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Creston town councillor Arnold DeBoon makes bid for mayor’s seat

Creston town councillor Arnold DeBoon has announced his candidacy for mayor.

DeBoon has a long history in the Creston area and is also a retired conservation officer.

“I served the Creston area for 23 years before I retired in 2013. And during all that time, because I work for the government, I suppose that may be what motivated me, but I always wanted to pay back the community in whatever way I could,” said DeBoon

Besides serving as a conservation officer, DeBoon spent many years volunteering throughout the Creston area.

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“The main thing that I’ve volunteered for over all these many years is probably 28 years of serving as the chair of the Creston Trinity Housing Society. We provide low-cost housing for people at the Catalpa Apartments near the post office.”

He ran unsuccessfully in 2014 before being elected to council in 2018 and says he learned a lot during and after those runs

“I decided that I needed to represent as many people in town as I could and not just the interests of a few. And so when I ran again, I guess people agreed with my campaign and it was a successful run.”

One of the major changes he would like to implement is more personal responsibility on social media.

“Incivility on social media is an issue that needs to be addressed. I’ve always been a kind person, and when I disagree with somebody on social media, I do it kindly. I know that’s not a big community thing, it’s more of a broad thing. But from a community perspective, I think we’re headed in a good direction here,” said DeBoon.

“I see a lot of people happy with the way the town is going, and what I offer people is stability. We have an excellent town staff. With the town staff and our council, I believe we’re making good decisions for this community. And I want to keep it going in that direction.”

DeBoon says he would be an excellent choice as mayor and hopes to continue working with town staff.

“I think because of my community involvement. It’s not just as a volunteer with the Housing society. I’m also on the board of directors for Valley Community Services. I participated in the Christmas hampers and I was a big part of the committee that did the food waste and recycling pickup. I’m confident that I have experience in the community and good knowledge of our community. And I think that translates well into a leadership position.”

He says he loves being able to call Creston his home.

“What I love about Creston is the beauty of the surroundings, the climate, and the people here. I think we have a great community. I know that we’ve attracted a lot of new people in the last little while, and I think they all feel the same way,” he explains.

“We live in a beautiful area. There’s unlimited opportunity for us to have fun and recreate here. We have a lake close by that’s probably one of the best in the world. And with all of our sustainable agriculture here, we can feed ourselves, we can have fun, and we have great people to be friends with.”

So far, two candidates have announced their intention to run. DeBoon will run against Jim Rota, who has been reached out to by the MyCrestonNow team.

General voting day is October 15.

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