A veteran of the oil and gas industry has entered the election race in the Millarville area with an eye on maintaining the County's autonomy.
Dan MacDonald is seeking the Div. 3 seat at the County council table.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” said MacDonald.
He said the main issue that drove him to run is Foothills County’s fight against the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB).
It’s something he wants to sink his teeth into and help mobilize residents to stand up for their municipality and their land.
“This whole idea of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board creates really this erosion of property rights, and I’m very concerned about that,” said MacDonald. “From my perspective we’ve really got to work hard on that.”
There are some aspects of the CMRB that could be positive for the County, he said, such as regional infrastructure opportunities, but as it stands that comes at a cost. The veto vote held by Calgary is of notable concern, he said.
“This whole idea that the City will dictate how that region gets developed strips the rights away from property owners,” said MacDonald.
As a community volunteer, he said he’s been in touch with a lot of the events and issues happening in the County, particularly in Div. 3.
“Internet connectivity, crime, taxes, the whole Dark Sky Bylaw enforcement – that’s sort of an odd one, because we’ve got the bylaw but the enforcement of it is not really there,” said MacDonald.
It will also be important in the next term to resolve the regional water pipeline and ensure the Aldersyde and Highway 2A industrial areas can grow, he said.
Balance will be key moving forward, he said.
“That whole balance between the agricultural areas, the industry, residential areas, and they constantly need work to keep improving those concerns,” said MacDonald.
While attacking these issues from the political side is new to him, MacDonald said he has been involved in agriculture and oil and gas business for years and believes his corporate governance and competitive business sense can be applied to decision-making on council.
“You must act quickly and thoughtfully in most of your activities, and it’s really that ability to make decisions, I think, will help out the County,” said MacDonald. “It’s a complicated business, oil and gas. We face a lot of issues, so I’m not afraid of tackling issues and getting things accomplished.”
