New Ward 7 councillor Garry Procter is sworn in during the Cypress County organizational meeting on Monday.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Ward 7’s new councillor Garry Procter was sworn in today for his term and he looks forward to being an advocate for Cypress County.
Having lived in the county for the past 28 years and the region for even longer, Procter has more than a few different aspects of the southern Alberta experience under his belt.
“I came here at a very early age, I started a martial arts studio and I also taught at the Medicine Hat College for four years,” said Procter. “I introduced the apprenticeship program for mechanics there, then I went into the building business. I’ve been building for about 50 years now.”
As he’s stepped back from construction, however he finds he still has a drive to keep busy, which is part of why he decided it was time to pursue municipal politics. He explained that while his brain still insists he can do anything, his body does not always agree, leaving him to pursue new ways of giving back to the community.
“I’ve had a pretty good career, and the county has been good to me, so I’m going to try to be good to the county,” said Procter.
His biggest priority as councillor is to further open the lines of communication between the county and council and keep them open, by being an accessible representative not only for Ward 7, but for the region as a whole. Procter recognized that while he was elected by the people of Ward 7, the decisions he will help make will affect the entire county.
“There’s a wide variety of people in Cypress County, you have Desert Blume, which is much like the city. You have acreages and then, of course, you head out into the countryside, down Holsom Road and all through there that’s farm and ranch. There’s a wide variety of concerns, but all just great people,” said Procter.
High on his list as well is reducing red tape to encourage more development in the county, which in turn, he says, will help with taxes by increasing the tax base within the municipality.
He looks forward to continuing to speak with everyone during his term and getting to help address the issues put forward by the various demographics throughout Cypress County.
“If anybody wants to talk, I guarantee I’ll return their phone call, or I’ll answer the phone, or I’ll answer email or text messages. I think communication is the one thing that may be lacking a little bit in the county, and I want to change that,” said Procter.
