The countdown is on.
Estevan's residents will be voting for a new mayor and six council members in six days time. Since the call for nominations were announced back in September 25, residents have been chiming in with their opinions as to what the next City Council should focus on after the election. Outside of candidates canvassing various homes and businesses, voters have had two chances to hear from all 13 candidates as to what they're running for.
At last night's All Candidates Forum hosted by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, we asked a handful of voters a simple question: Regardless of who wins in each race, what would you like the next City Council to focus on?
Here are the responses that we received.
Matt - Communication
"I would hope that the next Council moving forward prioritizes communication. A number of the candidates, both for mayor and council, have said communication is one of their priorities and I think that works both ways - both with outgoing communication from the city to provide residents with information on what's happening and what to expect. Also, I'm hoping that they'll be receptive of communication from residents and that collaboratively, we can all work together to move the city forward."
Sheri - Accountability and Responsibility
"I would like the new council to focus on holding all staff accountable. I would like them to focus on making our city beautiful without spending more money than they need to, obviously. And just working together to make things work nice and keeping it all safe along the way."
We want to hear from you - the voters! What would you like the next city council to focus on - regardless of who gets elected? Let us know by emailing news@discoverestevan.com with the subject line "Voter's Priorities" or use the 'Submit News' form to tell us what your opinions are.
We also caught up with Gabrielle, a future voter, who asked the candidates whether a new rink or a fieldhouse would be a priority for the incoming Council. "I thought it was important to ask the question because kids are the future. We are going to grow up and be the future. So I thought it was important to, like, have more facilities...for the future, for myself when I grow older and for my kids when I grow older." She added that she's become interested in local politics after coming out to the forum.
Kevin - Onboarding the new councillors, being open to new ideas, and transparency
"I want to want them to focus on being open to the process with new counselors. They don't really have the knowledge or the understanding of just how municipal governance operates."
He noted that he was disappointed with the councillors that answered Gabrielle's question with a simple 'no' without being open to the ideas she had. "I wanted to hear that they are open to partnerships, not only in the City of Estevan and the people of Estevan and the businesses of Estevan, but we also have RM's and other surrounding communities that use the facilities within our city -- and I didn't hear a lot of openness or forethought for that. The answer was simply no. So, I want the openness just to be willing to come in and be open to other thoughts and processes."
"Transparency is important, but it's so important that we come in with a clear mind and being open to the whole process instead of predetermining what it's going to look like when they get there," he expressed.
Steve - Fiscal responsibility, growing Estevan's economy, and generating interest for the city
"Right off the hop, I'd like them to focus on making a sound financial decision on the budget because I know that's coming up right away. They need to fully concentrate on that. After that, take a look at the four years that they're going to be in term and see how they can grow the economy and generate interest in the city of Estevan and make sure some of those future projects that are slated to come here ensure that they do come here.
You can watch the All Candidates Forum in full here.
Voters will have their say next week, as Estevan's civic election is slated for November 13.
We want to hear from you - the voters! What would you like the next city council to focus on - regardless of who gets elected? Let us know by emailing news@discoverestevan.com with the subject line "Voter's Priorities" or use the 'Submit News' form to tell us what your opinions are.