Former City of Airdrie employee Peter Brown, who led the charge in fundraising for Genesis Place, will be running for mayor in the fall election.
Brown, a nine-year resident of Airdrie and professional fundraiser and marketing consultant, said that he believes he possesses the “necessary qualities and skill set required to be a very good mayor.”
“I am a fiscal conservative with strong communications skills and I have a vision to make Airdrie an even more wonderful community in the future,” said Brown.
Brown worked for the City of Airdrie for five years as a contracted employee.
“I developed strong working relationships with many city staff and have a very good understanding of how the City currently operates,” he said.
Brown is well known in Airdrie for his volunteer work. He helped out with the 55+ Plus Games committee, the Airdrie Air Show, Airdrie Minor Hockey and the AAA Bantam Western Championships. He was also named Volunteer of the Year in 2008.
Brown fully recognizes that he “is the underdog in this election,” and stressed that he “is running for the position of mayor and not against the current mayor.”
“I believe I have the skills required for the position and I want to give Airdrie citizens a choice,” he said. “At the very least, it is a great day for democracy, hopefully inspiring people to get interested and involved in their City and that is very positive.”
He says the fact that he has not served on City council in the past should not dissuade voters.
In 1980, Ralph Klein won the race for the mayor of Calgary over the incumbent mayor. In 1986, Grant McLean also won the race for mayor of Airdrie over the incumbent mayor. Neither Klein nor McLean had previous council experience, he said.
Brown is the third candidate to announce plans to run for mayor this fall. Incumbent Linda Bruce and IT consultant Ross Mann will also have their names on the ballot.
This will be the first mayoral election since 2004, as Bruce was acclaimed in 2007.
