Rocky View County voters have gone with experience in the Ward 4 election.
Al Schule, who served on council for nine years from the late 1990s into the mid-2000s, was elected in a tight race over first-time political runner Douglas Fairley.
Schule, who ran an automotive shop in Langdon for 27 years before moving into semi-retirement a couple of years ago, hopes to leverage his previous years on council to make for a smooth transition in taking over from two-term councillor Rolly Ashdown, who elected not to run this time around.
The 67-year-old ran on a platform of unfinished business. He says he has several projects he says were started when he was still in office but they weren’t completed, one of which is bringing a police station to Langdon to create more of a presence around the hamlet.
One of the other issues was to recreation facilities, particularly for the youth.
Schule hopes that one thing he can help do is unite council and create a feeling of unity among those new to council and those who are returning.
He believes that a united council will be better for the entire county.
“There’s so many other issues I would like to try and resolve once we unite council,” Schule said. “I would like to work with other municipalities. There seems to be a breakdown in Rocky View.”
There’s so many other issues I would like to try and resolve once we unite council. I would like to work with other municipalities. There seems to be a breakdown in Rocky View, whether it’s Chestermere, as they used to be an ally. We have to try to clean them up.”
Shule hopes with his knowledge of the job he can hit the ground running and start moving things forward in quick fashion.
“One thing I would like to do is try really hard to get industry into Langdon,” Schule said. “Some people might not like it but sooner or later we do need to get industry into Langdon. Some people might want to locally and they should have that opportunity.”
This would seem to be a one-term job for Schule as he expects to stay for just the next four years. Ashdown isn’t ruling out running for the job after he takes a break from his seven years in office.
Fairley faced an uphill challenge in trying to win the job. The retired lieutenant-colonel from the Royal Canadian Air Force moved his family to Langdon three years ago following a five-year stint in Germany.
The Alberta native was always a keen follower of politics but his position in the military prevented him from running for office, but his interest was piqued in this campaign.
