Okotoks candidate wants a return of old-fashioned conservatism

Keeping money in the coffers and the pockets of taxpayers is a focus for one Okotoks council candidate.

Don Mably, a retired psychiatric registered nurse of nearly 40 years, entered the race for council with his eye on the budget and cost-saving opportunities.

He said there were ideological reasons for putting his name forward.

“I didn’t like what the councillors and mayor had done with respect to a few issues in the town,” said Mably.

One of those decisions was installing electric vehicle charging stations on Town property and outside the Okotoks Municipal Centre, where drivers can recharge their cars at no cost.

He said it’s not right to provide free electricity, which comes at the cost of taxpayers who are footing the Town bill.

“There’s a lot of struggling middle-class citizens in Okotoks trying to make ends meet, to pay their taxes and have food on the table, and their mortgages,” said Mably. “They are paying for people to charge their cars – people who can afford to buy Teslas.”

Though he admitted the Town is bound by Provincial laws that dictate electricity cannot be resold, he said there could be another way to get back the dollars spent at charging stations – charge for the parking spot instead.

“It’s a common-sense solution to the problem,” said Mably. “You can offset the electricity they’re getting, paid for by the taxpayers, to charge them for the parking space we’re providing for them, and that way you’re not charging them for the electricity.”

Mably said he also takes issue with Okotoks Transit, which he said should be run more efficiently if it is going to cost the Town more than $700,000 per year.

He said he hasn’t seen enough riders on board at any given time and it might be time to revisit the service.

“Watching our great Okotoks Transit go around empty quite often, it’s kind of disturbing to me a little bit,” said Mably.

Over the last month, he said the implementation of restrictions, including the Restriction Exemption Program at recreation facilities, has been cause for concern.

It’s not right to mandate any vaccine, he said, adding he’s fine with it being offered to those who want to take it.

Despite the challenges he sees in town, Mably said he’s enjoyed calling Okotoks home for more than 30 years and hopes to help maintain its beauty and fiscal strength as growth continues.

Some of the challenge will be around the water pipeline, which he says is necessary, though he questions the merits of the source and funding.

“I’m not so sure about the water source coming from the effluent of Calgary, and I think that’s something that needs to be considered,” said Mably.

He said contingency plans should be put in place on the money side using surpluses from the budget at year-end.

“I would like to see maybe a fund set up for water emergency planning, in case we do have a problem with water treatment or actually getting enough water to supply our citizens,” said Mably.

He said involvement with the Central Alberta Minor Hockey League Association board, as well as sitting on the UCP board, have given him a sense of problem-solving as a group to achieve positive outcomes.

It’s also been enlightening as far as planning and budget processes, he said, which could be valuable at the council table.

Mably said he wants to throw his two cents in because he comes from a different perspective.

“I just want to throw a little old-fashioned conservatism into the mix, instead of what I would call sort of left-of-centre ideologies that are pushing us toward bankruptcy,” he said. “I’d like to see some traditional conservatism in the council.”