We head to the polls in just 7 days here in Moose Jaw and its getting to be that time where we need to start picking who we will vote for October 25th. In this report, Joel Goodnough, Ira Dales, and Mike Eason.

 

The vote counters are being checked, advance polls open Thursday and run until Saturday afternoon, and election candidates are beating the streets to try and gain as much support as they can heading into the final week of the Moose Jaw Civic Election.

The majority of us will vote next week for a new mayor, city council, and on the future of the multiplex project.

Grow our families, grow our community, and grow our future. That's the campaign slogan for council candidate Joel Goodnough as he takes his first shot at municipal politics in the Moose Jaw Civic Election.

Goodnough chose to run due to the actions of the current council. "As we look around we see that the world is moving ahead at a great rate and unfortunately our past councillors chose to look, look, and look some more and if we look long enough it will be election time once again. I believe its time to stop looking and to start moving forward in our actions. My platform is simple; Growth, Economics, and Family."

Goodnough says Moose Jaw is sitting on a gold mine of untapped resources and together we can use our resources to grow the economy and our city. "You the citizens of Moose Jaw are what make this city great. You need to know that your thoughts are important and your families are important. I want to see people move to this city because of how we treat our youth, our adults, and our seniors. We need to have a council that will work together for the good of Moose Jaw and we need to stop talking about what can not do and what we can do."

Goodnough is the co-owner of a local coffee shop and is also an education assistant at Cornerstone Christian School who supports a family friendly multiplex project that will include as much as possible for local residents to enjoy.

Ira Dales is also asking for our support in his quest for a seat on Moose Jaw City Council in this civic election.

Dales is a Business Analyst with Bombardier at 15 Wing Moose Jaw and believes his experience there will transfer to City Hall. "One of my goals for this city is to make Moose Jaw the third largest city in Saskatchewan. It is an attainable goal, which is interesting enough in line with the Pride and Promise group in Moose Jaw. This group is working towards increasing Moose Jaw's population by 10 thousand people. It is these types of long term goals that this city needs to develop plans to achieve."

Dales supports the multiplex project and believes it can help grow our city, but will consider the plebiscite results on the multiplex before making a final decision. "My pledge to you the citizens of Moose Jaw, is to add no more fuel to the fires of the debate that surrounds this project but will instead ensure that proper studies and experts are involved in this project."

Our next candidate for council says he's ready to stand up for what he believes in and for what we believe in.

28 year old Mike Eason is our next council candidate to be featured in our ongoing election coverage in Moose Jaw. Eason has tried his hand in politics before running unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003. "I will not be happy just watching the issues roll on by. I will fight for what I believe in and I will fight to make a difference. I will fight for everyone and what they believe in. We all need to care about our future. I am here to make a difference with new, young idea."

Eason is one of the younger candidates running for city council and says he wants to work towards keeping youth in the city. "There are not enough business in town to keep the youth in Moose Jaw. Too many people are leaving this town and we have to find a way to keep them here even if it involves attracting more business, which we must do. We must attract more businesses, possibly through more tax breaks, but what ever it takes to keep people in Moose Jaw."

Eason supports the multiplex as a way to grow our city but believes other locations need to be explored than just downtown and the current Civic Centre site.

For more election coverage check out "Its Getting Down to Crunch Time".