Red Deer mayor Tara Veer promised that if she is re-elected for a second term, she will serve her entire four-year mandate and not seek political office at the provincial or federal level midterm.

The question of running for a seat at either level came up during Wednesday night`s candidates forum at Westerner Park`s Harvest Centre, posed to Sam Bergeron and Michael Dawe, who are running for city council.

Veer did not get a chance to answer it then. When asked about it after, she was unequivocal in her response.

"I am running for mayor and mayor alone. I firmly believe in fulfilling the mandate that the people are so gracious to give an elected official," Veer said.

"I am a big believer in responsible stewardship of financial resources that the public entrusts to us. Byelections are incredibly expensive and I don`t believe in (holding) them unnecessarily."

The next provincial and federal elections will take place by 2019.  

When Veer launched her campaign on Aug. 16, she acknowledged getting calls to run for office at a higher level of government.

"Always honoured when I receive those calls. I believe a leader needs to stay long enough to make a difference," she said at the time.

Sean Burke, Veer`s lone opponent in the mayoral race, was not available to comment after the forum.

Dawe`s answer was that he would not run; Bergeron said she would possibly "look to throw my hat in."

There were close to 30 candidates. After brief introductions, they were asked questions in pairs, with each person given 30 seconds to respond. Closing remarks followed.

About 250 people came to watch the two-hour forum, hosted by the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce. Topics included economic growth, taxes, bike lanes, but most of the focus was on crime and drugs.

Crime, cops, safety

There were repeated questions about crime and safety. 

Several candidates including Ted Johnson, Vesna Higham, Jeremy Moore, Jim Kristinson and Jason Habuza called for the city to create its own municipal police force. Calvin Goulet-Jones said he would put the matter to a referendum.

After the forum, Veer said there is room for improvement on the municipal side of the city's hybrid force, but wants to the Mounties stay.

"I think it`s important we maintain the RCMP because they look after a lot of the drug crime, the criminal offences and organized crime. So the depth that the RCMP brings to that is highly important," Veer said.

Burke spoke openly against a city police force but did not elaborate. He went so far as to say the RCMP has made residents into "victims."

Meanwhile, Jonathan Wieler proposed using GPS ankle bracelets to track those who have been convicted of a crime.

Wieler said there is proof that the bracelets disrupt crime and would help law enforcement be more proactive.

"Ìf you`re a criminal, if you`re part of a gang, and you have one of these on, the other people don`t want you in their gang. So you`re out. The crown wants them, the crown supports them and the police want them," Wieler said.

Drug treatment and supervised consumption

Drug treatment and supervised consumption services were also a recurring topic.

Goulet-Jones said the city's most pressing need is a treatment centre. He leaves supervised consumption up to citizens to decide.

"There is some proof that a supervised injection site does provide harm reduction. But we have to mirror that with society's wants, society's beliefs," Goulet-Jones said.

Coun. Ken Johnston, one of the incumbents, was warm to the idea of supervised consumption services, as long as they come with treatment services.

"Several nations in Europe, Germany being one of them, has reduced its drug addiction numbers by 55 per cent when treatment and safe injection are in tandem," Johnston said.

Wieler and Bergeron also spoke in favour of them.

Ted Johnson was opposed, saying he does not believe in feeding a person's addiction. His statement garnered applause from the audience.

Veer said council has adopted a position calling for a treatment centre. She added the next council will need to work with community partners and hold public consultation on how to address needle debris in the city.