(Supplied: Melissa J Erickson)

By Abby Zieverink

municipal election

Grande Prairie city council candidate focused on transparency

Sep 3, 2021 | 7:01 AM

Grande Prairie resident Melissa Erickson is running for a seat on Grande Prairie City Council in the municipal election on October 18.

Erickson, who is a lawyer in the city, says if elected her top priority will be improving resident engagement and helping improve transparency, which she hopes will help ensure all resident’s voices are heard.

“One of the big things is I want to make sure the city is really people-focused and that everybody’s voices can be heard,” explained Erickson.

“Transparency is a really big factor that needs to be addressed and I think improving resident’s engagement with how the city operates and how decisions are made… is very important.”

Erickson says by improving transparency, it would also include ensuring community members could easier access to information and services.

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She says although she is adept at finding information, she adds it is still difficult for her.

“Even I have a hard time getting access to things that are happening around the city, so I can imagine there are folks who are maybe not as computer literate or they’re not as mobile, they may have difficulty,” she said.

“Based on what I see in social media in Grande Prairie, there is a disconnect between what’s going on in the city and what the citizens know about.”

As a resident in Grande Prairie since early 2018, Erickson says she has lived in many diverse areas and believes it would be a good thing to bring a new perspective to the City of Grande Prairie.

Erickson joins a list of 18 candidates who intend to run for council this fall, including:

• Ejibola Folashade Adetokunbo-Taiwo
• Ngemital Paul Rovin
• Michael Patrick O’Connor
• Solomon Okhifoh
• Grant Berg
• Neil Tuazon
• Dylan Bressey
• Kevin P. O’Toole
• Wendy Bosch
• Tammy Brown
• Kevin McLean
• Yad Minhas
• Sarvinder Singh
• Chris Thiessen
• Michelle Jasper

Three people have also put their names forward for mayor, including Eunice Friesen, Jackie Clayton, and Bryan Petryshyn.

Four candidates have also filed their papers for the office of Public School Board Trustee, including Joan Nellis, Andre Ouelette, Paulette L. Kurylo, and Rob Martin.

Five candidates have also put their names forward for the office of Catholic School Board Trustee including, Russ Snoble, Michael Ouellette, Alyeska Silverster-Degen, Michelle Boisvert, and John Croken.

The municipal election will be held on October 18.