Della Burkitt

Candidate for County Council Ward 5 Della Burkitt visits the Porch. She is running in the smallest riding by land but one of the biggest by population. She thinks the biggest challenge for Cypress County is listening to what residents want and getting the other 9 people at the table to come up with a strategy to move Cypress County forward.

Transcript

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You should run. You'd be really good. I never thought of it. I never thought that this would be something within my realm of understanding. I didn't really care honestly, about politics. I wasn't deep diving into it. But then I kind of went, okay, well, maybe I could be. And then you just get committed. This episode of Bring Back the Porch brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. And our guest on this episode of Bring Back the Porch is Della Burkitt a candidate for Cypress County? Ward five. Correct. Now, Ward five is as close to Medicine Hat as you can get. Correct. So it includes Dunmore, Veinerville everywhere in between. It goes all the way up to the South Saskatchewan River and cuts off at the 120. Looking at the, the map of all the wards. It's the smallest. So you have less land to cover, less land. But far more people. That's key. Yeah. Population. What brought Della Birkett into the political ring. Well, what I can tell you is that about four years ago I was looking into things and we were camping and we were just talking and you know how you kind of have the fire and a couple of wobbly pops and, you just bring forward ideas and concerns and things like that. And a previous councilor said you should run. You'd be really good. I never thought of it. I never thought that this would be something within my realm of understanding. I didn't really care honestly, about politics. I wasn't deep diving into it. But then I kind of went, okay, well, maybe. Could be. And then you just get committed and then you just put one foot in front of the other. And so are you a politician or are you a candidate. David Carter gave me some advice because he was giving me a headache. Former MLA and former speaker of the legislature that I didn't put my name forward. He said, you should have run. He said, you're a good candidate, a good person. I said, David, I'm not a politician. I don't want to be a politician. He says, you don't have to be a politician. You just have to listen. 100%. That's what it is. And that's what it's about, is really honing in, being able to be in a room full of people and understanding that each and every one, regardless if they agree with you or if they don't, they have an opinion and they should be able to share that with you. How was the campaign been for you so far? Really positive. I'm excited. What's what's got your blood pumping? Well, we did our first ever live form for Cypress County, which was amazing over at Eagle Butte High School. We've got, when I'm doorknocking kind of the concerns and people are opening up far more to me now, now that I'm going door to door. But we've got great things happening with Prairie Rose. We've got great things happening in this in the town of Dunmore. We've got great things happening to the north up in Vineville. It's time for Cypress County to move forward in a way that's just super exciting, because some of it's unknown, and some of it is that you're sitting there and it's like, It's time with your ward being so close to, to Medicine Hat. It's kind of like being Canada versus the Americans when, you know, when medicine that rolls over, you get flattened sleeping next to an elephant. So the beautiful thing, actually, I think living beside a city is that we should have then regional representative representation. So it's not just Medicine Hat, it's not just Cypress County, it's not just Redcliffe, it's all of southeastern Alberta. And the relationships that have come from, myself talking with other candidates and with past. I think that the relationships are really good. People are starting to listen to one another and really see what this region can bring, and stop making it the forgotten corner, make it the place to come. You find that, this election is engaged more people. Oh, 100%, yes. Last election, I lost by a very small margin. And this time going to the door. People are like, oh, yeah, well, we knew that you ran last time. And I was like, thank you. Did you vote for me last time? And it gets to the point where it actually kind of it matters that they voted for me. I just want them to vote. This is their democratic right. In order to come up, step up and say, this has been my choice, this is my decision, and let's have a conversation about it. So you mentioned you ran four years ago and you didn't win the election. So what did you do over the last four years to prepare for this? So what I heard four years ago is that I didn't quite know enough about Cypress County themselves. I didn't quite know about, the budget, the finances, the bylaws, the governance, things like that. So what I've done is in the past four years, I've been able to get on a whole bunch of Cypress County Board. So municipal planning Commission, MPC, which helps with all the bylaws and assessment, Review board, Subdivision and Appeals Board and verge for Economic Development. And that has opened my eyes huge as to what's acceptable and what really isn't, and what's working and what kind of isn't. What is the biggest challenge facing Cypress County as a whole? I believe the biggest challenge right now, is really taking what the residents needs are versus their once, and then bringing that to the table and then having nine people collectively come up with a strategy to move Cypress County forward. Is that a challenge with the ward system? We were talking with Robin Kirby White, who's a current councilor seeking reelection, and he said sometimes with the ward system, it pits one area against another, and you have to do some work to convince the other councilors from the other areas that this is something that will benefit everybody. It's a little different than if you were sitting in a city council that just looks after the entire city. Right? So for a ward system, when you're put into a ward system, there's not really a mandate. You go out there, you have a whole bunch of great ideas, and if you're elected, great, then the nine, the council members who are elected to that or, to that ward, what ends up happening is then they select their reads, I think, and I actually I watched, Robin's podcast and I really actually enjoyed his idea that within. Yeah, within the next 4 to 8 years, Cypress County residents should be able to pick who their representative is. Their reads. I think that then it brings forward a mandate. It allows the people to say this is where we want Cypress County to go, and then it also holds us accountable. Who are in those words. One of the things that happened over the last four years was in Irvine, where they put a library in where there were people who did not in Irvine want that library. They didn't want to lose the park that was there. And it was interesting watching how the dynamics of that decision came down, where the people of Irvine asked the council, don't put it here. And yet, you know, the other five and, Cypress County said, no, we're going to put it there. And they made the decision a tough one. It is a very tough one. I was actually on the other side of the coin with that one. I was actually part of the Irvine Lions who took out who took care of that park for many of years. I think that when decisions like that are meant to be made, you really need to understand where the public's coming from. You need to be able to listen and then also take into account what their thoughts and what their feelings are. A lot of feelings got hurt during that time. I myself was one of many that showed up because we got the notice from Cypress County and we had to pull all of the parking, all of the park equipment. It was heartbreaking. But I think that would have been minimized if Cypress County would have had, not so much the open house that was mentioned, but public consultation, where when people come to the table, it's a value. People did get involved in that decision. I believe there was a petition that went out and then it got rejected for technicalities, which I don't know how that made you feel when it happened to you. I myself, I didn't have anything to do with the petition. Okay. That would have been Marina. Cool. Oh. From, Chainsaw Spirit. But the amount of work that goes into putting something in there in order just to rip it up, I mean, it's frustrating. However, on the other side, there's certain, guidelines that you have to abide by when you're doing these certain things. And if you don't abide by them, unfortunately, all the hard work is for nothing. So is there a political lesson to be learned from that? You know how it all came down, where the people who were actually affected by the decision were there? I guess point of view was ignored. I think that I'm just going to reiterate what I had said. Again, you need to be in a position to accept people's points of view, whether they agree with you or whether they don't, and then take that back into consideration and bring it to the nine people. The other option, I guess, would have been a full blown town hall where, where, yes, have all counselors because this would have been a Cypress County decision. Have all nine counselors there and have a mic come ask questions. If we can answer, great. If we can't, then we would defer to staff or something like that. But then that brings just that piece of the puzzle. I think that was really missing. We talked about, some of the issues that are facing the county as a whole. What about in Ward five? What are the particular concerns that you're hearing from people? Well, what I'm hearing is that. It's. I guess up in the north, an area over by Vineville, infrastructure is a big one. We have a water co-op up there, and we had a life form and I got asked the water question, and I'm like, I don't know enough to talk about it. Since a life form, I've reached out and been heavily involved in getting more knowledge, infrastructure wise. I mean, if we're putting in these water co-ops, years ago and all of a sudden things change or standards change, then if it's not us, who's up to upholding them, well, then we need to be there to help. And sometimes that's when hand-holding is needed. I think that moving forward and really working with people step by step is the key. With your proximity to the city Medicine Hat, does that bring some opportunities to Ward five for economic development? I think so they just, redevelop the IDP. So that's the, economic development relationship between Medicine Hat, Cypress County and Red Cliff. What this does is then it allows the councils to kind of come together. What I would like to see as far more of that, I think that we're too close not to be talking this less. There needs to be a lot of more kitchen table conversations. Like this. One, like this one, which I love. And people need to start getting along. Coming. And here is our one plan, one agenda. And let's figure out how we're going to get there. Okay. Cypress County in its breadth. It's a big area. And some like you say, your ward has the most people, but it's the smallest. How do you I guess, talk to someone who has like it's Ward nine. I think it is. When you look at it on the map, it's it's huge, but it is huge. It's. It's Suffield and a bunch of, you know, cows and horses, and farmers who are very important. Oh. So how do you how do you, you know, I guess, understand where they're coming from when you're on a council. So I can absolutely relate. So I grew up on a farm just north of Shuler, and well, if anyone knows, if he can't make the 45 minute drive while you're kind of in the middle of nowhere. So, but talking to the farmers rock picking for the farmers, I mean, I've lived it, I've breathed it. So when it comes to taking in their considerations, it's very much at my heart. Okay, what are the other issues that you think you need to bring to the table here in this election for Cypress County, not just for Ward five? What I would really actually like to see is to have evening council sessions. There's a whole bunch of different municipalities that do that. I've heard it well over not just the four years, but even previous. People want to come, they want to get involved, but then they have to take the day off work. I can't afford to take a day off work. So why would we put them in that position where we're there? We're sitting there in the chairs because they elected us. So we should also be also helping them get involved. Have you heard any ideas on the campaign trail from some of the other candidates that you went, oh, that makes sense. Well, I have to actually see from watching Robins, and with the position of the Reeve, I think that that's going to be huge coming up. And, well, it's a little too late for this election, but for the coming up election, again, it's giving the people their voice to which who they would believe would better represent the whole of Cypress County. Is there an area that is, close to your heart in terms of economic development and industry you'd like to see attracted to Cypress County? Maybe not in the Ward five, but into the county is whole. I think that, even though there is a little bit of tension with the urban library, I would like to actually see more economic development come through. We've got Ervin, which, I mean, it's it's great to be out in Ervin. They were talking about a possible campground that would be out there, but then we also have elk water. Who? I mean, if we could work really hard on getting. I am a little bit of, debris in that all cleared out from the forest. I mean, fire safety, fire hazards. But get that secondary road built. I think that that would be a huge thing. Are you talking about the 41 A or a different road from Ervin to the Hills? That would be actually branched off the 41. Okay. All right. I'm not sure if there's anything else that you wanted to touch on here. Being from the city, we don't really hear a whole lot about Cypress County. So, the floor is yours. Well, Cypress County, I feel coming from multiple wards. It's like a big family. You're all there at the supper table. You're going to have fights, you're going to have scraps. But in the end, your family and you have to be able to realize that your family. And again, it's for the people letting the people here, and yeah, it's just being open minded and ready for change. All right. Della Burkett, candidate for Ward five, Cypress County Council, thanks for the visit. Thank you.