With retirement from an exceptional teaching career on the Horizon, Dave Rowe sought a new challenge to channel his community commitment, his positive outlook and a wealth of creativity. His reputation as a hard worker and empathetic leader rewarded him with a seat on Humboldt City Council following the Wednesday night vote count.
Rowe confesses that following the live feed hosted by the City of Humboldt during the vote count saw a neck and neck contest for many of the candidates. In fact, the final vote count had he and incumbent Roger Korte tied at 1001 votes.
“It was so close, and the vote tallies were so tight that I was definitely feeling some anxiety, but as they closed things down, I felt that here’s my moment, and I’m going to get a chance to bring my energy and vision to council, and I’m excited to get started serving.” Rowe commented.
Rowe is the consummate listener, and he put the quality to use during his campaign knocking, hearing about what was on residents' minds when it comes to city governance.
“I’d say the thing that came up the most was infrastructure, but also transparency. I am looking forward to some of the solutions – for example, perhaps having office hours where people can come in and speak with myself or other counsellors.”
Rowe said telephone availability and town halls could also increase the connection between council and community to keep people in the loop.
At the all-candidates forum, Humboldt’s potential for growth was a key topic, and that was echoed during the campaign. The positive was a potential for growth of the tax base, along with increased employment opportunities. It also means there will be a need to grow and manage the necessary infrastructure, Rowe said.
“I think the first thing is to thank all the hands who volunteered or were employed to have this democratic process take place. If it wasn’t for them, we don’t have what we had on Wednesday. I also want to thank the people who encouraged me to put my name forward, those who supported my candidacy, and those who voted for me. Also, a shout out to all the candidates who brought their hard work and energy to the campaign.”
Rowe approached his career, whether in the classroom, on the sporting field or in the community, with a cooperative team building approach. That’s also his take entering into council for the first time.
“I think one thing we’ll have to do as quickly as possible is to build a community of teams so that we’re kind of on the same page and working as hard as we can in one direction – not to pull each other apart, but to build bridges and make Humboldt a better place.”