A Foothills council candidate wants to bring a voice to the residents of Div. 6.
John Callister is the second nominee in the race to represent Div. 6, which has been without direct representation since Coun. Larry Spilak died in November 2020.
He was encouraged to run by his friend and Div. 7 representative Coun. R.D McHugh.
“I thought about it and started looking into some of the things that were affecting the division and felt I needed to have a voice,” said Callister. “The people I know feel they haven’t had a voice since Larry’s passed.”
One of the biggest drivers that encouraged him to step up was the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB), which he said Foothills County needs to find a way out of as soon as possible.
Having read through the regional growth plan put forward by the CRMB and knowing how the voting structure works, he said it’s difficult to understand how it came to this point without more opposition.
“I’m wondering how the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board actually got as far as it has, because I don’t think it should have,” said Callister. “If anybody read through it completely, it’s clear it never should have gotten this far.
“It directly affects all the landowners in this division and I know a lot of people are opposed to it.”
He said his background in commercial construction management provides insight into how development works and would be an asset at the council table.
There are a few issues that are ongoing or upcoming he said he’d like to be involved with, such as the waterline to the Aldersyde industrial corridor, public works and infrastructure projects, and land-use bylaw amendments.
“A lot of this has been dealt with in the last year or two, a lot of changes have happened like change in use designations,” said Callister. “Most of it is pretty benign but there are big issues that come along.”
To prepare for the election, Callister said he has been keeping apprised of council meetings and agendas and following the movement of the Dunbow Recreation Board and Heritage Pointe community association meetings.
“I’m pretty much up-to-date on everything and have an opinion on each subject that each of those three groups are looking at,” he said.
Callister said he has a keen interest in representing Div. 6 because he has lived in the Davisburg area his entire life.
It has helped him get to know a lot of the residents in the area, and to be familiar with the wants and needs of people in the division, he said.
There is still a lot of ground to cover, and Callister said he intends to hit the campaign trail running.
“I plan to be going door-to-door and talking to people I don’t necessarily know yet, because there are a lot of people in this division,” he said.
