City council candidate hoping to represent younger voices during council decisions

Nicholas Styck is running for city council in the hopes of offering a fresh perspective from the younger demographic during municipal decisions here in Moose Jaw.

“I’ve always had an interest in the city, ever since I moved here, and when I did research on past councillors and even the current ones that were running at the time, I thought we needed a younger outlook,” said Styck. 

Styck moved to Moose Jaw three years ago with his family and is currently the manager at Booster Juice. Although he has not attended a city council meeting in person, he said he watches and often rewatches the live stream meetings to stay up to date with council decision and discussion.

The issues most important to Styck are many, he said, but he will be focusing on a few key areas to help improve the community. 

Styck said he would work to improve city communication, both with residents and within city council. He thinks residents deserve to know more about what’s going on and that the city should be providing that information in a more timely manner.

He would also like to see more collaboration within council in resolving issues and finding middle ground during council discussions.

“It seems like when [councillors] come to a pass, they seem to just take a side. They don’t find a middle ground that could benefit everybody, and I think that could be something Moose Jaw could really use,” said Styck.

Another large element to Styck’s campaign is that he plans to focus on tailoring the city’s budget planning to be more effective, to create economic growth and address infrastructure issues like tackling road maintenance faster and better.

“I think we need some more on the budget end of things, fine-tuning everything and looking everything over more thoroughly before decisions are made and more group thinking,” said Styck. 

The largest infrastructure concern Moose Jaw is currently discussing is the proposed subdivision development in Wakamow Valley, which Styck feels “on edge about” due to the development’s location on a flood plain and the potential issues that could cause in the future.

In his nomination bio, he cited his experience in management and study of business and budget planning as core strengths that would aid him in addressing these issues, if elected to council.

“I’ve always had a passion for numbers, which has led me to great success, and my management experience has given me a lot of understanding of things like budgets,” said Styck. “I’m also a people person, I love meeting new people and I get along great with people, and I always find ways to work with people on making things easier to understand.”

Ultimately, Styck wants to encourage more engagement from the younger residents of the city because he feels they should be involved with the decisions that will shape the future of Moose Jaw.

“I want to show the younger generation that we can have an input on everything and we don’t need to shy away. I want to inspire more younger people to take initiative in their communities,” said Styck. “I want to find a way to reach them and get that initiative, draw them out and bring more talk from them, because they’re going to be the ones continuously running Moose Jaw, once everybody else moves on.”

Styck's contact information is listed on the City of Moose Jaw's election webpage.

The municipal election will take place on Nov. 9.