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CHRIS THIESSEN RUNNING AGAIN FOR THE FUTURE!
Welcome to all who have arrived here, my name is Chris Thiessen and for the past 4 years I have been honoured to serve as a member of YOUR City Council. And, it is with great pleasure and excitement, that I am seeking to serve as YOUR City Councillor once again! If by chance, this is our first acquaintance, please allow me to tell you a little about who I am.
I am a proud 39 year old father raising my family in the city that I love and have spent over half my life in. Besides my role on Council and over the past 14 years, I have served the population of Grande Prairie to my fullest in a variety of arts, culture, humanitarian, health, education and environmental endeavors. I am a believer in many things, but mostly in the human spirit and the connection it shares to its surrounding environment and community.
As a member on Council I have served under this principle, assisting in the future well-being of our city by presenting and enabling ideas of sustainable community living and positive growth, advocating for the environment and social policy reforms to all levels of government, and by staying connected to you - the similar and diverse people of our population. Now, throughout this website and leading up to the election, I will be sharing many things with you and I hope you will surf around, check it all out, and then come back for more. Before you do that, I would first like to talk about City Council, the important role it plays in the creation of Our Community.
It is my belief that a good council is comprised of a small, thoughtful group of dedicated citizens who respectfully represent - and are willing to listen to and learn from - the diverse perspectives in our community. A good council plans and responds to the needs of their community by providing services that improve the quality of living for its residents. And finally, a good council makes responsible, informed decisions and directs innovative solutions through policy, guidance and funding by understanding the present and future needs of our community - with consideration of where we are in the global community.
I was blessed to be on a good council in my first term served for this city - a team that functioned exactly as stated above - and I am proud of our MANY accomplishments. When challenges arose in the community, we pursued and enacted solutions. When we saw a need in the community, we responded with consideration, care and purpose in our decision making. Being mindful of our present and future we successfully advocated, planned and prepared for more schools, social housing, regional partnerships, major road infrastructure, increases to FCSS and transit funding, environmental innovations, green spaces, and recreational facilities. Through administration, we created more transparent, efficient, and holistic processes and programs that encourage better citizen engagement, participation, and investment. We invested in the overall safety of our city and worked diligently to foster a caring, connected, community. We were flexible and firm in our strategic plans, strong and united when speaking on our community's behalf to other levels of government, and in many cases have become leaders of social change for communities across the Province. We helped our esteemed colleague, friend, and local living legend Helen Rice, give us a STRONG voice for communities across the Province as the FIRST Grande Prairie elected President of AUMA (Alberta Urban Municipalities Association). AND we even became the FIRST municipality in Alberta to incorporate an Edible Landscaping Policy!
Four years went by extremely fast and these are mostly broad strokes of what we did, but it is important to note that none of this happened by one member alone - we achieved this together as a team - a unison voice created by you the voters. Although as a team, we didn't always agree 100% on some things, we honoured each member's perspective respectfully and left most of the impassioned debate at the council table. I will cherish the past four years as some of the fondest of my life because I know how much of a difference we have made amidst the inevitable growing pains of building and governing a community. I have given, learned and done much as a member of YOUR City Council and know that there is still so much more I can give and learn and do for our community. Which is why, offering my service and voice to continue on Council was the easiest choice I have ever made in my life. Now, the choice is yours. I hope on, by or before October 16th, I have earned your vote to continue to build a better community for all to prosper in Grande Prairie.
Sincerely,
Chris Thiessen
Candidate for Re-Election
to the Position of Councillor
I am a proud 39 year old father raising my family in the city that I love and have spent over half my life in. Besides my role on Council and over the past 14 years, I have served the population of Grande Prairie to my fullest in a variety of arts, culture, humanitarian, health, education and environmental endeavors. I am a believer in many things, but mostly in the human spirit and the connection it shares to its surrounding environment and community.
As a member on Council I have served under this principle, assisting in the future well-being of our city by presenting and enabling ideas of sustainable community living and positive growth, advocating for the environment and social policy reforms to all levels of government, and by staying connected to you - the similar and diverse people of our population. Now, throughout this website and leading up to the election, I will be sharing many things with you and I hope you will surf around, check it all out, and then come back for more. Before you do that, I would first like to talk about City Council, the important role it plays in the creation of Our Community.
It is my belief that a good council is comprised of a small, thoughtful group of dedicated citizens who respectfully represent - and are willing to listen to and learn from - the diverse perspectives in our community. A good council plans and responds to the needs of their community by providing services that improve the quality of living for its residents. And finally, a good council makes responsible, informed decisions and directs innovative solutions through policy, guidance and funding by understanding the present and future needs of our community - with consideration of where we are in the global community.
I was blessed to be on a good council in my first term served for this city - a team that functioned exactly as stated above - and I am proud of our MANY accomplishments. When challenges arose in the community, we pursued and enacted solutions. When we saw a need in the community, we responded with consideration, care and purpose in our decision making. Being mindful of our present and future we successfully advocated, planned and prepared for more schools, social housing, regional partnerships, major road infrastructure, increases to FCSS and transit funding, environmental innovations, green spaces, and recreational facilities. Through administration, we created more transparent, efficient, and holistic processes and programs that encourage better citizen engagement, participation, and investment. We invested in the overall safety of our city and worked diligently to foster a caring, connected, community. We were flexible and firm in our strategic plans, strong and united when speaking on our community's behalf to other levels of government, and in many cases have become leaders of social change for communities across the Province. We helped our esteemed colleague, friend, and local living legend Helen Rice, give us a STRONG voice for communities across the Province as the FIRST Grande Prairie elected President of AUMA (Alberta Urban Municipalities Association). AND we even became the FIRST municipality in Alberta to incorporate an Edible Landscaping Policy!
Four years went by extremely fast and these are mostly broad strokes of what we did, but it is important to note that none of this happened by one member alone - we achieved this together as a team - a unison voice created by you the voters. Although as a team, we didn't always agree 100% on some things, we honoured each member's perspective respectfully and left most of the impassioned debate at the council table. I will cherish the past four years as some of the fondest of my life because I know how much of a difference we have made amidst the inevitable growing pains of building and governing a community. I have given, learned and done much as a member of YOUR City Council and know that there is still so much more I can give and learn and do for our community. Which is why, offering my service and voice to continue on Council was the easiest choice I have ever made in my life. Now, the choice is yours. I hope on, by or before October 16th, I have earned your vote to continue to build a better community for all to prosper in Grande Prairie.
Sincerely,
Chris Thiessen
Candidate for Re-Election
to the Position of Councillor