Tony Head lives in East Flat with his wife and three children. (submitted photo/Alisha Head)

By Alison Sandstrom

Civic election

Spending top of mind for Ward 3 candidate

Sep 25, 2020 | 12:23 PM

As the countdown to the civic election continues to heat up, a new candidate has entered the race in Ward 3.

Tony Head is a national representative for Canadian Union of Public Employees and previously worked for the City of Prince Albert for 11 years in the collection and distribution department.

“I’ve been a resident of Prince Albert for 23 years,” Head told paNOW, explaining he’s followed goings on at city hall closely during that time. “I’m familiar with the operations and spending of the city and I know firsthand that we can do better.”

Head said wants to see more transparency and accountability around city spending and pointed to the recent land purchase for the new recreation centre as an example where he thinks public notice and consultation was lacking.

He also wants the city to take the lead on addressing social issues, something he believes will be particularly important as Prince Albert recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“These are challenging times and we need to demand more from the people we elect,” he said. “We need to protect funding that helps the most vulnerable amongst us and, of course, we must protect funding for the basic services that ensure the health and safety of our residents.”

If elected, Head said he will to look to implement innovative ideas to deal with community safety, housing and poverty. Job creation and increased investment in programming and services for youth are among his other top priorities.

Through his work with CUPE, Head has spoken across Canada on issues affecting Indigenous and Northen communities. He explained as an Indigenous person himself, he brings an important perspective to municipal politics.

“We look at our community, we can easily tell it’s very diverse,” he said. “And I think we need to reflect that in our city council.”

Head is running against incumbent Evert Botha in Ward 3.

The municipal election is Nov. 9. The nomination deadline closes in just under two weeks on Oct. 7.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom