Travis Frank claims that being part of Estevan city council has always been a dream of his, and so he is running to be a councillor in the upcoming term.
Frank filed his councillor papers on Sept. 21, just a few hours before the submission deadline. He is one of nine candidates vying for six councillor seats.
He believes now is the right time for him to run, as he will be able to balance the commitment required for council with that of work and other projects.
“I’ve always had numerous projects on the go,” said Frank. “Obviously council is the largest time commitment that I would ever have, but I definitely feel ready.”
While he hasn’t been involved with any City of Estevan committees, he has been part of other boards and committees.
Frank has followed council closely since he was in high school, and if he is elected, he will spend more time educating himself on the major issues that council will have to tackle.
“I have always had an interest in council,” said Frank. “I had the opportunity to be on the camera side of council for a number of years (with Access Communications), so now it’s exciting to have the opportunity to be on the other side.”
The current council has done a good job, he said, and the community has done some “amazing” things in the last four years. Estevan experienced an economic boom, which allowed the city to grow, but that has since ended.
“Continuing with growth is a big thing that I really want to see,” said Frank. “Obviously, with the economic downturn that we’ve had, we’re finally starting to see that plateau and we’re starting to see a little bit of a rise.”
Frank believes that bringing in some diverse businesses would create jobs and boost economic development.
He is pleased that during the downturn, Estevan has been able to host such events as the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup junior A hockey tournament and the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
Frank is also impressed with beautification efforts that have taken place during the past four years.
“I think we’ve got the right team within city hall working on that,” he said.
He applauded council’s efforts to pay down the city’s debt, and he hopes it will continue during the next four years.
There are public works and infrastructure projects, such as the resurfacing of King Street, which he believes need to happen during the next term. There are other improvements to local roads that are needed.
Frank spent a lot of time deciding whether he wanted to run for council, but he stressed he has always wanted to be elected to council.
“I’ve also known, obviously, as a much younger candidate, that I was experienced enough, and had done enough projects in the community to really feel that I knew what I was doing,” said Frank.
The more he thought about it, the more he believed that he is now ready to be part of city council.
