Candidate has history of community service
Nobody knows the history of Lethbridge like Belinda Crowson. Which is one key quality she will bring to the table if elected as a councillor in the October Municipal Election.
Crowson is one of the latest to announce her candidacy for a seat on council.
“I’ve sat on a lot of committees and I have worked on so many things and all of it has been leading up to this,” said Crowson of her decision to run. “I love being part of this community. I have ideas. I want to share things I want to do and I want to be a part of a team that helps make Lethbridge even better.”
Born and raised in southern Alberta, Crowson has been a resident of Lethbridge for the last couple decades. She has worked and volunteered for organizations such as the Galt Museum & Archives, Kids Help Phone, the Lethbridge Historical Society (both locally and provincially) and the YWCA International Women’s Day Committee. She’s also been on the Heart of Our City Committee for seven years.
Crowson is also a local historian and has written several books on Lethbridge history. She is a Lethbridge YWCA Woman of Distinction and a member of the University of Lethbridge Alumni Honor Society.
History is her “passion” and Crowson feels it can be an asset to the role of city councillor. She is often called upon to assist with background and history when different matters arise across southern Alberta.
“You can’t make decisions unless you know the history and understand that, but history also helps to analyze and understand things,” she said. “I’m very good at taking subjects, breaking them apart, understanding them and figuring out how to move forward with them.”
While there are many issues that resonate with Crowson, the biggest are quality of life and community engagement.
“I want every person in Lethbridge to have a sense of buy-in, a sense of community,” said Crowson. “I want people to be able to participate, find jobs, run businesses, have quality housing. You know this is a community where everyone must feel like it’s their community, so what can we do to build that active participation within the city?”
Crowson plans to be out and about in the community and available at local forums. However she won’t be at the Youth Advisory Council forum on Sept. 28 due to a prior commitment. She said that breaks her heart because “having worked with thousands of kids every year, the youth issues are near and dear to my heart.”
With her extensive committee work and consultations, Crowson feels she has a good understanding of council workings.
“It’s amazing. With a good team we can achieve so much,” she said. “I know that you have to have leadership, but you also have to collaborate with that committee, with council, but also with other government levels and other communities. And it’s the ability to lead and to listen that is so vital for council.”
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