Council candidate Immanuel Moritz says city hall needs to do a better job of selling Medicine Hat and being strategic planners. He also has strong opinions on homelessness and public safety.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Immanuel Moritz believes every citizen should offer some manner of service to their community, and hopes to make a term on council part of his share.
Having lived in Medicine Hat for more than 60 years, Moritz is deeply invested in the wellbeing of the city. Having watched it both build and stagnate, he is particularly interested in seeing the city flourish. His time here includes serving on the Municipal Planning Commission for 10 years, two terms on the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education and being chair of the Medicine Hat Construction Association and a board member on the Alberta Construction Association.
“My grandsons live here, and I’d really like to find a way for them to stay. So it’s important that we get the city grounded and back to running on a better footing,” said Moritz. He says he feels the current council has forgotten that, at its core, their job is to serve the citizens of Medicine Hat.
One of the key ways they can do that, says Moritz, is with a tax freeze for three years, allowing for residents to enjoy some stability while they work on attracting more businesses and new Hatters to broaden the tax base and take some of the burden off their shoulders.
To get those newcomers, the council should be doing its part to sell the city, says Moritz. He would like to see stronger advocacy for Medicine Hat to other levels of government, as well as on the business level, similar to what he has observed from the City of Lethbridge.
“We have to quit talking about ourselves as the Forgotten Corner,” said Moritz. “We have to be open for business. We’ll perhaps do a bunch of business conferences every year. Each councillor can go out and we can sell the city. What we’ve been doing is sitting back and waiting for somebody to come, and that doesn’t seem to be working.”
Reduction of regulations, or ‘red tape,’ for these attracted businesses is next on his list, helping small businesses get set up and open to the public with fewer delays and less hassle.
But perhaps most importantly, Moritz wants to be part of a culture change within council, one focused on smart planning and collaboration between members for cohesive and strong direction as a municipality.
“For the new council coming in, what we have to do is, first of all, make sure everybody knows their job. Council’s job is strategic planning,” said Moritz. “Both short- and long-term plans are required for successful job completion, and everyone on the site must work together to reach a single goal of building completion.”
Homelessness and petty crime are also a priority, says Moritz.
“I think part and parcel of being in the council, we have to provide service to make sure citizens feel safe when they’re walking out the door, and currently they don’t certainly feel safe going downtown in the River Flats,” said Moritz. “There’s been a lot of homeless, and there’s been little or no consequences for that. So that’s something we really have to change.”
If elected, he assures residents he will do his utmost to be as open and available as he can and make decisions in the best interest of the citizens of Medicine Hat. Moritz recognizes that any change he could effect on the city would be an incremental change, but he is committed to ensuring those increments are for the better.
“We have lots of great people in Medicine Hat. Medicine Hat is a great place to live. We have water, we have sunshine,” said Moritz. “We have opportunity, and that’s why a lot of us are still here. We just need to work at it.
