Patrick Price is known for being outspoken on burning local issues and even brought some to the forefront while serving the community through the local media.

Now he's pursuing a seat on town council to bring his work ethic to the table and he wants to be a voice for the majority he believes are often overlooked by the current council.

"I'm a hard worker and what I bring to the table is hard work and hopefully I'll be a voice for the people, which I think has been lacking," says Price. "According to the record of the current council, they've been lacking in public consultation."

Throwing out just one example, he refers to how the west side dog park plans were changed to suit the minority of the people while ignoring the thousands of dog owners in the community.

"The minority won out there instead of the majority. You have to look at what the majority wants instead of a handful of people. It seems like a lot of the decisions are that way with this current council. I don't want to dump on them, but they've set the pace."

Price and his wife Wendy moved to the Cochrane area in 1990 and have been in town since 1996. They've raised two daughters here, Cassandra and Morgan. He's a multi-winner of national and provincial photography and reporting awards whose photography has been seen in newspapers across the country and abroad. In 2000, he joined the staff of the Cochrane Eagle, afterwards created a webpage called Cochrane Life and just recently left the staff of the Cochrane Times.

Because of his strong editorials on burning issues, some may view Price as being negative. He believes he's far from it.

"I don't want to be a maverick on council and oppose everything. You can't fight every battle and you're only one vote."

"If I think it's best for the community rather than a handful of residents, then the community wins out and they should win out every time. It should be the majority who wins out and it seems with this council the minority wins out every time."

He sees a growing disconnection in the community during its rapid growth and believes this will be the challenge facing the new council. He believes the town has neglected to establish proper transportation corridors, even foot paths, while expanding. Now those in the outreaching neighbourhoods struggle with how to get to the heart of the community, particularly youth, and it's hard to feel part of Cochrane without them.

What has become evident, he believes, is the need for transit.

"How do you get from Fireside to downtown? If you're a student, how do you get downtown, other than relying on mom and dad. Because there's no transit to downtown. Do they walk on the highway to get there? There's no road really leading from Fireside other than the Hwy. 22."

"Look at all the communities; they're all like that. They're one way in, one way out, and there's no actual physical connection to the downtown except Hwy. 22 and Hwy. 1A and they're both congested."

"Transit has to be part of this solution. The sooner we start transit, the sooner we start connecting the communities."

He's also questions just how much the Town of Cochrane supports local businesses, based upon feedback from local businesses over the years.

"I really question, after talking to business owners, if the Town shop locally. I'm not talking about the residents, I'm talking about the town administration. Do they shop local? Why not? They should be. If they aren't shopping locally, they're not giving back to the businesses that are paying our taxes. It's all a support system, everything is connected and if you don't support the businesses, we lose them. It's that simple."

He questions the money spent on elaborate projects, like the ClubHouse at the Cochrane Ranche and the building adjacent to the Tim Bannister Memorial Outdoor Rink. He also questions the money spent on producing Cochrane Dollars that he sees as having no real benefit.

He did speak out about building the new aquatic centre, but he was more concerned about the timing.

"I'm not against the pool, even though I spoke out against it. I was against the timing of the pool. I thought our infrastructure should have come first."

He is, though, caught wondering what the final bill will be and suspects it won't come until after the election. He's also concerned with the $800,000 per year subsidy required for the new facility after what he terms "propaganda" spread by council prior to its construction about operational costs.

"We should have been working on the bridge, that should have been our priority. That's our biggest problem. It seems infrastructure is the biggest concern for residents, or the lack there of. If we don't take care of our infrastructure it will catch up with us, like it has now."

He's deeply concerned about the future of the Cochrane Lions Rodeo Ground and Cochrane Lions Events Centre and wants the town to give them a 50-year lease so the club can pursue improvements. He believes it enhances the town and praises the club for their huge role in supporting community causes and helping people in need.

"We have a gem right in the middle of town and there has been efforts to move the Lions Club out of there to some other area of town, which I don't understand.  Why don't we give them a long-term lease so they can invest their money back into it and make it better? If you give them two-year leases they can't do anything; their hands are tied.

"There's a reason why Calgary has the Stampede in the middle of the city, easy access. What's wrong with here? We should have the same. The success of the Labour Day Rodeo tells me people want to keep it there."

"I think it's imperative to let the Lions stay where they are, if they want to."

He believes the Seniors on the Bow must be moved from upstairs in the SLS Family Sport Centre and says the current location is ridiculous.

Price comes from a political family. His mom is a long-time councillor in the City of Kamloops and his stepdad was involved in politics in Ontario. He initially shunned the idea of doing the same and doesn't consider himself a politician, but believes perhaps it's his current calling.

"I'm a hard worker. I love being busy and if I do get elected, guaranteed you're going to get a busy bee because that's my nature, I like to work. I've worked at newspapers, I worked at NAPA for a couple of years and I'm not afarid to get my hands dirty."

"I love the community. It's a great community and I think we could make it better."