While rumour had it that Morgan Nagel may be running for Mayorship, he has decided to seek re-election for his second term as town councillor.

A lot won't change as far as Nagel's priorities go; remaining focused on growth, fiscal responsibility, and infrastructure concerns.

"I am really going to be focusing on the exact same stuff  that I have been talking about the whole time. I am really interested in slowing down residential development, fixing traffic is a huge priority in Cochrane, and I am also really fiscally conservative and I think we need to cut down on our spending."

Residential growth continues to be an area of concern for Nagel, more than just the amount of development he wonders why the urgency?! "It's not to say growth is bad thing; but it blows my mind that we have thousands of homes in every single corner of Cochrane that are already approved and are going to be built as fast at the people buying the homes. I understand that one day these things have to come, and they will come, but I don't understand the rush at this point. I am a little worried that we are rushing to approve all these developments basically filling our town's boundaries with development approvals just before the election and it's going to completely tie the hands of the next council if they want to take a different approach."

In this term, Nagel has felt the status quo was readily accepted by council and changing direction was difficult. With the pool already decided and the 10 year financial strategy administration recommended, Nagel believes new faces on council and a new CAO/ Deputy CAO could change Cochrane's course of direction. "With new personnel we can completely rethink how the town is managed. I think Cochrane is ripe for change"

Nagel will continue to have a strong social media presence as he moves forward, stating it is the best way to engage with many. "If I engage with people on email or go for coffees with people I hear from one person or maybe two people at a time but if I open up to social media then I get to poll hundreds of people who otherwise don't get to know what the discussion's about, it broadens the discussion."

More than focusing on campaigning right now, Nagel is looking to spend the next few months engaging with other potential candidates on some of these key issues. "I found during this term, in a lot of important issues I kind of feel like a lone voice; where I think sometimes I am really talking on behalf of the silent majority in Cochrane and I think if we can get some other councillors who think along the same lines as I do we can actually help change the discussion a little bit in Cochrane the next four years."

He is hoping that news of his announcement will encourage others to step forward and put their name in the ring.

READ MORE:

Councillor Nagel Throws His Hat in the Ring