Submitted photo
Eric Solberg has lived in Redcliff for 22 years and is running for town council for a fifth term after a four-year hiatus.
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Eric Solberg is running for town council in Redcliff again, after a four-year hiatus.
Solberg previously served four terms from 2007 to 2021. In his last election in 2017, Solberg received more votes than any other councillor, with 733. He did not run in the last election.
A resident of Redcliff for over 20 years, Solberg has spent the last four years focused on spending time with his family. But he never really left municipal affairs behind.
“I’ve gone to council meetings here and there,” he said in an interview with the News on Friday. “I’ve always been interested in everything that’s going on in Redcliff.”
During his hiatus from council, Solberg also sat on Redcliff’s municipal planning commission.
Looking back on his last stint as councillor, Solberg points to Redcliff’s water treatment facility as one of his biggest accomplishments. Approved in 2011 and opened in 2016, Redcliff’s new water treatment facility is three times the size of the previous plant.
Solberg said that under the province’s Water for Life strategy, it was difficult to navigate licensing for a new water treatment facility, but the township got it done.
As for his current bid for council, Solberg said he plans to adhere to the same philosophy he brought to his previous terms. Mainly, he believes the role of a councillor is to amplify community concerns, not advance personal ones.
“Personally, I don’t have any priorities myself. I’m not in it for me. This is a position about what the community wants,” he said.
That said, Solberg does have some ideas of his own about what council should prioritize. Fiscal responsibility, for example, is at the top of his mind.
“Inflation right now is absolutely ridiculous,” he said. “The best way to do things is to do things responsibly, which is not the traditional government ideal. That’s why councillors are elected from people, not regular politicians.”
For his part, Solberg has 26 years of experience working at the Goodyear manufacturing facility in Crescent Heights, where he is the raw materials manager.
“[Council] is not a full-time job, and that understanding of how the world works is best to be put in place in the government setting.”
Ahead of the election, Solberg said he won’t be running a formal campagin.
“I’ll get out there and maybe put up some election signs as we go, but my priority is mainly dealing with the people. I’m not going to be making any spectacular gestures. That’s not my style.”
Instead, he encourages anyone interested in sharing their perspective on the township’s biggest issues with him directly, over a cup of coffee.
“I’m easily approachable,” he said. “I’ve been a member of the community for a long time. People who know me know me to be an honest, conservative-minded person with critical thinking, and I’d like to think of myself as someone who listens.”
Ultimately, Solberg hopes his legacy will speak for itself.
“If people remember my time on council, than they already know what I stand for,” he said.
