By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Bruce Thurber joins race for Lethbridge City Council

Sep 15, 2017 | 6:04 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A first time candidate in the race for a spot on Lethbridge City Council has stepped forward, hoping to bring a new perspective to the table.

Bruce Thurber comes in with 25-years of experience as an engineer in both the public and private sectors in southern Alberta.

“Honestly, I really love Lethbridge. It’s a great community, I’m raising my kids here, my oldest is in university here, and I would love to be part of just shaping the future of Lethbridge,” said Thurber in an interview with Lethbridge News Now.

“I’ve worked on the public-sector side, so, transportation engineers and planning engineers for the City of Medicine Hat. I’ve also been a consultant, so I’ve worked in the private sector delivering projects for the city,” he continued. “Also, I’ve volunteered with municipal planning commissions, both in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge – I’m currently on the planning commission in Lethbridge. So, I’ve got a really good base of knowledge around city workings and issues and how to deal with them.”

Thurber says that as an engineer, it gives him a unique perspective, which he feels would be a significant benefit for Lethbridge residents.

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“I think I can bring that engineers voice of let’s look at things and let’s try to be innovative and creative, and can we do things differently for a better outcome for the people, maybe to save them some money also.

“At the end of the day when council makes decisions on expenditures, we’re spending people’s money. It’s not ours, it’s everybody’s in Lethbridge. So, we’ve got to be very, very responsible,” Thurber added.

As far as specific issues he plans to run on, Thurber says he is a strong supporter of business. As a member of council, he says he would like to help develop policies and programs to help businesses flourish.

With his background in transportation engineering, Thurber also says he’s an advocate for transportation and transit issues.

“In 2018, we’ll do a transit master plan, and if elected, I would really love to sit on that committee or steering committee as a council member to help shape that,” he explained. “I’m a supporter of subsidizing or reducing the cost of transit for students. They’re a huge ridership and they have enough costs already.”

While his experience and knowledge base is key to his platform, Thurber added that it is crucial for him to gather as much feedback from Lethbridge residents as possible, saying he encourages everyone to contact him with any questions or comments they may have.