Three people have so far declared intentions to run in the byelection on Jan. 12 to fill the vacant Town of St. Paul council seat. Roxanne Bergheim, Alice Herperger and Norm Noel plan to file nomination papers on Thursday.
Bergheim hopes years of experience in doctor recruitment and executive positions will help her secure the vacant seat.
“It’s a good time in my life to move forward with this. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got about it,” she said.
Bergheim has lived in St. Paul for 35 years. She is the executive director for the Primary Care Network (PCN), which coordinates health program funding in 13 clinics in seven communities. She managed the Associated Medical Centre in St. Paul for 20 years. She is part of Champions for Change, the physician recruitment committee and has worked with the Boys and Girls club. Bergheim has elected experience with the Association of Clinic Managers of Alberta, where she spent five years on the board.
Bergheim said she likes the direction town council is going and thinks her business experience with applying for grant funding would be an asset for the Town. Council has been “forward thinking” with the Wellness Centre and long-term planning, she said. “I’d like to keep things moving forward all the time and not let things get stalled.”
Bergheim’s campaign strategy will involved getting out into the community to let people learn more about her and what she represents. She plans to go door knocking and to meet with different groups prior to election day. With two sons in the community, she said she’d like to help make St. Paul a better place.
Candidate Herperger moved her business, The Jungle, from the St. Paul Shopping Centre to downtown a year ago and with the business now settled into the new location, Herperger feels it is the right time to join council. As a business owner, Herperger has experience with budgeting, finances and public relations skills, she said.
Prior to starting the business two years ago, Herperger worked at the St. Paul Provincial Court as a courtroom clerk for seven years. She moved to St. Paul from Fort McMurray 21 years ago, where she worked as an outreach worker. She has been the first vice president of the St. Paul and District Chamber of Commerce for a year and a board member for two years, and is a legion member.
Herperger said if elected she would speak her mind and vote with what she feels people of St. Paul want. “I will not vote with the majority because I feel pressured to. I think that’s the wrong way to walk into this particular town council.”
Top priorities for the candidate include review the town’s decision to be a landlord at the Wellness Centre under construction, the decision to buy out the Associated Medical Centre but not the Brindawan Clinic or any other clinics, and the panhandling problem downtown.
“I really want to get involved in this. I just think that some decisions are not being made in the best interest of St. Paul and that bothers me … I feel I have a vested interest in this town.”
Herperger has a 26-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son.
Candidate Noel hopes to add his voice to council in the new year. Prior to the announcement of the byelection, Noel had decided he would run in the next election, so when council called the byelection, he knew it was time.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” he said. “I feel this is a good way to give back.”
Noel was elected to the St. Paul Abilities Network board a few years ago for five years and spent seven years with the fire department. He has worked at Zarowny Motors for 22 years in the service and sales departments and runs a DJ business, 45 Special Mobile DJ Service.
While he is 100 per cent in favour of the Wellness Centre, he said he was not “overly fond” of council’s decision to buy the Associated Medical Centre but not the Brindawan Clinic. If buying one clinic, the same option should have been available to both clinics, he said.
If elected, Noel said he would bring the issue up with council. He said it is not fair a privately owned Brindawan Clinic will have to compete with the taxpayer funded Wellness Centre.
“I don’t think the Town should be competing against private business.”
Noel hopes to improve council’s communication with the local media and to keep tax increases minimal. Noel’s campaign strategy is to be “up front and honest and listen to the people,” he said, adding that he’ll take his message door to door. Noel already has the support of his daughter, in Grade 6.
“I just want to see openness and public discussion,” he said.
Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths approved the Town’s request to extend the period in which a byelection should be held by law in a letter sent in November.
