CHRIS THIESSEN - FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE!!!
(Photo Credit: MAJ Photography)
Welcome to all who have arrived here! My name is Chris Thiessen and for the past 8 years I have been honored to serve as a member of YOUR City Council. And it is with great excitement, new ideas, and optimism for the future that I am seeking to be 'Three-Elected' to serve as YOUR City Councillor once again! Throughout this website and leading up to the election, I will be sharing many things with you and I hope you will surf around, check it all out, and then come back for more. Before you do that though, please allow this page's reading for me to tell you a bit about myself and the important role that City Council plays in the creation of Our Community.
I am a proud 43 year old father raising my son in the city that I love and have spent over half my life in. For those who know me already, you know (or at least see) I have a great love for this community and a compassionate heart for all people in general. I am a character and a man of character; an out-of-the-box thinker, excellent public speaker, active supporter for good causes, and I strive to keep my word on the promises I make. I am hard-working, social, friendly, and usually have no trouble standing out in a crowd. I am respectful, speak my truth and love engaging in meaningful conversation. Honesty is my policy and Caring is my procedure. Over the past two decades, besides my role(s) on Council, I have served the population of Grande Prairie to my fullest in a multitude of arts, culture, humanitarian, youth, health, education, justice, environmental, and charitable causes. I believe in many things, but mostly the power of love, the human spirit, and the influential connection they share with the surrounding environment and community.
These past two terms I have been privileged by you, to have a voice at the Council table and know that my contributions on those teams provided long-lasting value and positive growth for the community, we all serve and live in. This has not been a position I have ever taken lightly, as I have experienced firsthand what good can be done through it. So, I approach the role everyday with both the joy and passion that making a positive difference in our community brings. Of course, the position is not always free of its challenges. Which is why, if I were to personally define the job, I would say, "To be a City Councillor is to assume a role in community leadership. It requires vision, thoughtfulness, good communication, critical thinking skills, dedication, adaptability, accessibility, a willingness to learn, the ability to have healthy discourse, and most importantly - a genuine care for the community". For, it is Council's responsibility to guide the direction, growth, laws, and service investments of our city through good governance and meaningful policy that helps to create and sustain a vibrant, livable community today and for generations to come. So then, what to me makes a good Council?
A good Council is comprised of a small, thoughtful group of dedicated citizens who respectfully represent - and are willing to listen to and learn from - the diverse perspectives in our community. A good Council plans and responds to the needs of their community by providing services that improve the quality of living for its residents. A good Council makes responsible, informed decisions and directs innovative solutions through policy, guidance, advocacy and budget. A good Council understands the present and future needs of our growing community, with mindful consideration of where we are in our global community.
I was blessed to be on two good Councils, in my two terms served for this city thus far. They were teams that functioned exactly as stated above, albeit differently and amidst different local/global backdrops, and I am proud of our MANY accomplishments. From team to team, term to term, we are all in it together. When challenges arose in the community, we pursued and enacted solutions to the best of our informed ability. When we saw a need in the community, we responded with consideration, care, and purpose in our decision making. Always being mindful of our present and future, we successfully advocated, planned, prepared, and invested in more schools, social housing, major road infrastructure, environmental innovations, green spaces, and recreational facilities. With administration, we created more transparent, efficient, and holistic processes and programs encouraging better citizen engagement, participation, and investment in their neighbourhoods. We invested in the overall safety of our city and worked diligently to fostering a caring, connected, and healthier community throughout the ebbs, flows, and waves of COVID-19. We successfully managed the emergency response of major fires in Northern Alberta and overland flooding of our Region. We planted MORE TREES than any other Council before us, became a 'Bee City', created orchards in neighbourhoods across the city, and gave out thousands of gardening kits to families at home during the pandemic through the GPGrows program. In preparation of future Provincial infrastructure grant cuts, we invested heavily on our road infrastructure to historic spending numbers. We created grants to assist businesses in improving their facades, staff training, and accessibility to the public. We were mindful on how we could improve the accessibility of the City and our facilities for people with disabilities. We were flexible and firm in our strategic plans, strong and united when speaking on our community's behalf to other levels of government and when we asked, we got answers or results. And we did this all WITHOUT RAISING TAXES over the 4-year term!
These past few years went by extremely fast and these are mostly broad strokes of what we accomplished. It is important to note that none of this happened by one member alone. We achieved this together as a team - a unison voice created by you the voters. Although as a team, we didn't always agree 100% on some things, we honoured each member's perspective respectfully and left most of the impassioned debate at the council table. As a team, like many this past year, we were also challenged to persevere through losses with the passing of our dear friend and colleague Councillor Clyde Blackburn, and the departure of our longstanding Mayor, Bill Given to greener more mountainous pastures in Jasper. To each of them and their families, I would like to thank them once more here for their outstanding years of service to our community. To Clyde, I know you are still with us in spirit as you always were even when you couldn't sit at the table with us, your dedication and passion to serve were hallmarks of your being. Thank you for teaching me that you can be a voice in the wilderness AND the voice of reason at the same time. To Bill, without your encouragement, I may have never taken the leap to serve our community at this level. Thank you for always leading with humility, intelligence, compassion, foresight, and your dedicated pursuance to the improvement of our community.
I will cherish the past eight years as some of the fondest of my life because I know how much of a difference we have made amidst the inevitable growing pains of building and governing a community, while global issues are landing on your local doorstep. I have given, learned and done much as a member of YOUR City Council and know that there is still so much more I can give and learn and do for our community over the next term. To continue our path towards sustainability through community design.. To mentor and assist the new leaders and Mayor of our community.. To co-create the highest vision of our city as the best version of our collective selves.. It inspires me everyday to wake up and work towards a better today, tomorrow, and future for us all. Which is why, offering my service and voice to continue on Council was the easiest choice I have ever made in my life. And, besides... Trilogies are always better than just a sequel ;) Now, the choice is yours! I hope on, by or before October 18th, I have earned your vote to continue to build a better community for all to prosper in Grande Prairie. Thank you all for being here, and may you all stay glorious!
Sincerely,
Chris Thiessen
Candidate for Three-Election
to the Position of Councillor
780-831-1328
christhiessen1234@icloud.com
Welcome to all who have arrived here! My name is Chris Thiessen and for the past 8 years I have been honored to serve as a member of YOUR City Council. And it is with great excitement, new ideas, and optimism for the future that I am seeking to be 'Three-Elected' to serve as YOUR City Councillor once again! Throughout this website and leading up to the election, I will be sharing many things with you and I hope you will surf around, check it all out, and then come back for more. Before you do that though, please allow this page's reading for me to tell you a bit about myself and the important role that City Council plays in the creation of Our Community.
I am a proud 43 year old father raising my son in the city that I love and have spent over half my life in. For those who know me already, you know (or at least see) I have a great love for this community and a compassionate heart for all people in general. I am a character and a man of character; an out-of-the-box thinker, excellent public speaker, active supporter for good causes, and I strive to keep my word on the promises I make. I am hard-working, social, friendly, and usually have no trouble standing out in a crowd. I am respectful, speak my truth and love engaging in meaningful conversation. Honesty is my policy and Caring is my procedure. Over the past two decades, besides my role(s) on Council, I have served the population of Grande Prairie to my fullest in a multitude of arts, culture, humanitarian, youth, health, education, justice, environmental, and charitable causes. I believe in many things, but mostly the power of love, the human spirit, and the influential connection they share with the surrounding environment and community.
These past two terms I have been privileged by you, to have a voice at the Council table and know that my contributions on those teams provided long-lasting value and positive growth for the community, we all serve and live in. This has not been a position I have ever taken lightly, as I have experienced firsthand what good can be done through it. So, I approach the role everyday with both the joy and passion that making a positive difference in our community brings. Of course, the position is not always free of its challenges. Which is why, if I were to personally define the job, I would say, "To be a City Councillor is to assume a role in community leadership. It requires vision, thoughtfulness, good communication, critical thinking skills, dedication, adaptability, accessibility, a willingness to learn, the ability to have healthy discourse, and most importantly - a genuine care for the community". For, it is Council's responsibility to guide the direction, growth, laws, and service investments of our city through good governance and meaningful policy that helps to create and sustain a vibrant, livable community today and for generations to come. So then, what to me makes a good Council?
A good Council is comprised of a small, thoughtful group of dedicated citizens who respectfully represent - and are willing to listen to and learn from - the diverse perspectives in our community. A good Council plans and responds to the needs of their community by providing services that improve the quality of living for its residents. A good Council makes responsible, informed decisions and directs innovative solutions through policy, guidance, advocacy and budget. A good Council understands the present and future needs of our growing community, with mindful consideration of where we are in our global community.
I was blessed to be on two good Councils, in my two terms served for this city thus far. They were teams that functioned exactly as stated above, albeit differently and amidst different local/global backdrops, and I am proud of our MANY accomplishments. From team to team, term to term, we are all in it together. When challenges arose in the community, we pursued and enacted solutions to the best of our informed ability. When we saw a need in the community, we responded with consideration, care, and purpose in our decision making. Always being mindful of our present and future, we successfully advocated, planned, prepared, and invested in more schools, social housing, major road infrastructure, environmental innovations, green spaces, and recreational facilities. With administration, we created more transparent, efficient, and holistic processes and programs encouraging better citizen engagement, participation, and investment in their neighbourhoods. We invested in the overall safety of our city and worked diligently to fostering a caring, connected, and healthier community throughout the ebbs, flows, and waves of COVID-19. We successfully managed the emergency response of major fires in Northern Alberta and overland flooding of our Region. We planted MORE TREES than any other Council before us, became a 'Bee City', created orchards in neighbourhoods across the city, and gave out thousands of gardening kits to families at home during the pandemic through the GPGrows program. In preparation of future Provincial infrastructure grant cuts, we invested heavily on our road infrastructure to historic spending numbers. We created grants to assist businesses in improving their facades, staff training, and accessibility to the public. We were mindful on how we could improve the accessibility of the City and our facilities for people with disabilities. We were flexible and firm in our strategic plans, strong and united when speaking on our community's behalf to other levels of government and when we asked, we got answers or results. And we did this all WITHOUT RAISING TAXES over the 4-year term!
These past few years went by extremely fast and these are mostly broad strokes of what we accomplished. It is important to note that none of this happened by one member alone. We achieved this together as a team - a unison voice created by you the voters. Although as a team, we didn't always agree 100% on some things, we honoured each member's perspective respectfully and left most of the impassioned debate at the council table. As a team, like many this past year, we were also challenged to persevere through losses with the passing of our dear friend and colleague Councillor Clyde Blackburn, and the departure of our longstanding Mayor, Bill Given to greener more mountainous pastures in Jasper. To each of them and their families, I would like to thank them once more here for their outstanding years of service to our community. To Clyde, I know you are still with us in spirit as you always were even when you couldn't sit at the table with us, your dedication and passion to serve were hallmarks of your being. Thank you for teaching me that you can be a voice in the wilderness AND the voice of reason at the same time. To Bill, without your encouragement, I may have never taken the leap to serve our community at this level. Thank you for always leading with humility, intelligence, compassion, foresight, and your dedicated pursuance to the improvement of our community.
I will cherish the past eight years as some of the fondest of my life because I know how much of a difference we have made amidst the inevitable growing pains of building and governing a community, while global issues are landing on your local doorstep. I have given, learned and done much as a member of YOUR City Council and know that there is still so much more I can give and learn and do for our community over the next term. To continue our path towards sustainability through community design.. To mentor and assist the new leaders and Mayor of our community.. To co-create the highest vision of our city as the best version of our collective selves.. It inspires me everyday to wake up and work towards a better today, tomorrow, and future for us all. Which is why, offering my service and voice to continue on Council was the easiest choice I have ever made in my life. And, besides... Trilogies are always better than just a sequel ;) Now, the choice is yours! I hope on, by or before October 18th, I have earned your vote to continue to build a better community for all to prosper in Grande Prairie. Thank you all for being here, and may you all stay glorious!
Sincerely,
Chris Thiessen
Candidate for Three-Election
to the Position of Councillor
780-831-1328
christhiessen1234@icloud.com