The third candidate to enter the race for Rocky View County Div. 9 is connecting with constituents and advocating for change.
The third candidate to enter the race for Rocky View County Div. 9 is connecting with constituents and advocating for change.
Crystal Kissel, armed with a background in agriculture and small business and the slogan “The Right Choice For Your Voice, ” is concerned about sustainable development, accountability to residents and environmental responsibility.
“I feel we need a council who is going to listen to us … more than being the voice, I want to listen to people, ” said Kissel, a married mother of three grown children and grandmother of three.
She will not accept campaign donations from developers or any groups with a vested interest.
Kissel is taking a stand on matters she feels are at the core of her constituency - advocating for sustainable development; a pledge to fiscal responsibility and transparency; and to reinstate the residents first approach she said government has lost sight of.
Living north of Cochrane on an acreage for nearly 20 years, the horsewoman began to explore county policies and attend appeal hearings after active involvement in the community since her 1997 move from Bonnyville.
Her research has led her to believe that there is a growing disconnect between the county and its electorate.
She would like to see follow-through with the aggregate resource policy to guide gravel extraction throughout the county - a contentious issue brought to light at county council this week, with the Municipal Site Development Plans for three additional gravel pits in the division moved forward Sept. 26.
“Once again, the county has chosen to ignore the residents of the county with approving three more gravel pits on Big Hill Springs Road. This is very disheartening for the affected residents. ”
“We need to stop devaluing other people's lands to the benefit of business, ” she said, citing that the gravel truck accident along Big Hill Springs Road last week that killed one man in a pickup truck is a harsh example that those roads are already too congested to take on additional commercial traffic.
She is also an advocate for a need for a voters' list and to keep the Cochrane and District Ag Society where it is - pointing out that a title search revealed the county was gifted that land from the Crown through the Minister of Environmental Protection in 1999 for zero cost to the taxpayers and she maintains that it was never meant for the county to turn a profit on the land.
Fiscal management is top of mind for the first time councillor, who is concerned that the high rate being paid by taxpayers for limited services is out of line and not being balanced when council is making decisions like moving ahead with the $42-million new municipal building during an economic downturn.
Kissel will hold a barbecue meet and greet at Weedon Hall Oct. 5 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Learn more at crystalkissel.com.
