Mayoral candidate Kris Samraj says he took this past term away from politics to reflect on what the City of Medicine Hat truly needs. He says first and foremost there needs to be cohesion and co-operation on council for it to be effective.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
After a term away to consider the needs of Medicine Hat, former councillor Kris Samraj hopes to be Medicine Hat’s next mayor.
Being on council during a difficult time for the community such as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was great cause for introspection, says Samraj. He found there were very real limits to what the council could do for residents in such circumstances.
“I was thinking about alternative ways of developing strength in the community, and so I didn’t run again this last time, and I just wanted some time to think about that,” said Samraj. After four years to consider how to better bolster and engage the community, he feels ready to take on a more central leadership position.
While the mayor doesn’t ultimately have significantly more power than a member of council, Samraj finds they have a vital role to play in facilitating conversation in chambers and ensuring process is followed.
“For me, it doesn’t really matter what the problem is. We have to figure out a way to talk about them in a constructive way,” said Samraj.
His priorities focus primarily on the role of council and ensuring the group is acting in a balanced, results-oriented and efficient manner.
“It doesn’t matter what we’re trying to do. There’s always a balance to be struck. Because we definitely can’t move too fast, but we also just can’t stand still,” said Samraj. “So I think there’s always just that balance. It’s that and co-operation.”
Samraj stressed that if council cannot do everything themselves, they must be willing and able to reach out to various organizations and resources in order to be better advocates for the city, and find ways to still achieve those goals for the people of Medicine Hat.
“We don’t vote for a new council, then passively wait for them to fix everything. We need to work together, constructively and purposefully,” said Samraj.
He brings with him experience with municipal processes from his time as a councillor, as well as experience working on some city-specific issues which he finds are still ongoing. He hopes this experience will be able to bring about some progress as he prepares to take on a more central role within Medicine Hat.
One thing he did want to stress is he believes that many of the issues the city is currently facing are those being faced by many municipalities in the province and beyond. With a strong sense of negativity surrounding certain topics during the election, Samraj says he feels it important for residents to know the city isn’t necessarily “behind the eight ball.”
With advanced polling a mere week away and the election looming Oct.20, he is making it his priority to speak to as many people as possible. He encourages those interested in getting involved in his campaign, arranging for any meet and greet events or simply learning more about him and his platform to reach out or visit his website at samraj.ca.
