All 19 candidates for Cochrane Town Council, as well as the current Mayor, Jeff Genung, who was re-elected by acclamation, were asked their position on three issues.

The Preamble to the questions, read as follows:
“In order to make an informed decision before I cast my ballot in the upcoming election for Cochrane’s Town council, I would appreciate knowing where you stand with respect to the following issues. One thing I consider especially important is transparency by the respective candidates and something they will maintain if elected. Accordingly, if I do not receive an answer after a week’s duration, that is by close of day on Monday, September 27, then I will presume that your answer is Yes in each case.” The Mayor and incumbent councillors were advised, “Unless you have changed your position with respect to Questions 1 and 2 (according to previous vote on these matters at a Council meeting), just answer Question #3.”

The questions were intended not so much to determine the candidates’ positions with respect to championing this or that ‘bricks and mortar’ project, but rather to gain an understanding as to how much they value our fundamental freedoms, including freedom from influence from external bodies such as the neighbouring City of Calgary and the United Nations, and their understanding of their function and role as elected representatives to act on behalf of the Town’s residents.

One thing I consider important is engagement of our elected representatives with the Town’s constituents. It has been my experience over the last year or so that many of the incumbent councillors don’t even acknowledge receipt of my communications, let alone address my concerns expressed therein. The Table below summarizes the responses received from the Mayor and the 19 prospective Town councillors. As per the note to the candidates, those not having responded in a reasonable amount of time to the three questions raised are identified as “[Yes]” in the summary table below. If those seeking to be Town Councillors choose not to respond to constituents in a reasonable time frame prior to the election, one presumes that says a lot as to how they will engage with constituents after being elected. All 19 prospective councillors eventually responded to the 3 Questions, however, one candidate, Mr. Paul Crierie, wrote back saying that he was unwilling to answer the questions. Disappointingly, the acclaimed Mayor, Jeff Genung, failed to provide an answer to the 3 questions.

The 3 Questions

1) Mask Bylaw

Prior to a mandatory mask requirement being introduced by the Alberta government in December 2020, earlier in July 2020, the City of Calgary passed a mask bylaw. Subsequently, after the City of Calgary’s actions, Cochrane’s Town Administration brought a proposed mask bylaw forward to Town Council, making face masks mandatory in indoor public places should the number of active cases of COVID-19 in the town rise to 10 or more. The bylaw was passed 5-2 at a Special Meeting of Town Council on July 29, 2020.

Question: If you were a Town Councillor at that time, would you have voted in favour of the mask bylaw that was brought forward by the Town’s Administration? Yes or No?

2) Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board (CMRB)

At a special meeting May 17, 2021 Cochrane’s Town Council by a vote of 5-2 endorsed the final draft of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board Growth Plan.

Question: If you were a Town Councillor at that time, would you have endorsed Cochrane’s participation in CMRB by voting in favour of the Growth Plan? Yes or No?

3) Town of Cochrane Administration’s Equity and Inclusion Committee

Staff drawn from the various departments of the Town’s Administration are part of an Equity and Inclusion (E&I) Committee, which is “Committed to advancing equity, inclusion & diversity within our departments”. On February 22, 2021, the E&I Committee provided an update on its activities to Cochrane’s Town Council, wherein it described as one of its successes was one of how it and the Senior Leadership Team helped to facilitate the Pride flag raising that took place on August 17, 2020 on the Town’s courtesy flag pole, including even going so far as to purchase the flag and the rainbow facemasks for the event. One of the slides from that presentation identified its objective was to advance a Town of Cochrane social policy that “creates social change”.

Question: Do you consider it the responsibility of the Town of Cochrane, whether through its elected councillors or through its unelected Administration Staff, to “create social change”? Yes or No?

Answers To
Candidate Question #1 Question #2 Question #3
Kaitlin Chamberlain Yes Yes No
Brandon Cruze No, see note #27 No, see note #28 No, see note #29
Dan Cunin See note #5. See note #6. See note #7.
Todd Muir See note #17. See note #18. See note #19.
Alex Murphy See note #9. Yes, see note #10. Yes, see note #11
Deborah Murphy No, see note #4. No No
Samantha Nickerson No, see note #12. Yes, see note #13. Yes, see note #14.
Paul Singh Yes Yes Yes
Bruce Townley No, see note #1. No, see note #2. See note #3.
Erika Lange Yes Yes, see note #15 Yes, see note #16
Alan Cox Yes, see note #31. See note #32. No, see note #33
Paul Crierie [Yes], see note #23. [Yes] [Yes]
Marni Fedeyko Yes Yes Yes, see note # 30
Susan Flowers Yes Yes Yes
Tara McFadden Yes Yes Yes, see note #8.
Morgan Nagel No, see note #24. No, see note #25. Yes. See note 26.
Alex Reed No, see note #20. Yes, see note #21. No, see note #22.
Patrick Wilson No No No
Ryan McMillan No No No
Jeff Genung [Yes] [Yes] [Yes]
Notes:
  1. Your questions are difficult to answer yes or no without adding some context. I personally think it was a mistake in the first place to have brought this in front of council.  I would have deferred the decision back to the province.  We all have a responsibility to do what is necessary to ensure our health system is not overloaded, which is presently the case in the greater Calgary area.  The thought of children and adults not having access to critical surgeries presently is deeply disturbing to me and the vast majority of the residents I have spoken to.
    The impact the virus is having on our residents should not be underestimated.  Just over a week ago, a close friend of mine lost her mother to covid. A vibrant, healthy 79 year old was taken too soon.  She was unvaccinated.
  2. Although I understand the purpose behind the CMRB, there is a definite need for more transparency and community engagement. Many residents I have spoken to have no idea what the CMRB is all about and the present council has failed miserably in getting the information to the taxpayers. Based on the present structure and make up, my position today is I will not support the CMRB plans.
  3. Although I don’t completely understand your question, I believe each of us has a responsibility to treat everyone equally, with respect and dignity no matter what their social or cultural background is. One of the reasons we live in Cochrane is because of the strong sense of community and the genuine feel of Cochranites.  Let’s build our future together.
  4. It is not a municipality’s job to deal with health, it is a provincial issue.
  5. All of these questions are presented in a way for a simple ‘yes or no’ answer.  The trouble is that the context behind all of these questions is equally important and would have influenced the steps leading to that particular action. For example, do I believe that Cochrane’s participation in larger planning groups is a good idea, yes, but do I believe we are getting proper representation in the CMRB, no.
  6. Prior to any vote about a mask by-law I would have first sought to have all the information available to make an informed decision vs. what I feel has turned into a political nightmare that hurt, not assisted our handling of Covid.  In this regard I would like to form a committee to look at all the lessons we should have learned/the science on all aspects of management/policy aspects of Covid to present to council for a suggested ‘Virus management strategy’ going forward for Covid and/or any other future virus outbreak.
  7. I do support inclusivity and there are valid reasons why some groups need support, but agree that any level of government intervention is a ‘slippery slope’ to potential overreach of government.
  8. At times it is the role of government to lead social change.
  9. Yes, I believe in science, but I also believe in freedom of choice. Fine line there with protecting people.
  10. From my understanding the CMRB is specific to the area between Calgary and cochrane and the development of it. So yes. To add to that, I want to limit growth, growth forces the spending of money, which increases cost on all cochranites. I think cochrane should remain exclusive and we should be very careful not to pack to many people into our small boarders.
  11. Yes, the older I get the more I realize how important the community is that we live in, the rules, behaviors and culture really is. If the town is not the leader in setting the culture who is?
  12. Mask Bylaw: No, if I had been in that situation, I likely would not have, as it is a decision for the Province to make; however, I do not blame or feel ill will towards our incumbents, as I believe they were acting in/for the best interests in our community.
  13. I’d rather be in the sandbox with information, than outside the sandbox speculating
  14. I do not begrudge anyone in our town who aims to make our town a more inclusive place for all. The times are changing and we as a Town need to be progressive as well.
  15. CMRB: of which I know about but did not read into the details on for that vote, so my response comes from a place of my experience on the Cochrane Planning Commission for a 3 year term recently. I’m in favor of growth with a plan guided by a clear outline. I want to see a diversity of growth in a as well thought out manner – along the lines of our new Land Use Bylaw that I personally provided input into over the last 4 years.
  16. Social change needs to be driven by someone and at this time, I don’t feel there is another body of people in this community that has the reach for it. I see it as a start. Then it’s up to the residents to continue to the charge as social change evolves.
  17. I definately appreciate the option of not being mandated to wear a mask, but have found covid handling to be a pretty difficult task in the past municipal facilities corporation I oversaw, and with Sr staff & some public who it mentally impacted each a bit differently (from 0 to 10). I had to come up with a workable balance to appease both sides of the spectrum. So knowing public perception when it comes to municipalities, I would have most likely voted yes in this specific instance at the start of the pandemic. I view & look at it differently now, so that could change my assessment and answer.
  18. As per what I read one councilor stated, calling the work of the body a double-edge sword. As well as believing partcipating municipalities should remain on guard to protect their autonomy. That fits my thoughts as well. I am aware the Alberta Municipal Government Act lays out perimeters that have to be followed for intermunicipal partnerships and agreements, so that would likely come into play here (& I would have to check on it). I see the points of No & Yes, so I would need to do more reseach, and it would be helpful to be part of meetings, etc. If it was determined to be bad for Cochrane in the long run, then my vote would be no.
  19. The last city I worked for was just getting into the Diversity in the workplace, training and awareness educating specifically for staff, and I found it fitting for the times. It didn’t have a Social Policy or related Committee outside of the HR Dept. As the Town of Cochrane approved and adopted a Policy May 9, 2016, this would signify it does need to follow the policy, but this is as a lot of things, subject to interpretation. So if you lean to No I can understand the reasoning, but as a policy is already in place, the question is really a moot point. Hopefully, you arrive at who would be best and safest to have on Council for our community’s overall well-being. I had an idea of the answers you might be looking for, but I am not blowing smoke to get any votes.
  20. While at the time I did vote in favour of the Town administration recommendation to implementing a Mask Bylaw in July 2020, I will now admit that I did so out of fear, ignorance, and admittedly have a very long day at work and a late-night Council meeting. If I was asked to vote on the same bylaw today, given what I now know and my personal value of freedom of choice, I would NOT vote in favour of it. My answer is NO!
  21. Unlike the previous question, I have done a great deal of research into this issue, and while continuing to having some concerns, interruptions and a cautiously optimistic hope for the future, I did and would again vote in favour. My answer is YES!
  22. I believe that it’s beyond the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Town to be involved in social change. In fact, I believe that everyone has a ’cause’ and thus I would not support taxpayers’ dollars being used to support or resources to be involved in ‘creating social change”. My answer is NO!
  23. Dear Mr Voss, i’ve been living in Cochrane since 07. I am aware who you are and your agenda. This is why you haven’t received a specific question by question response from me and probably I’m sure from many of the other candidates). Your agenda is clear and biased and your questions are designed to be “gotca questions”. Best to just respond by saying we agree to disagree. Have a great day.
  24. I voted against the mask bylaw both times Council saw it, and I would not support re-implementing one.
  25. I would like to see CMRB have Calgary’s veto authority removed, and will likely vote against anything relating to supporting the organization until that happens.
  26. I will support the equity and inclusion stuff, because I do believe in equality. However, I will not support any affirmative action measures that are reverse racist or reverse sexist, because as I previously mentioned, I believe in equality. I think these things are good when implemented appropriately and without a big political agenda.
  27. I would not have voted in favour for obvious reasons.
  28. I think the CMRB is a farce, and I would never have given support to endorse the CMRB. In fact, I’ll be looking at ways to lobby the Provincial Government to repeal the appropriate legislation in an attempt to leave the CMRB. A paper written by the School of Public Policy at the U of C shares some good reasons as to why we need to withdrawal. This would never gain any support from me.
  29. No, it’s not up to the administration to create any social change. In fact, I’ll be liking for administration oversight if elected. There needs to be more oversight of that administration. It has too many flaws, and there’s no checks and balances.
  30. you should know that the Town never paid for the flag or masks, it was grant money that was applied for and utilized. To me social change is something every individual should work towards. Embracing diversity is what keeps us learning and progressive. What makes Cochrane one of the best communities I know, are the people that call it home. As a leader it us up to us to make everyone feel welcome, to listen openly and receptively, and to not lead by our own personal beliefs but what is best for community overall. I would hate to have missed out on meeting and getting to know some amazing individuals, because I wasn’t able to get past my own narrow minded beliefs. Cochrane is, and should be home for all who choose it.
  31. Our federal government has been very weak around governance. Covid has amplified this! Along the lines of the cannabis regulations, they are quite shy about “offending” anyone and thus other levels of government have had to pick up the slack. In the particular situation you state, I would have voted in favor of the mask bylaw. The imaginary threshold of 10 seems like a start – considering how much we (mis)understood how Covid was/is transmitted. Like look at Peter Guthrie – he apologized for reversing the “Open for Summer” program, yet the next week our hospitals are overflowing! No one knows where this is going. Personally, I honestly thought, after we “opened for summer”, we would have had herd immunity by this point! Boy was I wrong. I don’t believe forcing people to get a vaccine is the right solution, but today’s society need to reflect on doing what is right. Previous generations have gone to war and died so that we could have the freedoms and live like we do today. Shouldn’t we be doing what is right for our children and grandchildren’s future?
  32. As I understand, the CMRB partnership is not a choice. The provincial government has mandated that the communities join this partnership. What I would have debated for was more of an equal partnership. As the communities of Calgary, Rockyview County and Cochrane grow, we are at risk of being absorbed by Calgary in the far future. The citizens of Cochrane live here and moved here for the values share. We need to ensure those values remain. As well, this partnership is important for building a better relationship with Rockyview County as our community grows. I think that relationship could greatly approve through better communication – even if it is forced.
  33. The whole subject of Social Change is a rabbit hole that the left wing loves to head down. We currently have a government with less that 1/3 of the popular vote telling us they have a mandate from the people for Liberal party values. You and I know this is not the case. The government is killing our oil industry all the while supporting dictator oil – imported oil that has increased over the last year! The mainstream media is left wing and attempts to crucify anyone who defies their direction. So, if your asking me if I agree that the greatest American Olympian should not be able to change their gender – I say sure go ahead!…but if you’re asking if I would promote this change for everyone, I would decline.