Former city councillor Bill Cocks has decided to return to politics, believing he can bring to the table the wherewithal and listening skills needed for council to be effective.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Bringing past experience to a future-forward mindset, Bill Cocks is looking to make a return to Medicine Hat’s city council.
He says his decision to run in the upcoming election has come after serious thought and after persistent inquiries from the public on whether he would consider another term on council. Cocks says that during his time as a guide on the Sunshine Trolley with Tourism Medicine Hat, not a tour would go by without someone asking if he would consider running.
“Eventually, I decided I would give it serious thought over the long weekend. I made some phone calls, and I did some thinking on it myself,” saId Cocks. “I decided that I think I still have something to offer, and I want to do it, which was the question. You have to want to do it and be prepared to work at it, and I am.”
While Cocks has several years of experience as a councillor, he does not feel that being beholden to previous councils or tradition is necessarily the right path; rather, he hopes to bring his experience answering questions and making decisions back to the table.
“They need somebody who is a good listener with experience, who can hear proposals from administration, from other council members, from the public, and use that experience to address the issue,” said Cocks. Not necessarily do it the same way that we used to do it, but I think I have a good process for analyzing issues and hearing people speak to the issues and making a decision.”
He says he is hesitant to hold fast to priorities, as he believes an effective council will need to sit down early to identify what the group as a whole believes needs to be accomplished swiftly, or focused on in order to be effective, but he does have a few core tenets which he hopes to bring to that meeting.
The first is to attend to the fact that over recent years, the city has been stagnating.
“I know it’s not just Medicine Hat and it’s not just the current council or administration, but I feel, and I think Medicine Hat recognizes it as well, that we’ve stagnated. We haven’t had population growth, we haven’t had significant new business or industry come here,” said Cocks.
While he doesn’t have a “magic bullet” to solve said stagnation, he believes making the city attractive not only as a place to do business, but a place to live, could make all the difference. Cocks says in his experience it has been Medicine Hat’s strengths in areas such as quality of life and services that has made the difference when attracting people to move to the city.
“I think quality of life and quality of services are what people that are considering a move to your community are looking for,” said Cocks.
He says he believes these services are essential, and believes city council could seek to control taxes by better controlling and investigating the reported costs of services, seeking less costly alternatives.
If elected, Cocks promises to look forward with integrity, dedication and professionalism, things he hopes he is already well known for in his time in the city, both as a lawyer and as a councillor.
“I think I’m respected for my integrity and my professionalism and my determination. Once I determine a course of action, having listened and considered all the information that’s available, I can be pretty determined to see it through to a decision, and I’m not likely to waver, barring any strong public response or new information,” said Cocks.
He will be present at the debate hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, as well as any meet and greets that he can. Residents can expect to see him door-knocking or visiting with businesses in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 20 election, and signs going up in the near future.
