Municipal Election

Nick PaladinoCouncil“Downtown Lethbridge is hurting! The opioid crisis has led to addiction, property crimes and homelessness. To make matters worse, the pandemic has resulted in businesses having to limit their hours of operation. The issue is complex with several pieces to the puzzle. We have already proved that harm reduction on its own, was a [...] Read More »

John Middleton-HopeCouncil“It is a multi-year plan and that is part of leadership. The next Council will have a chance to imprint the CIP and MDP with their footprint. If elected, I look forward to the opportunity to listen to citizens and forge a forward looking plan that is affordable and is a balance between addressing [...] Read More »

John Middleton-HopeCouncil“This is a challenge. I am not anti-arts. We spent $14.6 million on renovating the Yates, we are spending $5.6 million on SAAG and we have a new arts facility in CASA. The proposed new performing arts center is $138 million. We have big city problems to address that deal with real quality of [...] Read More »

John Middleton-Hope Council “I am not in favour of another supervised consumption site. This was done with limited consultation and communication and had a serious impact on the health and wellness of Lethbridge citizens and businesses. Services such as addiction counselling, health and wellness, housing, food and clothing to reduce addictions, crime and homelessness are [...] Read More »

John Middleton-HopeCouncil“Masking is about not only protecting you, but also about protecting others. It is not about taking away someone’s rights, I believe we have a moral responsibility to follow health guidelines to reduce risk to the most vulnerable. Washing our hands, wearing masks in public, getting vaccinated and producing vaccine verification are small concessions [...] Read More »

Al Beeber Lethbridge Herald abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com He came to attend university but has made Lethbridge his home and now Darcy Logan is running for city council. Logan, curator and gallery services manager at CASA, will be focusing on four key issues during his campaign. Being an individual who both works and lives downtown and one who has served [...] Read More »

Candidate Wally Schenk says his whole city council campaign comes down to one thing: he cares. He cares about people, he cares about the health of the business community, and he cares about all those suffering through addiction and the families of those who have lost loved ones due to overdoses. He cares about the [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com City council candidate Robin Walker says in order for the city to accomplish big things it has to start thinking small. Thinking small, in this context, is about thinking local, and about what we can do as a community to address the issues we have with the resources we’ve got without relying on [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Candidate Ryan Lepko promises “community driven” leadership if elected to city council. “I am community driven,” he states. “I truly care about this city in its entirety. We are such a diverse and unique city, and I want to restore things back to the old normal instead of this new normal that we [...] Read More »

City council candidate Shelby MacLeod is hoping to put her vast experience in governance and within the non-profit sector to good use as a representative of the people of Lethbridge. MacLeod is currently chair of the local Canadian Mental Health Association board, a long-time board member with the Lethbridge Food Bank, and a member of [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Four of the six Lethbridge mayoral candidates took part in a Lethbridge Youth Mayoral Forum hosted by the University of Lethbridge Students’ Union on Thursday night. The forum focused on common concerns in the community held by all residents, including students, in combination with specific questions related to the concerns of students and [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com City council candidates wrestled for over two hours with some of the fundamental questions facing Lethbridge’s downtown core at the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone virtual candidates’ debate on Tuesday evening.  What emerged was a composite of all the potential solutions to the downtown question, and a cross-section of all the different camps within [...] Read More »

Tim Kalinowski Lethbridge Herald tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Chief of Police Shahin Mehdizadeh is clarifying some misconceptions about last year’s budget cuts to the Lethbridge Police Service which have been circulating recently in the community. While concerning in their impact, particularly over the next few years, Mehdizadeh confirmed the $1-million cut to the police budget enacted by the [...] Read More »

The first two days of advance voting for the 2021 Municipal Election, held October 1-2 at City Hall, saw 1,255 Lethbridge residents cast their ballots. Returning Officer Bonnie Hilford says, for comparison, after two days of advance voting during the 2017 Municipal Election, 543 residents had voted. There are six more Advance Vote opportunities which will [...] Read More »

Tim Kalinowski – Lethbridge Herald For the second night in a row Lethbridge’s mayoral candidates convened to discuss the issues facing the city, and tried to convince voters they are the best person to vote for.  During Tuesday’s Downtown Business Revitalization Zone debate candidates discussed their visions to make Lethbridge a better, safer and more [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Mayoral candidate Keean Lehtinen says he would like to see a cleaner Lethbridge and a more people-centred city council if elected this fall. “I think a lot of the mayoral candidates we have right now are extremely qualified and competent people, but their platforms, I feel, don’t have enough of a human element [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com A major piece of the race to fill the Mayor’s seat moved onto the board as former two-term city councillor and BILD Lethbridge executive office Bridget Mearns announced she will be seeking the highest elected office in the city this fall. “Four years ago, I decided to leave city council after serving two [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Lethbridge’s latest mayoral candidate says it is time for Lethbridge to roll up its sleeves to get to work on the city’s pressing social problems, and to address all the problems stemming from economic inequality in the city. Mixed Martial Arts fighter Kolton “The Maniac” Menzak is a lifetime Lethbridge resident with blue [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Twice elected city councillor Blaine Hyggen became the first incumbent to confirm his candidacy for this coming fall election, but Hyggen has his sights set on a much larger role in the community this time around. Hyggen formally declared on Thursday what many anticipated all along: that he was running to become Mayor [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Longtime Lethbridge resident and local realtor Gary Klassen became the latest candidate to declare his intention to run for Mayor of the City of Lethbridge. Klassen said he has three main reasons for wanting to run as mayor. He wants to stop wasteful spending at the City, work as a consensus builder in [...] Read More »

After teaching as an elementary school teacher for the Lethbridge School Division for the past 37 years, Andrea Andreachuk said it would be a privilege to serve as public school trustee. The former teacher at General Stewart School said safety for students and aiding the Truth and Reconciliation are key issues for the former teacher. [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com Joanne Siljak has worked in the education system since 1980 and for the first time has thrown her name into the ring in hopes of earning a spot on the board of the Lethbridge Public School District. Siljak just retired in July from her job as Corporate Services Co-ordinator with Palliser Regional Schools, [...] Read More »

Making children the top priority and increasing the levels of communications are key on a school board for Genny Steed. As the mother of six runs for public school trustee, Steed plans to bring these issues to the forefront. “I hope that anyone nominated onto the board sees the kids as the number one priority,” [...] Read More »

Lethbridge Public School trustee candidate Brooke Culley, would like to reinvest in public education target creative advocacy, build equitable futures, and nurture an empathetic inclusive culture if elected. Culley, who ran successfully in 2010 and served on the board for three years, is looking to get back into it when voters go to the polls [...] Read More »

A better curriculum option both from the provincial rollout standpoint as well reconciliation strategy are key issues as Henry Jacobs throws his hat into the ring for public school trustee. The candidate, with a strong background in broadcasting, media and marketing and the father of two, has focused on both. “I do not support the [...] Read More »