A two-term county councillor says he plans to make a third and final run for public office this fall in Sturgeon County.
County councillor Joe Milligan told the Gazette last week that he plans to seek re-election this fall as the representative for Division 5, which covers Bon Accord, Gibbons and Legal.
First elected in 2007 and re-elected in 2010, Milligan, 70, is a lifelong county resident and a retired farmer. A longtime volunteer, he serves on the board of the county’s agricultural services committee, the Morinville seed cleaning plant and the River Valley Alliance.
Milligan said he felt compelled to make one last run for office due to his commitment to public service.
“It’s our duty to do what we can do,” he said. “I think council is doing well, and I feel I’d like to be a part of it.”
Milligan was reluctant to point to specific accomplishments during his time on council, saying that council was a team effort, but flagged efforts to get the North West upgrader going as significant. He also highlighted recent road work on Sunnyside and Excelsior Road, the former of which gave residents much-needed access to Edmonton.
“We’re growing the county,” he said.
Excelsior Road has been closed this summer due to flooding, he added, but the county planned to fix and reopen it this year. Work on Cardiff Road was also set to begin in a few months.
Milligan said his main focus if re-elected would be to improve the county’s relations with other governments, namely Morinville and St. Albert. There were political and personality conflicts between these governments at the start of his last term, he said, but the county is taking steps to settle them through groups like the intermuncipal affairs committee.
“We’re all working for one country,” Milligan said, and we all have the same priorities: to make the lives of our citizens more comfortable and to give them a decent place to live and work. The region will have a big influx of workers when the North West upgrader starts construction, he said, and co-operation will be essential to manage it.
Milligan said he brings common sense and integrity to county council, and added that he has pretty good judgment when it came to doing what was best.
“I think I can still contribute a significant amount to the county,” he said. Regardless of the election’s result, he said he would not run for office again afterwards.
Election day is this Oct. 21.
