Former High River Chamber of Commerce President and a previous business owner, Monty Stafford is making a run for Town Council.

Stafford says he's heard the suggestion many times from friends and family to run and says this year he decided to make it a priority.

"I always have liked to give back to the community, so I thought and I had a few people say that I had good ideas, I ran my store well, and that I would be able to help the town out, so that's what got me started."

Stafford managed Home Hardware for eight years before taking it over for another 13 and was the Chamber of Commerce President back in 2013.

He says his time spent on the Chamber gave him insight, skills, and the networking needed to excel as a Councillor.

"I'm good with budgets and when I was the President for the Chamber of Commerce, Lynette McCracken and I wrote up many grants after the flood to help some businesses recover." Stafford adds "I still have contacts that could help me reach out to local businesses."

When it comes to the aquatics referendum, Stafford says he's kind of on the fence.

"We need a pool, but do we need that size of Pool?" He says "I can't say I'm agreeing with a $15 million loan but I don't know whether or not we can wait a couple more years and then do it, and if I'm voted in, that's the kind of thing I would be looking at very closely."

Along with assisting with business development, Stafford says his secondary focus is ensuring High River's RCMP coverage is as efficient as possible.

"I don't think it's a good thing for a Town our size to only have two RCMP Officers and for those two officers if they're slated to the town, they can't leave town for other calls in rural areas."

He says he would like to have some more oversight on budgeting for police resources in town, and wants to work in partnership with local RCMP to ensure they're running efficiently, and have everything they need in order to look after an area like High River.

 

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