Isaac Hockley has declared for Cranbrook city council.
Despite his youth, Hockley, 29, decided to run because of his desire to grow both business and the arts and culture aspects of the city.
"I am running for council because I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to the city," said Hockley. "Cranbrook is a great place to live and work and I want to continue to build upon the strengths of our city.
"My vision for Cranbrook involves a community that demonstrates sustainable economic growth balanced with increased opportunities for arts and culture."
Hockley, born and raised in Cranbrook, runs his own photography business, and also co-owns HM Productions—the company that has organized events such as the Battle for the Border mixed martial arts shows and the Wheels of Steele dirt biking showcase during Sam Steele Days.
Hockley looks at communities in the Kootenays like Nelson, Fernie and Kimberley that all have a distinct and unique culture, and wants to Cranbrook to create its own identity.
That starts by encouraging business growth which will, in turn, provide more municipal funding for arts and culture.
“As soon as you build up business in town, the more business we have in town, the more money we can spend on arts,” said Hockley. “All of the sudden we have that sustainable growth. You can put more money into the arts.
“As soon as you have arts, it brings me right back to the culture thing. What Kimberley has, what Fernie has, what Nelson has.
“They’ve got serious culture.”
Being a hub for the Kootenay region, Cranbrook feeds off the tourism from those communities, but more arts and culture will help draw more visitors to the city, Hockley noted.
He used himself as an example of a marriage between business and arts, pointing to his artistic photography business and HM Productions.
“I’m right there in the middle, so I definitely thing we need someone in the middle on city council,” Hockley said.
And while Hockley is one of the younger candidates on the election slate, he wants to think big and plan for the future, if elected.
“I think that I can bring a young, youth perspective,” Hockley said. “My involvement with the city council in the last few years bringing in a few of my MMA events and a few events that I brought in, were really positive.
“If I get on [council], I want to be able to set up for not just the next four years, but two terms, at least, just so we can get the ball rolling in the right direction.”