Dennis Schafer is an eager 31-year-old, interested in getting the younger City of Fernie locals engaged in city politics and what goes on around the community.
“If I am in council, it will open their eyes to more concerns that they have. They can feel free to get a hold of me and voice their concern and I can take that to the table,” Schafer said of the younger generation.
But being a voice for that group of individuals isn’t all Schafer plans to do.
“I feel like the Official Community Plan is headed in the right direction, but what frustrates me is the cost of housing and then child care is pretty hard [as well],” Schafer noted. “Now that I’m a home owner and have a family of three, [my views are more catered towards] making sure that Fernie stays the positive place that it is now into the future.”
Schafer added that when he moved to Fernie in 2002, his views and perspectives of Fernie were focused solely on the mountain, but now that he’s settled down, he’s really engaged himself in these ongoing issues. While trying to get his now 6-year-old son into childcare several years ago, Schafer admits that is was extremely challenging and his son had to sit on a waiting list for quite a long time.
If Schafer is voted into council during the 2014 municipal election, he plans to address the limited childcare issue.
The candidate also noted that he has a lot to learn about municipal politics, but he has an open mind and wants to dive right into the City of Fernie issues that are currently being addressed.
“It will be a learning curve but I’m open minded,” Schafer said.