Coffman eyes fourth term on council
Representing the city of Lethbridge as a councillor is about more than just “giving back to your community.”
“During this campaign I’d really like to elevate the level of debate. I want to encourage our community to expect more of city council. I want the community to understand the role and responsibility we truly have,” said Jeffrey Coffman, who filed nomination papers on Monday to run for his fourth term.
“This is not a job about just doing it because you want to give back to the community or because you have time. This is actually a job that has legislative requirements to it and it’s incumbent upon council to ensure that each and every one of us sitting there knows what the rules and responsibilities are.”
Coffman was first elected to council in 1995 and served one term. He was re-elected in the 2011 byelection, and again in 2013.
In 2010, he obtained his master’s in political science at the University of Lethbridge. He now teaches local government and politics at the U of L.
Overall, he says his goals remain the same. He is focused on establishing policies that help the organization “move in a business-like direction, but still recognize and respect that we are an organization about people and the community.”
Coffman believes this past council accomplished a lot in terms of some of its infrastructure and social goals.
“But this is an organization that is constantly moving forward and I think we have to be addressing some of the emerging needs,” he said. “The next council is going to be facing an awful lot of decisions based on long-term debt, based on funding, based on changes in senior administration, and the council needs to be prepared for that.”
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