October 18, 2004 is Election Day in Red Deer.  Return to Election Forum - City Council Candidates

Phil Hyde

Integrity - Commitment - Leadership

 

Committed Citizen of Red Deer

"My goal is to help Red Deer remain a safe and affordable place to live."

"As a City Councilor, it will be my goal to ensure a safe and affordable community for our citizens and our businesses. We have the most beautiful City in Alberta . We have a park system that is second-to-none. It is all a waste if hooligans and criminals create an atmosphere where we can't enjoy the parks, the downtown or our own neighborhoods."

Protect the Citizens:

Crime prevention is a result of collaboration between the RCMP, the City and the citizens of Red Deer . Let's implement partnerships and strategies that will increase safety in our city!

I believe some of the answers lie in us as citizens educating ourselves. Just as we have good fire and injury prevention practices, we need to be practicing good crime prevention methods for our property and ourselves.

I believe that we need to work with our police force, City Council and administration together to create a safer community. We do not have to accept increasing crime numbers. The increase in crime may be related to our population growth, but that does not mean we must accept it.

Part of the solution lies with our federal and provincial governments. They make the new laws that add to an already overburdened police force. They make changes but do not add dollars to the City coffers to get the additional officers needed to manage an expanded workload. City Council must work with local MLAs and MPs to make the system work for law-abiding citizens without making police work more difficult.

Plan for the Future:

Red Deer has rapidly become a large urban trade center. We need to ensure that all citizens and businesses can afford to be part of our great City and take advantage of the lifestyle it affords.

The large tax increase approved this year will not go unchallenged in this election. Double-digit tax increases are not what our citizens expect. As the need for increased taxes is debated, we must remember to place priority on basic services first..safety, roads, water, sewer, etc.

We need to ensure that process does not hinder business development in our City. In the past few months we have witnessed solid, long-term businesses relocating outside of our City boundaries. The net effect of businesses moving outside of Red Deer is loss of tax dollars to the City - tax dollars that are required to support the current level of services available in Red Deer . We need to do our part to keep the businesses we have and to attract new businesses to Red Deer .

From Phil's Announcement: John Oldring's Introduction

Today Phil is formally announcing his intention to seek election to Red Deer City Council. Phil has the background and qualifications to make a difference and to be part of the decision making body that moves our City forward in the next three years.

Phil and Colleen have been married for 32 and a half years. They have two daughters. Lisa married to Chris and Kaelie who is a student at Red Deer College . Lisa and Chris have also blessed them recently with their first grandchild, Elena Grace. Phil and Colleen have lived in Red Deer for 12 years. Phil spent 30 years working for Alberta Wheat Pool a company that eventually merged over the past 5 or 6 years to become Agricore United.

.

Of note, before moving to Red Deer Phil was Deputy Fire Chief in the Town of Peace River as well as a member of the Peace River Board of Trade and Fire Chief in the Town of Viking before that among many other community involvements. Since moving to Red Deer Phil has served as on a number of City committees including:

•  Chairman of the Mayor and City Manager Salary Review Committee

•  Chairman of the Emergency Services Master planning Committee

•  Chairman of the Emergency Services Committee.

•  Chairman of the Parks Rec & Culture Committee

•  His third year as Chairman of the City of Red Deer Policing Committee as well as,

•  Chairman of the City of Red Deer Crime Prevention and Policing study underway in our City today.

•  His past involvement at Westerner Park includes Chairman of the Marketing Committee and Vice-chairman of the Silver Buckle Rodeo. Currently his Westerner involvement is that of a season ticket holder and big fan of Brent Sutter and the Red Deer Rebels.

•  Phil has been a member of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce for a number of years and currently Chairs the Industrial Lands Proximity Committee as well as he is a member of the Issues Identification Committee.

•  In August of this year Phil was appointed by the Minister of Community Development, Gene Zwozdesky, as Chairman of the Reynolds Alberta Museum Advisory Board for a two-year period.

Phil has a broad understanding of how a variety of departments of our City work. That is the benefit of his years of being involved in these various committees. Phil's background in business, be it running multi million-dollar grain and agro product operations, or the operation of a small business or even from the perspective of being self-employed, all deliver an appreciation for the needs of our business community.

So it all boils down to experience. Experience in dealing with people..experience in dealing with business...experience dealing with City issues. Phil Hyde will bring experience to the Council Chambers.

Red Deer Public Library manages Election Forum.  We will provide a page for each candidate, but all the information is provided by the candidates themselves.  Red Deer Public Library cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information, nor does it endorse any candidate.

Election Forum | Information for Candidates | City Election section