CANMORE – There are officially two contenders running to become the next mayor of Canmore in the upcoming fall municipal election.
Last Thursday (Jan. 7), Councillor Vi Sandford announced her candidacy on social media, saying it was time for her "to take the big leap" after eight-and-a-half years on council and five years serving as an elected public school board trustee before that.
"I have lived in Canmore for almost 40 years and I have strong connections," Sandford said, adding she has engaged in a broad range of volunteer work as well.
"I feel those diverse experiences over the years have given me an idea of how remarkable this town is and how diverse it is.
"I know about the roles and responsibilities of town council and I believe that understanding and knowledge can be applied to the mayor's office as well."
On Tuesday (Jan. 12), former town councillor Sean Krausert also announced his candidacy for the mayor's office.
"I am deeply passionate about the well-being of Canmore and with Mayor John Borrowman stepping away from municipal governance after this term, somebody needs to step in and be the leader that Canmore needs," Krausert said.
"I have the education, the skill set and track record on council and in the community to be an effective leader on council."
Current Mayor John Borrowman confirmed that he will not run again for the mayor's office, having been first elected in 2004 as a town councillor.
"It is interesting that in many ways nothing has changed in the conversation since 2004 and in fact since the late 1990s," Borrowman said. "When I decided to run, I knew it would have some effects on my personal life, but it wasn't that dramatic.
"But when I decided to run for the mayor's seat in 2012 after Ron Casey resigned, I was aware it would have a much more significant impact on my personal life."
Borrowman said holding the office of mayor in a community with complex issues like Canmore's has led to disagreements about the difficult decisions council has had to make.
"There has been a lot of very difficult decisions council has had to make over the past decade and many of them elicit strong emotional feelings publicly," he said. "More than anything else, I find that aspect of sitting as the mayor challenging."
Borrowman pointed to a number of successes accomplished over his term in office, and challenges faced such as the 2013 flood and the current pandemic. Successes include adding affordable housing units to the portfolio of Canmore Community Housing; establishing regional and local transit; expanding the seniors housing available in the community; opening Elevation Place and artsPlace; the work done to renovate the Canmore Recreation Centre; and establishing steep creek mitigation for Cougar Creek.
There was also the adoption of a new Municipal Development Plan, a statutory planning document that had not been significantly updated since the late 1990s.
"In thinking back about the many successes we have seen, I would say we could not have accomplished them without a strong, dedicated town administration," he said. "I know there are some in the community who think there should be far more separation between council and administration, but I believe we work together as a team."
Now 70-years-old, Borrowman said he is looking forward to returning to work as a full-time potter and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
"I feel very positive about my contribution to the management and planning for our community that we have seen over the past three years," he said. "But I was clear and frank when speaking about this after the last election that this was going to be my last term."
Sandford said the biggest challenge facing the community into the future is the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have a lot of things to address in the future, but the major thing we are focusing on right now and will be focusing on for the foreseeable future is pandemic recovery," she said. "This has taken quite a toll on our community in just about every sector.
"We are focused on keeping this community safe and that is no small undertaking. It affects everything and it is a moving target.
"Businesses are struggling, residents are struggling and we need to come together and recover from this pandemic. We need to do it together and I think that is the power the mayor's office has to bring people together and address the problems our community is presented with."
Sandford said she also wants to continue working on the issues of climate change and affordable housing in the community.
"My goal is to balance the needs of the community, while still keeping this an exceptional place," she said. "That is a big undertaking, but I think I have the will to do it and I want to be that mayor. Your mayor with that sense of place."
Krausert pointed to affordability, environmental responsibility and economic diversification as areas where leadership is needed to build resilience in the community for the future.
"The challenges are not new," he said. "Canmore has one of the highest costs of living in the country and so affordability is always an issue. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, so environmental protections is an issue.
"And this town in the past has been reliant on a single industry and so we have to make sure there is a diverse economy to make sure we can weather whatever comes at us."
Krausert did not run in the last municipal election due to his family's circumstances. At the time he shared with the community that he had to focus on taking care of his family as a priority before he could run again.
"I have done that and now I wanted to come back with the support of Canmore's voters to become the next mayor," he said. "I want Canmore voters to know right from the start that they have a clear choice for municipal leadership in October."
Krausert is currently the executive director of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and sits on Canmore's assessment review board and the subdivision and development appeal board as chair for the last two years.
While the next municipal election is on Oct. 18, in the past candidates filed their nomination papers four weeks prior to election day. However, last year the UCP government changed the local authorities election act so the nomination period begins on Jan. 1 instead.
According to the Town of Canmore's website, no other candidates for mayor, or candidates for council have filed their nomination papers.
