A Casa Vista resident has stepped up to start the race for Division 6 councillor in Sturgeon County.
Casa Vista resident Jason Berry filed his nomination papers for the Div. 6 county council election on March 19. He was the second person and first non-incumbent to enter the 2021 county electoral race.
“I just want to make this county the best place to live in Alberta,” said the 14-year county resident, husband and father of two, when asked why he decided to run for office.
Berry said his 25 years of experience as an instrument technician gave him the industrial background needed to represent Div. Six, which includes much of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. He has agricultural roots, having grown up in Egremont north of Sturgeon County, and is at roughly the average age for county residents at 47. He is also a past president of the Crows Nest North Minor Hockey Association and coached minor hockey for nine years.
If elected, Berry said he would work to promote the Heartland as a place for jobs and investment, and would make sure money the county earns from industry went back into local roads.
“If (council) is getting tax dollars out of these industrial corporations, it should be put back into local infrastructure so it’s not crumbling like it is.”
Berry said he also wants to bring trails and dog parks to Div. 6 to give people more of a reason to live there.
Berry said he expects drainage and roads, particularly the state of Hwy. 28A near Gibbons, to be hot topics during this election. He does not plan to put up election signs as he sees them as wasteful, and plans to campaign through door-knocking and social media.
As of this writing, Berry was the only person running for council in Div. 6. Incumbent Karen Shaw has stated that she does not plan to seek re-election.
Nominations for the 2021 Sturgeon County election are due by noon on Sept. 20. Questions on the election should go to returning officer Jesse Sopko at 780-939-8377 or [email protected].
