Dan Cunin has submitted his papers to municipal election returning officer Jaylene Robertson today and is set to become the first registered candidate for town councillor.
Cunin is making his fourth run at winning a seat on council and has been the first to register each time.
Cunin, a 22-year resident of Cochrane, says he continues to file his papers early for good reason. He wants to engage with as many Cochranites as possible to hear their concerns and ideas and share his own before the Oct. 20 election.
"At the end of the day. It comes down to a lot of the same issues and the way of approaching problems seems to be repeating itself. As a result, the same problems keep coming up. My passion hasn't gotten any less. I feel as strongly as ever about being a voice for people and I've just heard too many good ideas that I don't hear represented at all in council," says Cunin.
"I haven't given up hope that I can hopefully get voted in and start being that voice for all those great conversations I've had with people."
In the 2021 election, Cunin finished in the middle of the pack, 10th out of a large slate of 19 candidates. In 2017, he finished seventh of out 15 candidates, a mere eight votes behind winning candidate Alex Reed. He was ninth out of 13 in his first run.
In between each election, he has stayed in tune with town issues and participates in several politically-oriented Facebook groups.
Small businesses and the economy are combined as one of his major planks.
"I've grouped those together because at the end of the day, there is a reason why we're struggling with taxes as much as we are and that's just an unequal tax base. I believe one of the primary solutions is to do more for small businesses, get them up and running, and help make them more resilient. That's going to be the way that we hold the line on taxes."
Transparency and the need for face-to-face discussions with residents and fewer in-camera sessions remain a key part of his campaign.
"One of the key reasons why I feel stronger than ever that I need to run is that we need to get back to the good fundamentals of governance, transparency, and outreach," says Cunin.
"We can't run away from tough conversations or suddenly go to in-camera sessions whenever conversations get a little tough."
He says councillors need to come to residents and not the other way around and that there's more to public consultation than surveys.
"I hear people clamoring for information and they're not getting answers from council members or the mayor or administration. All we're getting is some very flashy sort of public presentations."
He has a long list of topics grouped together that largely speak to what he believes has been the failings of the current council that has been in office since 2017.
Cunin says more needs to be done for our seniors, the environment, sustainable growth, and especially public safety.
"We need to make progress on 24/7 emergency healthcare, emergency response coverage, and public safety. We can't wait until more people get hurt for Cochrane to take action."
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Cunin had planned to register earlier but was held up when he discovered he needed a criminal check to accompany his nomination papers. He says it takes about a month to complete, something other residents need to keep in mind if they are planning to run for office.
The only officially registered candidate by the end of today's town business hours was Mayor Jeff Genung, who is seeking his third term. He won by acclamation in 2021.