I only know I'm a good man because my wife is incredible.  Nobody as amazing as her would stick around with a guy like me unless she thought I was worth it.  Therefore, I'm worth it.

Which leads me to introduce you to a wonderful lady who will be more in the spotlight in High River than ever before.  While my amazing wife was giving birth to our second child (who is now 3 and a half years old), there was one nurse there who was the most incredible support for her throughout the labour. I was extremely humbled, as a father during childbirth should be.  My wife took the process like a typical farm girl with all her strength, resolve, and work ethic.  Very much "just get it done".  And the nurse had such compassion and fed my wife such strength, it was as if she were family, encouraging her all the way.  Both women made me realize how little a good man could possibly be without a good woman beside him.

That nurse's name is Lindsay Snodgrass.  Wife to High River's new mayor, Craig Snodgrass.

That's how I know our town is going to be okay.  Because behind every good man is the support of someone just as amazing (or in my case, someone even better).

Many people know I did not support Craig for Mayor.  I was extremely concerned about someone with little experience taking the reigns of our town.  Honestly, I'm still concerned about that, but I'm putting those concerns aside, because those concerns are for elections.  The concerns we must deal with now are how a new council is going to help us recover and rebuild.

I know that Craig could be great for our town, if given the right support.  And if it's one thing I've learned about High Riverites, they are strong and resolute, and can be the best support an individual can hope for.  However, you certainly don't want to cross High Riverites, either.

Lindsay is a great woman, and with her I'm confident that Craig is a great guy.  However, Craig needs to be a great Mayor.  So he needs a great town council, town organizations, and townspeople to stand with him.

Town Council will have to shift from campaigning in opposition to campaigning as a unit.  It will take work, but they can do it.

I'm so pleased to have a colleague of mine, Bruce Masterman on council.  I'm confident that his passion for High River will mean that not one individual gets left behind.  He is a genuinely kind and caring man, and has an amazing "big picture" view.  I truly hope he brings the balance to council that it will need right now.

I was very impressed with Cathy Couey's platform, in the fact that she had one.  Not only that, her platform had multiple issues covered.  I know she's put some thought into a vision for the town.  She will carry it forward without a doubt, but as we were able to find with previous councillor Betty Hiebert, a lone woman on the council has challenges ahead.  There was no shortage of good, strong female candidates, yet only Couey got in.  She's going to have to be even stronger, more informed, and ready to speak the language of the common person to truly help council out.

I honestly know very little about Peter Loran, except for the casual conversations I've had with him during the campaign.  I'm truly hopeful that his personality matches his abilities as councillor, because if that is the case, he might just be the peacemaker.  More importantly, however, is that the new council's first job will be to deal with the new budget, and this is where we need Loran most.  Loran's experience in banking and investments will be crucial, but must be backed up with vision.  I didn't hear much about his vision for High River, so if he is lacking in that department, let's hope he can put his investment experience into play using others' vision.

Dragan Brankovich has an eye for engineering, but he's going to need to bring more to the table than just his ability to "speak engineering".  If he keeps his eyes on the flood, I'm afraid that little else will move forward.  He has shown that he might actually have a vision for things like the arts, culture, heritage, and recreation, but it is vague at best.  I'm concerned he will get tunnel vision and ignore the long-term needs of the community.  Perhaps time will prove me wrong; it would be wonderful to be wrong in this case.

Don Moore has been a very pleasant man for me to work with, and I have enjoyed my interactions with him.  He has always had a vision for the community, and that vision has always progressed and changed along with it.  He is meticulous in his work, and council could use that attention to detail and experience. My only concern for him is how he will work with this new team.  It is my hope that he is ready to be part of a collaborative effort to get this town moving forward, and I'm sure he'll do it.

There is an advantage, and yet a danger, to having Emile Blokland on council.  The advantage is that all those promises the Province of Alberta gave the town will still be in the memory of the council.  Snodgrass will have Blokland in his court to remind the Province what they promised, and so the whole council will be able to make good on their campaign promise to "hold their feet to the fire."  However, having the old mayor in one of the policy-makers chairs might be enough to pause growth in our town.  Potential business owners might see it as being regressive, not progressive.  I would hope that's not the case, but only Blokland's actions will prove to them otherwise.

If Snodgrass is going to be a successful mayor, he needs the support of every person on council.  This does not mean that every idea he presents needs to be accepted unilaterally.  Rather, it means that council must work together, something that was lacking a bit last time around.

Every councillor must voice their ideas, and no idea should be ignored.  Each idea must be considered on its own merits.  Each councillor must work with the best points of each idea to achieve consensus.  With consensus, we will truly see a council working together. Snodgrass, who will be our town's main salesperson, will be the face of that unified council, and the town, province, and country will see it.

If at any time a member of council feels as though their ideas were ignored or ridiculed, the unity of council will fail, the town will lose faith, and Snodgrass' support will be gone.

Council is supported by many others as well.  The various boards in town such as the Recreation Board, the Sheppard Family Park Board, the Arts and Culture Board, the Library Board, the Heritage Board and more all need to be included in the process.  If at any time these boards feel as though their ideas were ignored or ridiculed, their support of council will diminish, and that will filter up all the way to the mayor's chair.  This also applies to the many other volunteer organizations such as Minor Hockey, Foothills AIM Society, the many service organizations and many more.

Sounds like a lot, right?  That's what High River needs, though.  High River needs everyone to pull together, to put their two cents in, to know their two cents are being considered, and only then can they trust that council is truly moving forward.

Then Snodgrass will have the support he needs to be mayor.

Lindsay is the woman behind the man.  High River, let's be the town behind the mayor.

Congratulations, Craig!  Let me know what I can do to be a support for you.

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I can't do a wrap-up to the municipal election without mentioning the man who I chose to stand behind.  Richard Murray, it was a pleasure to work with you on this.  I'm obviously disappointed that you didn't get in, but I'm very pleased with what you accomplished.  The Minister of Culture has seen a vision for Arts and Culture in High River.  The Emergency Management Act will be reviewed, and I'm positive you will be a part of making it better and more effective.  And I know the new (and experienced) faces on council have been influenced by your passion.
You may not have gotten in, but you made one heck of a difference.  I know that I have learned a lot, and am a better man for it.  Keep moving forward, sir!

I've been doing a lot of research for this municipal election.  I gotta tell you, I'm not as impressed as I think I should be.

With 23 active council candidates and 2 mayoral candidates in High River, each of them with a deep pool of talents, skills and experience, you'd think there would be some well-developed platforms.

Again, that's my youthful naivety showing through.

So begins my rants of what I can't stand this election.  The first thing I can't stand ...

"When it comes to [insert issue here], I believe we need to listen to [insert list of stakeholders here] to see what their needs are, and how it will affect [insert list of related topics here].  Only then can we make strides that will be the best for the town."

Well, d-uh!

Thank you for just describing the role of council.  I forgot what job it was you were applying for.

Here's the word you must be careful of in an election: Listen.  When you say "I'm going to listen to ...", what you're telling me is you haven't a freaking clue what those stakeholders want, need, or in some cases, who those stakeholders are.  The word "listen" is a cover for your lack of understanding.

Don't get me wrong, listening is a skill that I believe every councillor should have.  It's part of the job.  If you don't do it, don't expect to be re-elected in four years.

But please don't use "listening" as a crutch for not understanding the needs your community.

In High River, I've heard the "listening" argument from a mayoral candidate (in the mayoral forum, and not just once, but 5 times), and I've seen the "listening" argument published on Facebook and discussed in the councillor forum more times than I can count on my extremities.

It disgusts me.  It shows to me how much you don't understand our town, or the job you're applying for.

The ones who make listening a habit aren't going to tell you they are going to listen.  You'll never hear them say it.  They just do it.  Better yet, in the future those candidates ARE going to listen, it's part of who they are, and they recognize that it's part of the job they are applying for.  In many cases, those candidates don't even need to say they are going to "listen", because they've already done it.

It's how they came up with their ideas.  It's how they've come to understand our town and they job they're applying for.

It's really hard to vote for someone who has no ideas.  Unless you don't have any ideas of your own.

Oh, now I get it.

Well, here is one voter who is informed.  Now, voters, I beg of you, everywhere, but most especially in High River: unless you want a council who is a vacuous hole for ideas, don't elect a self-professed "listener".  Elect someone who already has a clue, because they've already done that listening.  In High River, it's those people we need, because we need our town back on track.

And don't worry, they'll keep listening.  Because that's what they do without having to be asked.