ATHABASCA — What does it take to be a county councillor? Dennis Willcott knows and he hopes to be re-elected Oct. 18.
Like many people who think you need a degree or a ton of experience to run for office, Willcott was hesitant the first time he put his name in, and won by acclamation, but really it comes down to making good choices, he said in an Aug. 30 interview.
“You need a lot of common sense in council and to me, that's the biggest part – common sense – and do the right thing and be fair to everybody,” he said. “And you should be fair to not only your division, but the whole county. I’ve got Division 2 (Colinton and area); I look after them but also make sure all of the county is taken care of, because we're all one.”
Willcott is a transplant, coming from Newfoundland via Winnipeg, but has been here for 42 years after he married a local woman who was born and raised in Colinton.
“I had people phone me when I first started; I had about 40 or 50 calls, people wanting me to run and I didn't think I could do it. And then as I got in there, then, you know, it’s a lot better than I thought.”
He said no matter how long you’re a councillor there are always new things to learn and problems to deal with.
“I learned a lot but you always learn; there's always something new comes up that you don't expect and there's a lot of work to be done in the county,” he said.
A few of the things he is proud to have accomplished both for Athabasca County and for his own division are the new Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) building, Athabasca Regional Multiplex, new sidewalks and roads in Colinton and looking after the Colinton volunteer fire department.
“I really appreciate the fire department, the volunteers,” said Willcott. “They do lots; I do everything I can to help them.”
Willcott is dollar conscious too, keeping an eye on taxpayers' money but he sees there is more work to be done around policies, code of conduct, land use bylaws among other things.
“My goal is going forward is that we got some stuff we really got to straighten up.”
He's also concerned about Athabasca University noting his complaint isn’t against the university, but the provincial government who should be keeping a better eye on the situation.
“There’s big buildings up there and there's nothing in them. They just built one year a few years ago,” said Willcott. “Completely empty, and nobody's talking about that.”
He does pride himself on his accessibility to ratepayers though, noting he will take calls from anyone, not just those in his division.
“I'm honest, I will not lie and if anybody calls, I get back to them,” he said. “When I come home, if I got a call from the ratepayers, before I turn on my TV or anything I'll get back to them right away.”
