A Morinville teacher says she’ll work to get people more involved in their community if she’s elected to office.
Substitute teacher, businesswoman and volunteer Jackie Luker said last week that she would run for Morinville town council this fall.
Luker, 45, has lived in Morinville since 2006, and ran in the 2010 civic election and the 2012 by-election.
Luker said she decided to run again because of her strong desire to help. “I believe strongly in the community,” she said, and she wanted to get involved in the decision-making process.
Morinville was at a tipping point where it could either become a regional hub or stay as a bedroom community, Luker said. “We all recognize that the population is growing,” she said, so the town will eventually become a city.
Still, she wanted it to hold on to its small-town feel. “I want to try and maintain that sense of community where you walk down the street and you know the guys you see,” she said. “You can’t do that in Edmonton.”
While she was short of specifics, she said she would do this by encouraging people to be more involved in their communities – a move that would encourage people to shop in town as well. “We’ve got to find a way to get people to buy into the idea that Morinville is worth their time and money. How do you do that? I’m not 100 per cent sure but that’s a focus we need to look at.”
Luker is an active member of the parent advisory councils for Notre Dame Elementary and Georges H. Primeau Middle School in Morinville, and did much to bring a playground to the latter school. She is a member of the town’s Canada Day committee, an executive member of the Alberta Block Parent Association, and a skating instructor. She also owns and operates Straight UP Bar and Beverage Services.
Luker said her time as a teacher has taught her to deal with people of all ages and backgrounds, and that she always gave “110 per cent” at whatever she did. “I want to work hard for Morinville.”
Election Day is Oct. 21.
