Hope – The unofficial numbers are in for the 2023 Hope Council by-election. Dusty Smith beat Bonnie Graham by 8 votes. Official numbers should be available by Tuesday at the latest.
Smith is a Content Creator, Social Media and Influencer Marketing Manager.
This is not the first time Smith has run for office. He ran in 2018 and his campaign on Facebook read: For those who don’t know me my name is Dusty Smith. I was born and raised here in Hope, a town I am so passionate about. Where I have chosen to live, work and raise my young family. I have had the pleasure of sitting on town council this past 4 years and I am running again because I feel my work is not done. Being a first time councillor for this past term I have had to learn. I feel because of that I have sat back and listened a bit more than others. With the education, information, and experience I have gained in my last 4 year term it is time for my voice to be louder. I have supported numerous projects throughout this term to help move the community forward. The community of Hope is changing and evolving at a rapid pace. We need to have people involved that want to see growth and success. I am your person to help achieve that. We have had some great things come this term that council has supported such as paving within the community (yes, I agree more is needed), supporting the maximum 2% increase overall in taxes, encouraging development within the community for more housing, new business and fresh ideas, and backing staff to obtain grants for more infrastructure being built/replaced at pennies on the dollar. We have to look long term in this community to be sure it is sustainable for our children and the next generation. Tourism is a big economical benefit to our community and has been proven to be great. I will continue to support this but we also have other areas that can benefit this town. There are some amazing groups in our town and I would like to see a better working relationship to make this community prosper. In closing you can count on me being a bigger voice for our community and helping to gain the most for your tax dollars
