As the race to form the next Smithers council heats up, three new candidates offer their insights as to why change is needed for Smithers council and how they intend to create that change.

Candidates Calvin Elliott, Jason McCrindle and Adam Koch are all new to municipal politics but are hoping to lead the community forward and focus more attention on shoring up infrastructure and attracting new business.

Calvin Elliott is a manager at West Fraser construction and wants to bring compassion and innovation to council decisions.

“I’ve been thinking of running for council for a while now,” said Elliott. “But I’m running now because I feel I can offer some insight on the issues, I have a background in management and feel there is a disconnect on council between regular working people, the inner workings of town council and the social issues we’ve been facing.”

Jason McCrindle is part of the leadership team at Frontier Chrysler and recently moved back to Smithers with his wife and children. He feels council has left the business community behind and wants to change that and find new streams of revenue for the community.

“Right now we have an airport that costs you more to fly in and out of than in Terrace or Prince Rupert, “McCrindle said. “There’s no public transportation here, staff being flown by companies need to put them up in a hotel, housing is an issue. So these things need to change for our community moving forward.”

Adam Koch, 27, is the youngest of the candidates but wants to bring a strong voice for the youth to council and focus on affordability, which has been dwindling in the past few years.

“I like to take a practical approach to things,” said Koch. “Affordability has become a huge issue in Smithers. I want to be a voice for the youth in the community and get them more involved with municipal politics.

Listen to the full interviews below.