Two young children are a huge motivation in Kurtis Nicholson's candidacy for Swift Current City Council.
Nicholson moved here from Alberta in 2016 and has built a family in the city.
"This community has provided a lot for me," he said. "It's given me my wife and my family, and I'd like to give back a little bit.
"My wife is from here. All of her family's from here. Swift Current is such a family orientated place that it felt like the right place to be and the right place to raise our kids. I have two young kids recently just had my second one. That's another big reason why I'd like to run for council. To make sure that Swift Current continues to be this amazing family orientated place to raise a family."
Nicholson is a trained accountant who has also worked in a municipal government environment.
"Working at the city for a couple years, I got to be on the other side of a lot of these decisions," he said. "Always really wanted to be on the council side of the decisions and see what happens on that side. Be a part of those conversations and help make some real change in the community.
"I have a very good idea of kind of how the inner workings of the city go. Gives me a pretty unique perspective. Most councillors don't get the opportunity to work for the city before actually getting to be a councillor."
He also has experience working for the municipality in Cold Lake, Alberta.
"I have a background (as) a charter professional accountant," Nicholson noted. "So bringing that financial knowledge to the table as well. Just making sure that we're progressing and making sure that we're being responsible not only with debt, but with our taxes as well. Nothing ever gets cheaper. Everything always gets more expensive. So just making sure that we're managing our resources responsibly... and also continue to drive some new growth."
The potential recreational facility has been a consistent topic throughout the campaign. It's something Nicholson also wants to see happen.
"Really excited to be part of that," he said. "Looking into making sure that we're being responsible with our money, but also if there's opportunities for us to grow the city and take advantage of some unique opportunities to make sure that we are.
"Most communities of Swift Current's size for sure have some sort of facility like that. The fact that Swift Current doesn't have one is a little odd. Even my hometown of Bonneville, only about 7,000 people has a facility like that. So I think that's going to be a big challenge to get that completed. It's a huge project."
Nicholson is one of ten candidates for six spots at the Swift Current council table. The election is slated for November 13th.