By Greg Higgins

Bater addresses public for first time as future mayor

Oct 20, 2016 | 10:00 AM

Future North Battleford Mayor spoke publicly for the first time since finding out he is the acclaimed candidate and had some cautionary words for voters.

Ryan Bater’s name will not be on the Oct. 26 election ballot because he is the only one running for mayor. Bater took the stand Wednesday Oct. 19 at the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce candidate reception to address voters for the first time.

“Be suspicious of a candidate who is promising all sorts of new programs and are going to solve all sorts of problems because it’s not like that at all,” Bater said. “To be a good councillor and a good mayor you have to be able to prioritize and make decisions.

Bater added introducing a new service, program or facility usually means another one has to be cancelled or the city has to tax people. The future mayor said he spent a lot of sleepless nights near budget time thinking about shelving ideas he and his colleagues wanted to implement.

Bater then stressed the importance of voting the right council into office.

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“The mayor does not have special executive powers like the prime minister or the premiere,” Bater said. “A mayor is only one out of seven votes around that table. The people who hold those extra votes are going to be decided next Wednesday.”

Bater spoke from experience about the times key votes were split four to three and how different the outcomes could have been with different people sitting in the council chairs. He referred to being on city council as “playing with live ammo” and said the decisions made by council have real consequences and impact.

Bater said council members accomplished more in the last four years than ever before. He stated downtown wasn’t a priority four years ago and now the city has a deal to bring in a five screen cinema to the downtown core. According to Bater, North Battleford had a record $55 million in building permits in 2014 as well.

Bater added the current council implemented the community safety officer program which continues to grow and helps lower crime.

According to Bater one of the toughest decisions council made was charging a tax levy for the Underground Pipeline and Asphalt replacement program. He defended it by telling voters their money is immediately going towards infrastructure repair.

“We have pipes that are over 100 years old under our city and they are not cheap to replace,” Bater said “The money that is collected is spent that year. Go home open your bill, look at the levy, then go to 96th St. and 97th St. and you will see the work being done right now.”

Bater ended his address by speaking directly to candidates and voters.

“I thank all the candidates that are here tonight because you are doing something that a lot of people just think about on the couch … but you are stepping up to try and make our community a better place,” he said. “If you are a voter, I urge you to take the time to get to know the priorities of your candidates and remember again to be suspicious of those promising everything you want.”

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.