Promises made, promises kept? New Edmonton councillors eager to work

The dust has barely settled on the 2017 municipal election, but the councillor-elects in Edmonton are already making the rounds.

“I promised the residents of Ward 5 that T would get them a rec centre,” councillor-elect Sarah Hamilton told Global News outside the 630 CHED studios on Tuesday morning.

Hamilton was joined by several of the newly elected Edmontonians eager to make a difference at city hall.

READ MORE: Rec centre, LRT top priorities for new Ward 5 councillor-elect Sarah Hamilton

There will be numerous issues to tackle over the four-year term; everything from the continued questions over infill to approving the final design of the LRT into west Edmonton.

“A lot of people in the west end are really excited about it, but they want to make sure that it’s not going to make their neighbourhoods harder to access,” Hamilton expressed.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A lot of people in the west end are really excited about it, but they want to make sure that it's not going to make their neighbourhoods harder to access," Hamilton expressed.

One of the city-wide debates expected to take place is where to place supportive housing. Last term, Mayor Don Iveson spoke numerous times about the need for all parts of the city to see such housing.

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But will Edmontonians, through their council representatives, buy in?

“There will be questions about that and there may be push-back on that,” Iveson said. “But I sought a mandate explicitly to move in that direction and I will put my shoulder in to getting that done.”

READ MORE: Iveson embraces diversity, slams division in speech day after Edmonton election

For the last several terms, both social and overall quality-of-life issues have been dominant themes as numerous projects both large and small have changed the city.

But, at times, there have been growing pains. That’s where the new councillors, with their new energy, hope to make their mark.

“Everyone in the city is generally in favour of a lot of these initiatives,” said Ward 4 councillor-elect Aaron Paquette, adding, “but they just want to be able to trust that management of these various issues is done in a conscientious and effective manner.”

READ MORE: Ward 4 elects Edmonton’s first Metis councillor

The new council will be sworn in on Oct. 24.

Watch below: In an extremely tight race, newcomer Jon Dziadyk defeated incumbent Edmonton councillor Dave Loken in Ward 3 in Monday night’s election. Gord Steinke speaks with Dziadyk to hear more about his platform.

3:14 Newcomer Jon Dziadyk unseats incumbent Dave Loken in Ward 3