Suketu Shah with his family. (Photo from Elect Suketu Shah 2021 on Facebook)

By David Opinko

Suketu Shah running for Lethbridge City Council

Sep 8, 2021 | 12:29 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Suketu Shah’s campaign slogan in his run for Lethbridge City Council this fall is “every voice matters,” and it is a slogan that he says is very important to him.

He told LNN that he has been living in the city since 2014 and wanted to run because he felt that his voice was not being heard.

“There’s been lots of times that we had done lots of complaints at the city and no one wants to listen. It didn’t even merit [going] to the council table for even roundtable discussion. If they just want to discuss it among themselves, then there’s no need for elections, there is no need for us as citizens to pay taxes or anything.”

Transparency and the ability to listen to the public are on the top of Shah’s mind and would be of his biggest commitments if he were to be elected.

He says he wants to be able to hold town hall meetings twice a year at a large venue like Exhibition Park.

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“I would like to be transparent with them and having council sitting in front of them that, you know what, citizens don’t get a chance to ask the questions to all of them together. Instead, how about this – they come to the Exhibition Park, the [city council] sits in front of them, and yes, the decisions cannot be made right then and there, but then at least they can feel that their voices are getting heard.”

“On top of that, if you say something in front of 10,000 people, you have to be pretty [careful] what you answer, what you say, you have to be pretty careful on that, and if you say something, then you better make sure things are getting heard in a proper way.”

His other priority is to make Galt Gardens nicer and safer.

Shah says the city has done a good job at making the downtown park a more vibrant place, but he wants to work with service providers and police to help those who frequent the area who are struggling with homelessness, addictions, or mental health.

In his professional life, Shah is a mortgage broker and also serves as the president of the Gujarati Society of Lethbridge & Area.

General voting day for the 2021 Alberta municipal elections is October 18.

For more details on the municipal election, including who is running locally, use this link.