For the first time, a Prince George city councillor could take top spot at the provincial body that acts as a "collective voice" for local governments.
Murry Krause is the lone name on the ballot for president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
That could change come the convention, Krause said, but if he does make the cut he's looking forward to the leadership opportunity.
"For me it's about healthy organizations, it's about making sure that people around the table, their voices are heard but also that staff feel appreciated and we're all heading in the right direction," said Krause, who has served on Prince George city council for six terms. "It's much more of a leadership role and I'm up for that."
The position will be a natural progression for Krause, who is current first vice president of the UBCM board and has sat as a member since 2008, when he became the president of the North Central Local Government Association.
"That's why it's so important that people hopefully have moved up through the ranks because... you wouldn't be moving into this role cold. You've been at the table and you know what the issues are," he said of the one-year term.
"Of course it will be a huge learning experience and that's good - you should never stop learning."
Krause said he is most looking forward to meeting people and working with familiar faces at all levels of government.
"We're a nonpartisan organization, it doesn't matter who's in power in Victoria, it's about working effectively with them," he said, adding the group advocates in all areas. "Everything from First Nations issues to anti-poverty issues to RCMP. it's really multifaceted which is exciting so you're constantly learning."
Krause is especially proud of the work it's done making anti-poverty a focus, which "to this day remains a strong policy position," said Krause who has served as the executive director for the Central Interior Native Health Society for the last 21 years.
"We have the worst case for child poverty of any province in Canada and from our perspective it's a very wealthy province and why should that be the case."
Prince George is pushing for a province-wide poverty-reduction strategy as one of three resolutions it's bringing to the floor at the end of the month. In November, School District 57 made the same request to the province after an annual report showed one in five B.C. children live in a low-income family.
Over the years, he's learned there's space for those types of conversations.
"When I was first elected in Prince George I sort of wondered if I had made a mistake," he said with a laugh.
"There were so many things I wanted to talk about - and it was anti-poverty, it was homeless issues and those kinds of things and you question yourself and ask how will this fit."
But he said he soon realized those very issues were being discussed at all levels, a reality he said has evolved over the years.
"Local governments and locally elected officials care as much about health and wellbeing of citizens as they do about infrastructure," Krause said.
"It's not just about sewer and water and roads. It really has become about how healthy are our communities and what can local government contribute to that?"
The UBCM convention runs from Sept. 26 to 30.
