She is a leader in the community.Linda Mattock, who moved to Humboldt in 2001, has put her name forward for Humboldt City Council. The election will be held on October 24. Mattock was in education for 35 years, and moved to Humboldt 11 years ago to work as the principal of Humboldt Public School. This month, Mattock retired from her job as a superintendent with the Horizon School Division (HZSD). "I think that Humboldt is just such a great place to live," said Mattock. "I think that running for city council gives me the opportunity to give back something to my community." She thinks it is an exciting time in the community, with all the growth and economic development taking place. "I'd like to be a part of that," said Mattock. "I feel that my past experiences (have given me) some transferable skills that lend themselves to City Council," said Mattock. Being a vice principal, principal and superintendent, Mattock has very strong leadership skills. She also knows how to deal with change, as in 2006, the school division went through an amalgamation process where they combined six different school divisions into HZSD. "There was obviously lots of change, growth and development and redefining who we were as a school division," said Mattock. "I feel that kind of parallels what Humboldt is going through right now." Her communication skills will also benefit the people of Humboldt, she explained. "I think we have to connect to our stakeholders and we have to move the citizens of Humboldt forward through this change that they are going through," said Mattock. "I think we have to be very transparent in the work of the city." She has a number of priorities she is concerned with, including infrastructure. "Obviously we can't operate without it," said Mattock. "We have to maintain what we have, we have to enhance what we have, but we also have to grow and develop new infrastructure within our city." She also wants to see more greenspace. "Parks, walking and bike paths, playgrounds - that has to be a part of our city," said Mattock. "Humboldt has always been known as a beautiful place to live. If people drive through, they often comment on what a nice city it is. I think that we have to maintain that and enhance it as well." Another thing Mattock would like to see in the community is an art and culture centre within the city. "We are rich in history, we are rich in the arts, we are rich in culture in this area - I think we need to develop a place we can share and celebrate all of that," said Mattock. Mattock hopes to be elected to work with the citizens of Humboldt. "I just think one of council's duties is to really connect with our stakeholders,"said Mattock. "We have to value their input and act upon that. Sometimes the answer may be no to a request, but as council I think we need to be prepared to give the reasons behind the decisions that were made and make sure that is communicated to our citizens as well."
