Establishment of an Edson Youth Council a key priority for Kevin Zahara

With the municipal election quickly approaching, Mayoral candidate Kevin Zahara released his first of five platform planks, a focus on youth.

“A key priority as Mayor would be to establish an Edson Youth Council to provide advice on issues impacting youth and input on the work we are doing to ensure sound decisions are made for future generations,” said Kevin Zahara who was first elected at 19.

Zahara covered council for work experience in High School for a radio station and says it was the main influence in getting him interested in politics. The Youth Council would be a mechanism for Town Council to get input from youth with a goal of creating the next generation of leaders and volunteers.

“Details on the nomination process and the terms of reference would be created in collaboration with school divisions, the Boys and Girls Club and other organizations that do important work with youth in Edson. I’d like to see it modelled after the Edmonton Youth Council on a smaller scale due to our size.”

That council is an advisory committee of Edmonton City Council comprised of youth 13 to 23. Their mission is to “Educate and empower youth to provide meaningful input and to take action on local issues and municipal politics.”

Many Edson employers are struggling to attract people for key positions. Zahara wants to collaborate with them, Yellowhead County and School Divisions to encourage youth to return to Edson after PostSecondary. This could include a grant program to assist students with post-secondary studies. In exchange they’d commit to returning to Edson for a period of time to work in their area of expertise.

“It’s important we foster leadership and provide youth with every opportunity to succeed in Edson.”

Zahara says he’d also like to implement a recognition program for outstanding local youth and create a Mayor for a Day program to further engage youth and get them interested in leadership roles. Zahara also supports a long-term commitment to having an RCMP School Resource Officer in Edson with funding to come from partners and the automated enforcement program. More information is available at

www.kevinzahara.ca. Stay tuned for further platform information in the coming weeks.

To learn more about the Edmonton Youth Council visit: https://www.ceyc.ca/