DIDSBURY - Staff at will surely need to hand out name tags at the first couple of council meetings. With none of the seven incumbents being re-elected, the new council has all new faces.
After a couple of days of orientation, the newly elected council is scheduled to be sworn in at the council meeting on Oct. 24 and then it's down to business.
Council will have several issues to deal with right away, as well as having to learn the ins and outs of being a councillor.
Despite having no experience as a councillor, mayor-elect Rhonda Hunter is confident in her abilities to lead.
"I worked for 28 years with the town and worked with many mayors and councils and CAOs," said Hunter. "I've been to many council meetings. It won't be a big learning curve at all. I understand the process and the MGA (Municipal Government Act)."
Hunter said she is excited to work with her council despite all the new faces.
"We all bring something different to the table," she said. "As I said in my campaign, my commitment is to work with council and we have to identify priorities. During my campaign I said that we have to put people in Didsbury first.
"Between the voice of the people and the voice of all council, we want to help make this town grow. That's what we're after. I think it'll be great working with those six people."
It's been a decade since former Didsbury mayor Dorothy Moore has sat on council. She was excited to be elected again and is hoping this council will do great things.
"It was very gratifying and humbling," said Moore. "It was very special to know that so many people had such confidence in me."
Moore said she put her name forward because she would like to see a sustainable future for Didsbury. Even though she is a two-term former mayor, Moore is happy to just be one of the councillors.
"I don't think I need to be the one that makes the speeches and chairs the meetings," she said. "I have the same vote as a councillor as I would as a mayor. I don't need to be the one in front. My family would like me to be at some of their occasions as well."
Moore said she believes the new council is a talented group that will get along well.
Erhard Poggemiller is another former mayor (in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan) who will be serving on council.
"I was pleasantly surprised," said Poggemiller of the election results. "I am really pleased with the mandate that I personally got. I was really pleased to be third on the list (in number of votes earned).
"I hope I can do my best for everyone and not disappoint anyone. I will strive to carry out those things I talked about. However, I am only one vote out of seven. It does take some collaboration and some give and take."
Poggemiller said he's talked to the other councillors and he feels really good about the new council.
One of the common threads for many councillors coming in is economic development, he said.
"We also want to address some of the infrastructure needs that are around," he said. "One of my favourite things that I got told at the door lots was about the train whistle.
"So we'll see what kind of cooperation we can get there. I think if we work together with everyone we can accomplish most of those things."
The other Didsbury councillors include Bill Windsor, John Baswick, Mel Crothers and Curtis Engel.
