Local resident Cody Dillabough has thrown his hat into the ring for Quesnel City Council.
Dillabough ran for school trustee in the last election and was ultimately defeated, although he says it was a close race. He says the experience gave him a taste for politics, and spurred his decision to run for councillor in the 2018 municipal election.
He was born and raised in Quesnel, and his family has a ranching background. He currently volunteers with local community groups, runs a farm and works as a representative for Genex, a dairy and beef cattle genetics company. Dillabough says he’s very community minded.
“I’m involved in a lot of different community groups, between 4-H, and Rotary,” he comments.
Dillabough says some of the issues he thinks need attention are community policing, affordable housing and health care.
“Community policing is a big one. We are so understaffed. I think we need to somehow work with the rest of council and address that issue to bring more staff in to be able to deal with the crime rate here.”
He also says he’s interested in bringing in a safe injection site for Quesnel.
“[I’d like to] hopefully work with mayor and the council to do a staffed safe injection site, where [clients] can get the support they need, and have it staffed with professionals so they can get counselling and treatment,” he says.
Dillabough believes more paramedics and doctors are required in Quesnel, and he would like to lobby for improvements to G.R. Baker Hospital.
He also would like to work with different community groups to utilize the West Fraser Centre to its capacity, bringing in more activities and supporting local groups with events as needed.
“I’m really for the community,” he says. “I promise to listen, so if you have an issue, I believe in the open door policy. Bring it forth and we can address it and see what we can do for it.”