Council candidate Kevin Monson poses for a photo in Kin Coulee Park. The lifelong Hatter hope to bring a positive, cohesive aspect to city hall.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
A force for positivity may be what Medicine Hat needs, says council candidate Kevin Monson, and he hopes to be that force.
His decision to run for city council comes from a longstanding interest in municipal politics, having lived in the city his entire life and seeing everything it has to offer. A manager for safety-sensitive experiences such as zip-lining, Monson believes he brings a conscientious and positive energy that could be powerful within council chambers to help encourage cohesion and collaboration.
“I know the decisions that this council will make won’t just affect me, but it’s going to affect future generations,” said Monson. “I just had my son, and help do what I can to make this city a better place to live for everybody now and in the years to come.”
To that end, Monson’s greatest priority is housing. He believes that above all else, the housing crisis in the city needs to be addressed.
“I think that if we’re going to attract new residents and new business to Medicine Hat, we need housing. If we’re going to help those less fortunate, we need housing,” said Monson. “Not only building houses and things like that, though I definitely want to see that, I also think we need to support the renters in our city.”
As a longtime renter himself, he considers himself fortunate to have a good landlord, but recognizes that this is not universally the case in the city, and would like to have council investigate what can be done on the municipal level to enforce fair practices to better protect those who rent their homes in Medicine Hat.
Those living in the city also need the ability to move within it, says Monson, and as such he champions public transit.
“There’s been a lot of talk about traffic easing and things like that in Medicine Hat, reducing congestion on the roads. And I think that the No. 1 way, the most affordable way, and the most efficient way we can do that, is better support for public transit,” said Monson.
He says he recognizes the majority of people on transit take it because they have to, but he would like to see a system that people will want to use.
An example of this, he says, is a lack of routes within the South Ridge area, making it a prohibitively long walk to reach a bus for many residents in that area.
Monson says he would advocate for more routes, better collaboration with senior facilities in the city to give those individuals greater freedom, and investigate program possibilities in the vein of the Rec and Ride Pass to further incentivize transit use.
“Of course, economic development is a top priority for most candidates in municipal elections, but I think a lot of times in the past and currently, there’s a large focus on kind of catching those big fish, of big industry coming to Medicine Hat,” said Monson. “While I do think that is important, I feel like sometimes less of a focus is paid to small and medium sized businesses in Medicine Hat that are locally owned and started.”
Monson believes there is more the city could do to connect these small and medium sized businesses with existing associations, as well as municipal support. He says these businesses also contribute to attracting residents and visitors, as it addresses the age-old issue of, “What is there to do in Medicine Hat?”
“I’m a very easy person to get along with. I’m a very good member of a team. I’m very good with communication,” said Monson. “I think that I’ve gained, over the years, definitely a high level of communication skill. I’m also an instructor at the college. I think city council right now needs a healthy dose of positivity and optimism, and I think that’s definitely something I could bring.”
If elected, Monson promises to be an accessible representative who is able to work with both council members and residents to make the best possible decisions, as well as be an advocate for the city to higher levels of government to get the support needed, no matter who is in power.
In the meantime, Medicine Hat can expect to see him at public events, door-knocking and generally getting an even better finger on the pulse of the city as he looks ahead with hope to be part of the solution.
