Richard Klimek is one of five candidates vying for one of the two Creston council spots open for the upcoming by-election.
Klimek, who goes by Rick, says he was born in the valley and lived in Erickson for the first ten years of his life.
He spent his early life as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces before owning his own business as a logging trucker for 20 years.
After a serious heart attack in 1998, Klimek went back to college at The College of the Rockies, where he made the dean’s list.
Over his life and career, Klimek says he has worn many hats.
“I pride myself on being a gentleman with old-school values. When I was a young boy, my dad instilled that in me. You crawl out of bed, you make your bed. And I’m 67 years old and I still do the same thing. Make my bed every day. And that’s my first task of the day.”
In 2022, Klimek says he lost his soulmate and was grieving her loss for the last year or so.
Klimek says he decided to run because he thinks he can help solve some of the issues in town.
“I’ve always been a hands-on type of person. And when the vacancies came open and I was talking to a friend, he suggested that, with my life experiences, I might be an asset to the town of Creston.”
Some of those issues include addiction and the homeless population, which Klimek says he has hands-on experience with.
“When we adopted our foster daughter, there was a lot of the addiction thing going on, and we managed to curb that,” explained Klimek.
“Also, I have a younger brother who actually spent quite a bit of time with me down here in Creston. He was homeless up in Prince George, and spent some time with me. We got him into a treatment center, and he’s back in Prince George, and he’s a member of society again. He cleaned himself up and life was good again.”
He says he would like to work with the mayor and council to try and “not so much put a band-aid on things, but make some positive changes”.
The public heads to the voting booth on March 16, with advance voting taking place on March 6 and 13 at Upper Rotacrest Hall.
A candidate forum will be held on March 5 for the public to meet the candidates.