A Whitecourt councillor has announced their intention to run for Mayor in the 2025 Municipal Election.
Derek Schlosser, who has served on council since 2009, made the announcement on Facebook on Friday, Jan. 3, saying he had submitted the necessary paperwork and would be launching an official Facebook page and his platform in the coming days.
Schlosser also served as a councillor from 2004 to 2007 and sits on the following committees.
- Community Services Advisory Board
- Health Professionals Attraction & Retention Committee
- Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Committee
- Joint Liaison Committee
- Municipal Planning Commission
- Youth Advisory Committee
- Whitecourt Heritage Society
- Ad Hoc Culture & Events Centre Sponsorship/Partnership Committee
Schlosser says he believes he would make a good representative for the community.
“I’m running for a few reasons,” says Schlosser. “I’m a good communicator and I have a vision for the community. I’ve been around for a while, I understand the issues and I think I would make a good spokesman for the community.”
Schlosser says his platform is based on three pillars, the first of which is continuing to advocate for a new hospital.
“My platform contains things I’m passionate about,” he says. “One of those things is a new hospital and continuing to advocate for that. We don’t control provincial dollars but we do have a lot of advocacy avenues available for us which we have been doing the last few terms.”
“We need to continue working with Marting Long, our MLA, as well as the provincial government, to secure that for our region because it’s really needed now. We’ve proven that we can secure healthcare professionals staying here and attracting them here.”
Schlosser’s platform also includes maintaining service levels for residents.
“The second thing I’m really passionate about is making sure that we keep our services in Whitecourt top-notch and the best in the region so that people have a reason to locate and stay here, as well as the fact that we need to have sensible taxation.”
Communication with regional and government partners is the final pillar of Schlosser’s platform.
“The third thing I’m really passionate about is communication,” Schlosser explains. “We need to make sure we’re communicating with the feds, the province, our county partners, and our residents while making sure that we have a stronger social media presence making sure that people understand what’s going on moving forward and creating the strongest region that we can.”
Schlosser says he believes his straightforward nature makes him a good candidate for Mayor.
“I’ve always been about common sense, I’m a no-nonsense kind of person. I don’t play political games. I don’t make promises. I just do the best I can for people in the region and I believe strongly in the future of Whitecourt. I believe we have a strong future and we need to keep that going.”
