Erik Gault, photo courtesy erikgault.ca

By Erika Rolling

By-Election

Erik Gault running in Grande Prairie City Council By-Election

Sep 15, 2022 | 10:26 AM

After being encouraged by others saying he would be a great fit, Erik Gault has thrown his hat in the ring running for the vacant seat on Grande Prairie City Council.

He has been heavily involved in the community through working in real estate, religious groups, and currently sits on a local school council.

This is the first time he is taking a chance at being on council, after helping other candidates in the election in 2021, not having a desire to take on a position himself until people told him of their full support and belief he would asset to the City.

Gault has been living in the City since 1996 and says until now, he hasn’t been interested in politics; not conforming with one group on the political spectrum.

“I think local politics, I see it a bit differently. The people seem more down to earth, a little bit more honest and open… you’re not forced into one particular party where you have to conform all your views.”

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He says there are a lot of things running well in the City that he is happy with but would like to see some things change for the better.

There are three areas of focus Gault is passionate about advocating for; quality of life, transportation, and housing/community care.

“Quality of life has to do with parks and recreation, amenities… things that people have around the community or draw them into the community and make people who live here appreciate it.”

“I love our trail system. I want to see that continue to grow so that when the weather is good or even if you like to ski, you can get around anywhere in the City on the trails, not having to walk on roads,” he says.

Gault wants to make sure exercise programming and recreational facilities are available and accessible to residents and continue with the progress that’s been made in increasing the quality of life in GP.

Transportation hits home for Gault, having a blind father that was unable to use the City transit in the past due to commute concerns to and from work. He says he has seen improvements and acknowledges the efforts to make it system more user-friendly.

“I cautiously say we can see improvement. I know we are moving towards that, but I would have finded out more and done some digging in… but it’s an area we need to focus on,” he comments on Grande Prairie’s transit system.

Caring for the community and housing Gault says is the biggest issue he wants to focus on if he is elected.

“We have a problem with housing for some of the marginalized in the community, it’s also very linked to drug addiction and the opioid crisis, as well as crime.”

“I don’t think people just decide to get themselves addicted to some very dangerous substances for no reason… there’s a mental health portion to it and we don’t want these people out on the street. We want to support them and help them to recover in whatever they are struggling with.”

Gault is one of seven candidates that have filed their papers for candidacy.

The By-Election for the vacant seat is on October 17, with voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at City Hall.