A candidate from the 2013 municipal election has entered the council byelection race.
Hughena Burke, 48, placed 15th out of 16 candidates during the last election. She is the second candidate from 2013 to decide to run to fill the spot vacated by sixth place finisher Gilles Prefontaine after he resigned to take a job with the City of St. Albert.
As soon as she heard the news that a byelection would be held, she was eager to run again.
“I want to serve the public, I want to be a participant in the process,” said Burke. “I believe I could make a difference.”
Burke worked at the Alberta Legislature for 10 years as a ministerial assistant in a variety of departments.
She particularly enjoyed helping the public find answers to their questions or solutions to their problems.
“When it goes their way, there’s such satisfaction,” Burke said.
She also was in the retail sector for 10 years, owning and operating a clothing store. She also owned real estate for a while and has a network marketing home-based business. She currently works at Grandin Towing.
She’s been living in St. Albert for over two-and-a-half years, and thinks she could take a fresh look at issues in the city.
She was on the board of Community Day Nursery, an inner-city daycare funded by the City of Edmonton and is a multiple sclerosis ambassador. Burke has relapsing/remitting MS and said it wouldn’t interfere with her ability to be a councillor.
Burke can also be occasionally spotted performing as a Patsy Cline impersonator.
Burke highlighted utility rates, transit, affordable housing and the downtown area revitalization plan (DARP) as priorities for her.
She wants to take a second look at the way utilities are being handled in St. Albert.
For transit, she’s heard tales of access issues to certain areas of the city and she’d like to examine why.
When it comes to DARP, she said “I love the idea” but she’d like to see more discussions and research, describing herself as a fiscally responsible person.
“One strength when I think of myself is being objective, trying to not have an emotional attachment to something … let’s gather all the facts on all sides and then make the decision,” Burke said.
For affordable housing she personally knows people here who want to live in St. Albert but struggle to find places in their price range.
She’s interested in business development, like attracting more head offices, like the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission does, to St. Albert and supports small business. She’d also like to see and support a more vibrant downtown.
Burke has a daughter in St. Albert, and two grandchildren.
She said she believes in being efficient, effective and accountable, and that integrity and trust are important to her.
