City passion fuels Iwaskiw
Liz Iwaskiw still feels passionate about her job. Which is why she is running for a fourth term as a Lethbridge city councillor.
Iwaskiw was first elected to city council in 2004, then again in 2010 and 2013.
“I thought, ‘how do I explain to people why I’m doing this again,’ and the best way I can describe it is I love my job. I love working for this city. I’m really proud of the stuff this council has done and my contemporaries have already listed a lot of those things,” she said on Monday, after filing her nomination papers.
Some of the accomplishments she’s most proud of this last term include the city constructing “great facilities, roads and buildings.” One of her favourites is the new dog park on the westside, which she says many residents wanted.
“I would have never thought it would be such a big deal,” she said. “It’s a huge deal, and people love it, and we’re building one on the northside. So the things we’re doing, the things we’ve done and what we have planned, I just think are exceptional and this is a good city because of it.”
She’s proud of the work council has done to be more transparent to the public. She noted there are many ways the public can interact with members of council.
The long-time resident of Lethbridge said it’s not only the work accomplished with council she is proud of. There is also her work as a member of the Police Commission. She’s proud of the commission hiring a new police chief, Rob Davis, in 2015, as well as the nearly complete renovations to the police station.
As a northside resident, she hopes to be an elected member of council when Legacy Park is completed.
“It’s going to bring vibrancy to the northside in a way that I find really exciting,” she said. “So, there’s so many things we’ve started that I want to see to the end.”
Every time she’s run for council in the past, she said she hasn’t made any “crazy promises.”
“Except that I will do my homework and I’ll make smart decisions based on the information in front of me,” she said. “I’m proud of the fact that I’m capable of making hard decisions. Even when I know people are going to be mad at me, I’m still willing to do what I think is right for the community.”
Iwaskiw said she “sort of struggled” with the decision of whether or not to run again. But her grandchildren, and future generations, inspired her to keep going.
“If you go to other cities, you see crumbling infrastructure and lousy facilities. I’m proud of this city and I want to be part of the team that helps it keep going,” she said. “Who knows what will happen, but I’m willing to put my name out there because I believe I have something to bring to the table.”
Iwaskiw is a professional mediator and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Lethbridge.
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