Ray Hilts, former councillor, has put his name in the race for mayor of Whitecourt in the upcoming municipal election.
Hilts moved to the community in 1994 and spent many years in the forestry industry, getting familiar with the local flora. After living here for over 31 years, he said he wants to be part of the town’s next evolution.
“I think there are such great opportunities here,” he said. “I love the community and what it stands for, and I want to help lead that over the next four years.”
He served as a town councillor during the 2017-2021 term, then tried for the mayoral position. This year, he’s ready to take another run at it.
“It was a good learning opportunity to understand municipal governance and what it’s like to be a councillor and part of a group of elected officials,” he explained. “Now I want to take it to the next level and show more of a leadership position and bring our community forward.”
In addition to serving as a councillor, Hilts said he has volunteered and worked in a variety of leadership positions and on various boards. This experience has led to strong networking skills and the ability to lead discussions in a way that “gets the most out of people,” as he put it.
He’s been knocking on doors and heard some clear messages from the community about what they want to see and what they’re struggling with. Hilts said, if elected, his priorities would be the economy and youth retention, government transparency, safety and collaboration with Woodlands County.
For starters, he’d like to see the economy diversify from forestry, oil and gas and add industries like big technology.
Regarding safety, Hilts said he intends to work on practical strategies to resolve the local issues and keep homes and businesses safe.
And overall, he said Whitecourt and Woodlands County need to think and act—to some degree—like one community. Hilts said he would propose integration strategies so the county could get better input on how services it delivers are being received.
He explained, “One of the other things that I’m hearing loud and clear, both from the community and from businesses, is that our long-term success has to have Woodlands County integrated into that.”
You can learn more about Ray Hilts via his Facebook page, or you can contact him at 780-779-7321.
Hilts is running alongside current town councillor Derek Schlosser.
Visit our Municipal Election page for more information on the upcoming Oct. 20 election.
