Keean Lehtinen is running to be Lethbridge's next mayor. (Photo submitted by Keean Lehtinen)

By Justin Goulet

Seventh candidate, Keean Lehtinen, added to Lethbridge’s mayoral race

Aug 25, 2021 | 11:19 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The race for Lethbridge’s next mayor has grown by one.

Keean Lehtinen has announced his candidacy, becoming the seventh individual running for mayor in the upcoming municipal vote.

The University of Lethbridge business student is originally from the northern Alberta community of Cold Lake and moved down south in 2015. He told LNN that he thoroughly enjoys living in Alberta, both of his parents are small business owners and he moved to the city specifically for school, “but this is now my favourite place to be.”

“I think that my interest in municipal politics has really stemmed from the fact that I love being here.”

Lehtinen said he has observed the workings of Lethbridge City Council since moving to the community.

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He remarked that, “I think there were a lot of things that previous municipalities could have improved Lethbridge in, both in terms of public safety and in terms of making it so that people are aware of where their tax dollars are going.”

“It seems like none of the current electorate were having a heavy focus on those things, and I wanted to originally go for City Council, but I realized that I could make more of a difference in the mayoral position, so that’s what I chose.”

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Lehtinen believes his background working with the Canadian Armed Forces will be beneficial to addressing local issues.

“My background that most closely ties to municipal politics is four years working with the Armed Forces and currently, I work with a non-profit organization doing government relations and business support, so I do have a decent understanding of the field that I’m going into.”

PLATFORM

Lehtinen’s platform primarily focuses on three key topics, with the first being Galt Gardens.

He said that, “we need to make it family friendly again, and I think that the best way to do that is by ensuring that people downtown have access to reliable public transportation.”

“We [also] need to fund professional development programs and provide municipal funding to groups that are trying to make Galt family friendly again, like the SAGE Clan.”

He noted that there are some areas in the community, like Paradise Canyon and the Blood Reserve, that you cannot get to via public transportation, commenting that, “there’s no public infrastructure that you can use to get there, so it’s just safer for them [the homeless population] to stay in Galt Gardens overnight.”

“While there are some organizations that are providing temporary housing for people in that situation, they’re generally unsafe because there’s a lot of theft and the beds there are functionally just yoga mats on concrete floors, so I think that those people, they’re less there because they want to be and more because it’s just where they need to be.”

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Lehtinen’s second focus is on providing more local mental health supports for Lethbridge’s younger population, as well as those who are retirement age, especially as COVID-19 restrictions lift.

He said that, “we’ve got an epidemic of depression and anxiety, particularly around students and people of retirement age because not only were their social structures disrupted because they were suddenly not able to see their friends or family, but the students, they’ve missed out on key points in their life and their personal development.”

“I think that we shouldn’t wait for the federal government or the provincial government to start subsidizing things like that and I think we should address it now.”

His third point revolves around the Oldman River. He said it’s “one of the best parts of our city” and municipal policy and advocacy is needed to “protect it from private interests.”

“For example, there was the open-faced coal mining waste that was going to be dumped into the water that Lethbridge families swim in. Luckily, due to a mass write-in campaign about the lack of support for sacrificing our river for around 600 jobs, our MLAs were able to put a stop to that, but we need consistent advocacy and fixed policy that’s going to protect the Oldman River.”

Lehtinen is planning a community forum at the University of Lethbridge on October 4. More details on his campaign can be found here.

Voters head to the polls in the 2021 municipal elections October 18.