A father of three hopes to bring 33 years protecting our country’s freedoms to serve the residents of Ward 4 in Rocky View County.
Douglas Fairley, a retired lieutenant-colonel from the Royal Canadian Air Force, was a last-minute entry to the municipal election race this week.
Ward 4 residents, which includes Langdon and Indus, will choose between Fairley and former councillor Al Schule on Election Day, which takes place across the province Oct. 16.
The 55-year-old Fairley moved his family to Langdon three years ago after his final deployment, which meant he and his family were in Germany for the five previous years.
Fairley’s oldest daughter is attending university abroad, while he has two teenagers still at home. The stay-at-home dad lives in Boulder Creek and spends a lot of his time golfing, so the job of councillor would fit perfectly into his schedule.
“I do have the time to commit to complete public service for the county, the division, Langdon, Indus and Dalemead,” Fairley said.
“We chose Langdon for outdoor activities, skiing, snowboarding, the golf community, vicinity to a larger city like Calgary. It’s just a perfect fit with the days of sunshine per year.
“Only being here three years, I’m not aware of everything. That’s why I want to meet people and be able to get out there, particularly with people who have lived here longer. There’s a lot of new residents. It’s an exploding town with a lot of new developments.”
Fairley sees the biggest issue is crime and security, an area which he is obviously intimately familiar given his military background.
“We have an interim policing solution, but as we grow it has to be more permanent,” said Fairley, adding that resident safety is a top priority. “As the community is growing quickly, the safety of our residents in terms of cyclists and pedestrians … they have to walk or cycle on the side of the road.
“That was mis-identified, particularly with the size of the communities, especially when Boulder Creek was complete and the new community started growing.”
Over the course of the campaign, Fairley hopes to hear concerns from Ward 4 voters as much as possible, whether in person or on social media.
“As a stay-at-home father, it’s easy for me to get out and meet people,” Fairley said. “I’m completely open to meeting people for coffee or just to chat. The intention is to door-knock and distribute some fliers.”
