The race is on — Westlock County has its first candidate for the Oct. 21 municipal election.
Ian McConaghy is has thrown his hat in the ring to represent county residents in Division 2, the domain of the late county Coun. Conrad Sehn.
A lifelong resident in the division, McConaghy, 58, said he chose to run for a seat because the division needs an active councillor.
“I just decided that we haven’t had real good representation on council, and I figured maybe I could do a job that people would like,” he said.
McConaghy explained that over the years the division’s councillors have been difficult to contact, and so he would do his best to be available whenever someone needs him.
“I want to try to make it so that if someone phones or has a complaint, it’s looked at and then taken to council or to the proper department to see what can be done,” he said.
McConaghy is a mechanic by trade and said he is well versed in machinery, a skill set he feels would come in handy as a councillor. The county has a lot of equipment, so to have a councillor who knows what is involved in machinery would be a big plus.
In addition, as a farmer, he said he has a firm grasp on economics, which he said would also come in handy around the council table.
“It’s something the M.D. has to be aware of, that they can’t spend a lot of money foolishly,” McConaghy said.
With the election just under four months away, McConaghy said he chose to enter the race now in order to get the discussion started about who the division’s next councillor will be.
“I just wanted to let people know someone is going to be running in Division 2 since Conrad has passed away,” he said.
