Supplied by Michelle Jasper

By Abby Zieverink

MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Grande Prairie council candidate Michelle Jasper focused on community

Sep 5, 2021 | 7:00 AM

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

Jasper says she decided to run for council because she is hoping to help bring the community closer together.

“I would just personally like to see a much closer-knit community, and I want our community to feel safe, and safer for everyone, so people want to be a part of it, and I’m hoping to be a part of the positive change as our city grows.”

Jasper says if she is elected, she would listen to the people, and get the answers to make informed decisions for the community.

“I feel I’m a pretty good listener, open-minded, honest, and I’ll get things done, I’ll ask the hard questions, dig a little bit deeper, to get the answers to help make better-informed decisions for our community.”

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After moving to Grande Prairie in 1980 as a young child, Jasper says she was raised and stayed to raise her family in the city.

If elected, she says making the community safer would be her top priority.

“I think personally, Grande Prairie has a huge issue with a high rate of addiction, crime, and mental health, which a lot of the time are all tied together,” said Jasper. “I would like Grande Prairie to be a safer place where people want to stay, raise their families and maybe retire here.

“Myself, I moved to Grande Prairie with my family as a young child, raised four kids here and we recently welcomed our first grandchild, so I would like what’s best for our community.”

Jasper says she thought about running for council a few times over the past few years, although after having recent conversations, she says the wheels started turning and decided to submit her nomination papers.

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

• Ejibola Folashade Adetokunbo-Taiwo
• Ngemital Paul Rovin
• Gerald Hafner
• 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
• Melissa Erickson

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.