While the Vermilion municipal election is still far away, one mayoral hopeful is getting ready for his race.
At the beginning of the year, current Coun. Robert Snow announced he would be taking a shot at the top seat.
Read more: Vermilion renews Community Futures membership
Snow’s council journey began in 2021.
“I served as a paramedic, advanced care paramedic in my community for 22 years, and in 2021, I decided it was time to retire from serving as a paramedic and just felt like I should still serve my community,” he said.
“I put my name in to run for council, and at the same time, put my name in to oversee a non-profit in town, and I got both of them.”
Snow is not just a councillor but the CEO of the Focus Society.
“It opened my eyes to what gets done in the background and what needs to get done,” he said.
Time management is something Snow has learned to deal with.
“You get a really good calendar on your phone and you figure it out, you make it work,” he said.
His time on council has been enjoyable and he reflects fondly on his four years.
“When you’re serving your community, yeah, it’s a great place to be,” he said.
Through his time, Snow has seen local projects come to fruition in the community.
“As a community, we’ve seen SL4 (supportive living level 4) come to our community in our long-term housing. Just seeing stuff like that come to our community, it’s been great being a part of those teams to help that come here,” he said.
He says when it comes to making decisions, it can be a balancing act.
“We always want to keep taxes low, but we don’t want to take away too many of the services. So, trying to figure out where that comfort zone is for our community,” said Snow.
After a few years in council, Snow began thinking how else he could serve his community, with the top seat firmly in his view.
“I started thinking about it a year ago,” he said.
He consulted with his family to see if it was feasible for him to run for mayor.
“I had to take a step back and say, ‘why do I want to run for mayor and not for council again,’” said Snow.
He says currently not having a mayor has been difficult for Vermilion.
“The one challenge I always have is, I’ll get our mayor to reach out, we currently don’t have a mayor, but we have a deputy mayor,” said Snow.
With the decision firmly in place, Snow believes being mayor is the right way for him to serve the community. He says there are some key issues he would like to focus on as mayor.
“How do we retain good health care in our community? There’s always a struggle to keep physicians, nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists, the whole gambit of health care,” said Snow.
He says they need to support their physicians but doesn’t necessarily agree with just giving money as an incentive to stay.
“We need people to buy into our communities. When I started in Vermilion 22 years ago I actually lived in Edmonton and commuted out here,” said Snow.
It wouldn’t be long until Snow realized Vermilion was the community in which to raise his family, adding to his belief of needing to retain professionals through more than just money.
“You want to be here, you want to be in our community. So we need to look at reasons to make them want to stay,” said Snow.
The local Vermilion Airport is another topic Snow wants to bring attention to.
“Just really understanding what the needs are for the airport,” he said.
Assessing the use of the airport and understanding its needs and what it can do for the community is something Snow will be tackling if elected as mayor.
Economic development and business retention will be another focus of his.
“We need to understand how to keep businesses here so they thrive,” said Snow.
Public safety, along with dealing with crime and the rise of drugs, is something Snow also wants to tackle.
“Just dealing with crime, with the rise of drugs and supporting our RCMP, I think that’s really important,” he said.
Finally, he wants to take a look at an issue he’s heard from the community regarding transparency.
“Part of my campaign, and even part of being a councillor, is taking the time to go around to the stores, listen to the concerns, talk to people at the coffee shop and hear what their concerns are,”
Through his social media, Snow is trying to connect directly with the community to get real-time feedback on their concerns.
For Snow, it comes down to serving the community.
“I want to serve the community, and in that, I represent their voice, I don’t represent my agendas, I represent their voice,” he said.
Read more: Vermilion moves forward with sewer project
