Raising residential property taxes for homeowners is “off the table,” says local business owner Dave Douglass, who has entered Airdrie’s 2025 mayoral race pledging to keep costs stable while managing the city’s rapid growth. Douglass is the first official mayoral candidate ahead of the Sept. 22 deadline. Incumbent Mayor Peter Brown posted on Facebook that he will make a public announcement on Tuesday about his status in the municipal election. Related Stories: First candidate files for mayor in Airdrie’s 2025 municipal election “When I say I’m passionate about Airdrie’s future, I mean that decisions we make in the next four years will shape our city for decades,” Douglass said. Priorities Douglass outlined three priorities he said will shape his campaign: “My first priorities would be one, making sure growth is matched with infrastructure, roads, schools and healthcare. We need to keep pace,” he said. He added that taxes should stay stable by “finding efficiencies and pushing for more provincial, federal support and county.” “And three, strengthening community services like recreation and safety. To me, that’s what building Airdrie together looks like — responsible growth, affordability and a safe and vibrant community.” Taxes and fiscal management Douglass said raising residential property taxes is “off the table.” “I am not for that whatsoever.” “We need to lower the cost of living. There’s a lot of families struggling here… We’ve gone through our struggles… but a lot of families don’t.” On the business side, Douglass said growth in the tax base should come from attracting new firms, rather than hiking rates, although he acknowledged that adjustments could be considered in the long run. “More businesses mean more employment. It all cycles down. If we have to in the long run, then we’ll look at it and go from there.” He added that efficiencies could be achieved by cutting red tape, streamlining permits, and ensuring that city dollars are spent locally. “It all comes to looking at the cutting red tape, speeding up permits, making things go faster… instead of sending it down to Calgary, spend it here. Keeps the money here. It may be cheaper.” Council documents described the 2025 property tax hike as the largest year-over-year increase in Airdrie’s history, driven largely by a 25 per cent increase in the provincial education requisition. The non-residential education levy rose 19 per cent, though growth reduced the residential impact to 19 per cent. Council passed the tax rate bylaw on May 6, approving a $3.93-million municipal tax revenue increase while keeping the non-residential to residential tax ratio at 2.1:1, the same level set in previous years. Calgary’s 2025 ratio was 3.5:1. Residential property accounted for 88.08 per cent of Airdrie’s total assessment in 2025, up from 87.10 per cent in 2024. For the median single-family home, assessed at $614,000 after a 10 per cent increase from 2024, the monthly tax bill will rise by $27.90 — including $18.53 for the education requisition and $9.37 for the municipal levy. Other requisitions set in the bylaw include $1.26 million for the Rocky View Foundation, down from 2024 and lowering the average household bill by $2.94 a month; $8,137 for designated industrial properties; and $509,140 through the Community Revitalization Levy, up from $483,827 in 2024. Healthcare advocacy “We’ve got 90,000 people. Our urgent care is not big enough to support that,” he said. “Bare minimum, we would need a much larger urgent care system… But the hospital would be… amazing if we could do that. It’s insane to think that a city of this size doesn’t have a hospital call its own.” “For 15 years, I've been living here in Airdrie, even from day one, it's been rumours of a hospital being built nearby, or the city council on there saying, you know, working on getting a hospital, nothing comes from it.” “We know what the province's stance [is] on the current health care, rebuilding it, stripping it down. And whether Airdrie gets a hospital, there’s Calgary right next door.” He added that his family and others often avoid Calgary hospitals. “If we have to go to the hospital, we’re heading up to Didsbury; we’re not going anywhere near Calgary.” Douglass said he would push “from day one” for expanded local services. “Do everything I can to get a bare minimum urgent care… push for more specialized services here in Airdrie that we don’t have to go to Calgary for.” He linked the pressure on health care directly to Airdrie’s rapid growth. The city’s population reached 90,044 residents as of April 1, 2025 — an increase of 4,239 in one year. City forecasts project the city will top 100,000 by 2027. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange confirmed in March that Budget 2025 provides $2 million in planning funds for an integrated primary and urgent care facility in Airdrie. She did not provide a firm opening date. “It all depends on how quickly the planning can get done… If the planning can be done quickly, then we’ll be able to adjust the dollars accordingly,” she told reporters in March of this year. The operating model for One Health Airdrie was approved in the fall of 2024. Under the model, One Health will provide primary care, while urgent care services will be publicly funded and delivered by a provider selected through a competitive process. Renovations to the Airdrie Community Health Centre, supported by $8.4 million in provincial funding, are expected to increase treatment room capacity by 37.5 per cent and add a trauma and negative air pressure room in 2025. Renovations are expected to be finished by fall 2025. According to the City of Airdrie, healthcare is a provincial responsibility, with municipalities limited to providing land for facilities and advocating for local resources. The province has also committed $3 million for planning a North Calgary/Airdrie regional health centre — first allocated in 2023 and recommitted in the 2024 and 2025 provincial budgets — and $8.4 million for upgrades to the Airdrie Urgent Care Centre. The city has stressed that planning dollars are not a commitment for a hospital, and even with construction funding, it takes years to build, staff and open a large healthcare facility. Transparency and council culture “We don’t know what’s said behind closed doors,” Douglass said. “That’s why I want a completely open and transparent city council.” “Leadership isn’t about pushing decisions down. It’s about listening, engaging and then leading.” Survey results presented to the council in June reflect some of the very frustrations that Douglass has alluded to. The 2025 Resident Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Y Station Communications and Research, found quality-of-life ratings dipped to 68 per cent, down from 73 per cent in 2023. Top concerns were infrastructure and traffic (32 per cent), healthcare (28 per cent) and recreation amenities (26 per cent). 34 per cent of respondents rated the value they receive from their property taxes as good or very good. The survey also found 43 per cent of residents had taken part in engagement opportunities over the past year, up from 17 per cent in 2023. Recreation Douglass said residents are frustrated with the lack of recreation infrastructure. “I would push to get those done as soon as possible… for our youth and our communities. Rec center, first thing I would do is find out what the situation is with it. What’s the plan, what stage is that, and try and get it fast-tracked, as fast as possible.” According to the City of Airdrie, the new Southwest Recreation Centre will be situated at the intersection of Southwinds Boulevard and Southwinds Drive. The land was acquired in 2018 in partnership with Mattamy Homes and Rocky View Schools, with the City holding a 20.85 per cent share. Council endorsed a site master plan on June 3, 2025. The City plans to post a request for proposals for prime design services in summer 2025, with concept design options to be presented to the council in late fall 2025. Phase I will include leisure pools, a 25-metre lane pool, a fitness centre, supporting spaces and potential family play areas. Design work is scheduled for 2025–2026, with Phase I construction to follow from 2026 to 2028, and the project is expected to open in late 2028. Phase II is scheduled for 2030–2032, and Phase III is scheduled for 2033–2035. Small business perspective Douglass said his own experiences as a local entrepreneur shaped his decision to run. He pointed to last year’s water restrictions, which prevented his family business from cleaning inflatable rentals. “It made absolutely no sense… we could not do that with someone washing their car for 20–30 minutes, and yet we’re a business that has followed the rules and we’re still not allowed.” He said feedback from customers and residents reinforced his sense that it is “time for change, time for someone new.” According to the City of Airdrie, there were 4,797 active business licences as of Dec. 31, 2024, up from 4,676 in 2023. That included 2,023 home-based businesses, 1,262 commercial and industrial storefronts, and 1,512 non-resident businesses. Home-based enterprises accounted for more than 42 per cent of all licences. Community Douglass promised to back neighbourhood-level events, naming Cooper’s Crossing, Sagewood and Bayside as examples. “I will be working very hard on being able to bring individual neighbourhoods together… It’s something that I know is very lacking in this city compared to a lot of our neighbours. By helping them have events inside the communities, like inside Cooper’s Crossing and inside Sagewood and Bayside themselves.” In the interview, Douglass also said he avoids making promises he may not be able to keep, noting that projects already underway can shift what’s achievable in a first year. He said that approach would extend to local media, inviting reporters to contact him directly. Experience and democratic choice “I’ve been on committees and stuff like that for parent-teacher or parent-school committees and things along those lines, but never an actual elected official.” “I have absolutely no experience, but I think in a way, that is not a bad thing whatsoever… someone fresh, someone new, and not afraid to work hard.” “I don’t overly trust politicians, be straight out honest. I do vote in every election. I don’t stick to any single party. I just vote for who I think is going to do the best job.” He said he welcomes competition in the mayor’s race, adding that it remains unclear whether Brown will run again. “None of us really know whether… Mayor Brown is going to be running again or not. That’s good for our democracy… I want us to be able to have democratic choice… not just, I’m the only choice.” Background Douglass moved to Airdrie in 2010. He and his wife are raising three children in the city and operate a family business. He said the business has supported local charities and organizations as part of giving back to the community. Candidate list (as of Thursday afternoon) Candidates are listed in the order nomination papers were filed. Mayor Dave Douglass Councillor Simisola Obasan Tomisin (Tomi) Adenipekun Chad Stewart Darrell Belyk Chris Glass Rekha Mehay Jay Raymundo Mo Fahad Shaukat Maulik Shah Anthony Morvillo Note: Douglass’s name also continues to appear under the City’s Notice of Intent to Run list, though he has formally filed nomination papers for mayor. Incumbents Among councillor incumbents, only Coun. Darrell Belyk has filed. Councillors Al Jones, Candice Kolson, Tina Petrow and Heather Spearman have not announced their re-election plans. Coun. Ron Chapman's name appears on the list of notices of intent to run. Key voting dates and locations Advance vote at the Town and Country Centre: Oct. 8, 11, 14 and 16. Advance vote at City Hall (late night): Oct. 6–10, 4:30–10 p.m. Advance vote at City Hall (early morning): Oct. 14–17, 6:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Election Day: Oct. 20. Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon. Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM. DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app.