Ritesh Narayan has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Chestermere over the past twelve years of living here.
“I have seen it grow, prosper, and become more beautiful every year.
“However, I have also seen it managed poorly, developed irresponsibly, and the cost of living in the city constantly increasing,” he said.
Narayan thinks he has the right combination of skills and drive to make a difference in the community by serving on the next city council.
“I feel I am competent to make the changes that the people of Chestermere want to see,” he said.
He has recently become an enthusiastic cyclist spending time biking around the city, even venturing as far as the Calgary Zoo on Canada day.
That time spent biking through Chestermere has shown Narayan firsthand the effects of what he describes as poor planning and senseless spending by city hall.
He sees this as one facet of the biggest issue facing Chestermere in the years to come.
“While the issues are many the cost of living is probably the biggest issue facing Chestermere,” said Narayan.
Much of those costs Narayan blames on “poor planning and senseless spending” by the current council which he said has led to the high utility and property taxes residents are paying.
Narayan plans to use his law and policy background to help guide the city to better planned spending.
“If elected my focus will be to initially stop the bleeding caused by several bad decisions made by current council,” said Narayan.
He believes in research based governance.
“I come from a background where we only act after doing comprehensive research in the area,” said Narayan.
He wants residents to understand there are no quick fixes to the city’s problems.
“Chestermere residents should vote for me because my vision is a realistic one,” he said, “it would be a massive lie if I were to promise that changes will come fast and hard.”
While the changes won’t happen overnight, Narayan does have an idea of that he would like to see the new council work towards.
“This will include managing council spending, re-negotiating master servicing agreements made with the City of Calgary and giving more control to council and the citizens of Chestermere on how Chestermere Utilities Inc. is run,” he said.
He also wants to see the city continue working to diversify the tax base.
“We cannot rely on residential property taxes to be sustainable as a city,” said Narayan.
He is running for council to build a better Chestermere for his family, neighbours and all residents of the city.
“We can only have a better tomorrow after rectifying what was done in the past,” he said.
To that end, Narayan is encouraging everyone to make sure they come out and vote Oct. 16.
“It is important the residents of Chestermere realize that every vote counts,” he said, “they are the ones who will determine what the next four years will be like living in this city.”
For more information on Narayan or to contact him go to www.vote4ritesh.com.
