Matthew St. Pierre enjoyed his first term on Redcliff town council and feels a strong desire to finish the things he's started.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Matthew St. Pierre has a lot of things on the go: a grader operator with the County of 40 Mile, he also sits on the board of directors for the Redcliff Museum and serves as vice-president of the Medicine Hat Cubs Hockey Club. For the past four years, he’s added town councillor to his list of titles, and he’s hoping to extend his tenure another term.
A Redcliff resident since 1997, St. Pierre initially decided to run for council in 2021 when a then-councillor advised him he’d be good at the role.
“Originally it was kind of a spur of the moment thing,” he told the News on Tuesday. “I love Redcliff, so I figured, why not try and be an advocate for everyone else?”
This year, St. Pierre says he wasn’t sure initially if he would run for re-election. Now a father to a three-year-old daughter, he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend more time away from his family. But at his wife’s encouragement, he decided he still has more to give.
“Four years in, I’m just kind of scratching the surface on how much I’ve learned,” he said. “I found it was quite rewarding the first term, so I want to see that through, and see certain projects through.”
One project he championed in his first term is an accessible playground. The project was put on the back burner in his first term, but St. Pierre hopes it’s something he can see through if he’s re-elected.
“Anything to do with recreation, I’m a big advocate for,” he said. “This is the stuff that brings our community together.”
But one of the main lessons he’s learned from four years on council is that pushing through new initiatives in a small town takes flexibility and patience. Roads, water intakes and other critical infrastructure always have to take first priority in the budget, he said.
“I methodically think about every decision – OK, what would be best? What would the town of Redcliff, the residents, want as taxpayers?”
At the end of the day, St. Pierre believes he’s learned a lot from his first term, and hopes Redcliff will give him the opportunity to put his experience into practice.
“It’s such a cliche. But I’m the voice for the taxpayers. I have no other way to put it. A vote for me is a vote for them.”
