OLDS – Chad Taylor, a 44-year old owner/operator of a handyman business, is running for a seat on the Town of Olds' council in the Oct. 20 municipal election.
During an interview with the Albertan, Taylor confirmed he’s running to be a councillor, not mayor.
Taylor has lived in Olds for about eight years, having moved to the community from the Airdrie/Calgary area to take advantage of the high-speed internet service offered by O-NET.
That town-owned company was bought by Telus last November.
“I always tell people I kind of always wanted to be in a small town. So I figured if I could choose any town to go to, I would choose the one with the best internet,” he said.
“And way back when I was thinking about doing that, it had the fastest internet in all of Canada, so that jumped it right to the top of the list.”
Taylor was asked why he decided to run for council.
“I really like this town and they say the best way to get involved, to make a difference, is as a councillor,” he said.
“It’s not something I would typically do, but I'm giving it a try.”
Taylor has attended virtually all town council and committee of the whole meetings this year to get an understanding of how council operates.
“It's been kind of my dry run to ensure that I could balance the responsibilities of being a councillor and running my own business,” Taylor said.
During that time, he’s been especially impressed with Coun. Darren Wilson’s focus on costs.
“He'll raise his hand and ask the pertinent questions; where all the money's going or where it's coming from, stuff like that,” he said.
Taylor said if elected, he would be a conservative, business-oriented councillor with a focus on technology.
“I like that kind of stuff,” he said.
“I'm not going to be (able) to solve every single problem that town has or anything. I have no illusions of that. I'd be a first-time councillor,” Taylor said.
“But I do think that I have something worthwhile to say and something that is lacking right now.”
