text: Skibington-Roffel aims for council | Airdrie Echo
  Council candidate wants Airdrie to be "strong autonomous city"
  Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:22:03 MST PM
  Airdrie resident Daria Skibington-Roffel has announced her candidacy in the upcoming municipal election.
  Skibington-Roffel will be seeking one of six seats on council. Airdrians will take to the polls to vote for their mayor and council Oct. 16.
  Skibington-Roffel said she has considered running for council before, but this election the decision finally felt right.
  "I'm really eager to get back involved in the City," said Skibington-Roffel. "I think the City has a lot of potential to do great things."
  Skibington-Roffel moved to Airdrie from Calgary in 2005. Since then, she has been involved in the community in numerous ways such as helping establish the current organization Volunteer Airdrie and being a part of the City's sustainability plan, AirdrieONE. She is also the vice president of the Airdrie and District Hospice Society and serves as the Fund Development Officer for Airdrie P.O.WE.R.
  One of Skibington-Roffel's major goals for Airdrie is to make Airdrie "a strong autonomous city."
  Skibington-Roffel is also passionate about addressing healthcare needs for the City. She would advocate for stronger healthcare services, such as a women's shelter and second stage housing, if elected.
  She is also in support of the The Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Cooperative (AAHBC), a grassroots organization with plans to bring a healthcare campus to the City with Alberta Health Services as a stakeholder.
  "It makes a lot of sense," said Skibington-Roffel. "[Adequate healthcare] is something we've needed for so long."
  Skibington-Roffel is also passionate about planning the city's services and infrastructure properly as Airdrie continues to grow.
  "We've got so many people coming in and I'd like to see a really solid plan for development," said Skibington-Roffel.
  She is not certain now is the time to invest in revitalizing downtown - a contentious issue in the community lately - given the province's rocky economy.
  "More work that needs to be done before we can make plans for that," she said, noting she was opposed to the The Square - a multi-million dollar plan to revitalize downtown that was an-nounced by the City and squashed months later due to push back from the community.
  Skibington-Roffel said although she has thoughts on what would make the city a better place, her goal as a candidate is to be a representative of the community's wants and needs.
  "I want to be open and I want to be an advocate of the people of the city," said Skibington-Roffel. "Its one thing to say heres my platform but if I'm not aligned with the people than what is the point?"
  She encourages residents to get in touch with her to share their thoughts on the future of the City.