Morinville Council candidate profile: Jackie Luker

By Stephen Dafoe

Morinville – Jackie Luker was the first to file nomination papers in Morinville’s bi-election Thursday. The mother of two has lived in Morinville for the past six years with her husband Joel Chevalier. She is a part owner of SJB Promotions, a company that brings concerts to the Morinville Community Cultural Centre and is the owner of Straight Up Bar and Beverage Services, a company that provides bar tending for weddings and other events.

Luker ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 municipal election and decided to throw her hat in the ring once again, using the 13-month term as an opportunity to decide if municipal politics was something she was interested in. The candidate said she was motivated to run for office after having run in the 2010 municipal campaign and having the opportunity for a shorter term this time around.

“I thought that this would actually be a really good opportunity to for a one-year stint to give it a try and see if it is something that I’d actually like to actually do,” Luker said. “I know that it’s going to be a lot of work because they’re going into budgets and all sorts of stuff. I just think it’s a great opportunity to – in a short time period – get your feet wet and try it out.”

Luker said she sees herself as a community member who is incredibly active in the Morinville. This, combined with being a local business owner, bring qualities and skills to the table she feels make her a suitable council candidate.

But it is her love and sense of community that she feels are also key ingredients. “My husband and I plan to be here for the rest of our lives, so I have a vested interest in Morinville,” Luker said. “My kids are young and I want Morinville to become, and it’s already a great community, a better community for them growing up so that they don’t want to leave Morinville.”

In terms of skills, she sees her organizational and management skills as being assets to the job of councillor.

Luker said she comes to the campaign with no set list of council priorities “I have no agenda,” she said. “I just want to be in there to be part of the process.”

Though she has no targeted priorities, Luker sees developing Morinville’s sense of community as an important issue to the community. “We’re doing that with St. Jean Baptiste [Festival], with the Community Cultural Centre. We’re doing that with all the programs that run through the cultural centre and the town programs for families and kids,” she said. “That stuff is great, but I truly think that we need to do more of that kind of thing. We have to get that sense of community here.”

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