Jim Turner will seek second council term
A lot was accomplished in his past four years on council, says Jim Turner, who is ready to contribute more and hopes to win a second term in the municipal election this fall.
“I think I am now more confident on council and can contribute more,” said Turner.
A focus on economic development, reducing red tape and speeding up the approvals process was an objective in the past four years, and significant progress has been made, said Turner.
“It’s not perfect yet but we made a lot of progress,” said Turner.
The Veiner Centre was a major issue heading into the last election and it took time to see progress. It was perhaps not a tough decision but it took long, said Turner, adding that the final call made was the right one.
Financially Fit for the Future has dominated city discussions, and steps forward have been achieved with more still to be done.
“You don’t find $23 million overnight” said Turner.
Turner served on a number of committees and believes he has been a positive influence. Making decisions that are right for taxpayers is not difficult but you can’t make everyone happy, said Turner.
Members of the community have been rumbling about expected changes to public transit. Others are concerned about how few passengers there are.
“You have to have it,” said Turner, who admits he’s never taken a bus.
The big problem is getting more people to use transit, he says. In Calgary parking fees can be enough to coax people out of their personal vehicles.
When it comes to oil and gas development, having provincial experts without a vested interest to give background and perspective to councillors is a significant help, said Turner.
Economic development is a cause Turner will champion if elected for another term. Destination marketing gets applause from Turner, too. Evidence of success is the development about to start on new hotels.
“Somebody thinks it is worth investing here,” said Turner.
A commercial investment of $50 million to the community brings in $700,000 in tax revenue each year, he explained. It removes an economic burden from residential property owners. It also creates jobs, which is good for the economy.
Perhaps one of the big surprises in his first term was that things do not move as fast as they do in the business world, said Turner.
“It takes a good year to get your feet on the ground and understand how the systems work,” said Turner.
The ubiquitous lot diagonally across the road from city hall, which was expected to be simple to achieve consensus for development after the last election, remains undeveloped. Turner says it is time for the city to sell that lot and remove its restrictions regarding development.
The berms were easy decisions for this council to make, said Turner. Other councils had been reluctant to make that decision and spend the money. A lot of money was spent but on things that had to be done, he says.