Council candidate Randall Noble hopes to bring a sense of youth to city hall while also ensuring smart decision making and better bang for your tax bucks.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
A love for what’s local drove council candidate Randall Noble to put his name in for the coming election, and he hopes into his first term, as well.
Noble had been considering running in the previous election but wanted to wait until he felt he was in a place to be able to give the position his all. Now, four years later, he feels it’s time.
“After seeing the last four years here, I feel like we need some change and leadership and some youth in council. A lot of people said I would be good at it, and I should try it out. So here I am,” said Noble. At 32 years old, he is one of the younger voices looking to get involved in municipal politics, and feels he potentially can offer a unique perspective.
Considering the city his home after spending most of his life here, Noble intends to stay here for the foreseeable future and do his part to keep Medicine Hat vibrant and thriving.
“My No. 1 priority is taxes,” said Noble. “We can’t just keep raising taxes every year with nothing to show for it. It’s unsustainable, and it’s also unfair to the residents of Medicine Hat to see next to no return on these tax dollars coming out of their pockets.”
To that end, Noble would like to see a broadened tax base by attracting and supporting businesses within the community, especially small and medium sized businesses owned and operated by Medicine Hat residents.
“Local businesses are the backbone of our community, just as much as any other corporation,” said Noble. “They work hard, they try to do their best to survive and give a different option to the citizens. I know for my family, we love local, and we’re always trying to support them when we go out; I think the city should be doing what they can to make life easier for these business owners, not harder.”
If the city wants businesses and residents moving in however, Noble believes it needs to be an attractive place to live; Medicine Hat needs to offer not only incentives and policy to support these entrepreneurs, but the infrastructure and maintenance to be appealing as a home, as well.
“We need to be able to repair the roads, maintain the landscaping of the city and not have these weeds growing everywhere,” said Noble. “People who want to bring business to Medicine Hat or want to live here, they want a city that they can be proud of, something that looks welcoming and clean, inviting.”
Noble clarified he does not, however, support the road narrowing projects, which he believes can cause issues for motorists due to how tight some of the new corners are, especially in the winter.
“Lastly, the safety and support of the city. We need to be able to provide safe streets and neighbourhoods for all residents of Medicine Hat, we need to be able to provide support to those who are vulnerable,” said Noble.
While issues such as shelter for those experiencing homelessness are largely a provincial issue, Noble would like to explore what can be done on a municipal level to improve the quality of life of these residents.
Noble has a broad background, working in hospitality, health care and marketing, and believes this wide skill base will allow him to bring some new approaches to council and perhaps aid the incoming team to produce unique results.
“There’s ways we can market Medicine Hat to be more attractive, to incentivize business to come here, to provide better paying jobs for our residents,” said Noble. “We shouldn’t need to have residents leaving the city, there’s no reason we can’t have good paying jobs in the city.”
If elected, Noble commits to being transparent, open and communicative with residents on all subjects, even if that requires doing some research of his own before answering. He says he has held an open door policy in all his previous positions, something he would look to continue in his four years as a councillor.
“I believe to make Medicine Hat happy and vibrant, and for us to move forward, you need to listen to the citizens on their wants and needs,” said Noble. “That starts with listening and being transparent on what is actually happening.”
