safely transport people of all abilities and age groups from outlying communities into the downtown core.
He also praised the town’s volunteer groups for building fully-accessible playgrounds in recent years.
Watson has long advocated for the need for the town to designate a site for a future community/cultural hub - and nods to the location of the former Big Hill Leisure Pool as a suitable site suitable especially considering town already owns the land.
The veteran councillor is proud of town council’s past record and its ability to compromise in order to achieve balance - citing the west end dog park decision in consultation with off-leash advocates as an example.
“We have five dog parks on the books … for the people who want them now, I know that doesn’t say much but it’s certainly a shift from where we were with respect to the formation of OLAG and the town recognizing the need for more off leash spaces in town).
Watson holds an honorary doctorate degree of laws, awarded by the University of Lethbridge for community activism, body of work and achievements.
He was a member of a review panel that recommended changes to Alberta’s Human Rights Act and has been awarded multiple times, including the Canadian Golden Jubilee Medal and the Alberta Centennial Medal.
He is an outdoor enthusiast and avid mountain climber who in 1990 earned the title as the first blind individual to climb North America’s highest mountain, Alaska’s Mount McKinley.
Watson recently retired from Alberta Parks from a career as manager of William Watson Lodge in the Kananaskis.
As before, he is running a self-funded campaign and will decline donations from interest groups or businesses. He has received the highest percentage of the popular vote in two out of five of his campaigns.
Learn more at rosswatson.net.
