Municipal Election Spotlight: Joy-Anne Murphy
Joy-Anne wears a grey patterned shirt in front of a brick wall
My name is Joy-Anne Murphy and I am running for Camrose City Council. I decided to run in the municipal election for a few different reasons: I want to give back to this community for all the years of support for my family and my various music groups, I want to help prepare Camrose to be at the forefront of preparing for the future, and I feel as though politics at the municipal level has more scope for non-partisan, collaborative engagement.
I have a couple of library memories that I cherish. Where I was young, I would go to the downtown library in Edmonton with my parents, and we always went directly to the children’s area in the basement. They had a huge iguana just as you entered, and I was equal parts fascinated and appalled at this huge creature. The books were fun, but that iguana was entrancing! Here in Camrose I have many memories of bringing my own children to the library for all kinds of programming as well as to browse for books. One of the things I appreciated most was when Camrose Public library made space for our French Immersion parents’ group to create a preschool-aged playgroup. That group ran for several years and was a real boon to getting young families into the FI program.
Right now I am watching the second season of Ted Lasso, and have too many books on my bedside table waiting for me to read them! I also spend time each day reading news and current affairs.
I believe the Camrose Public Library does a great job of bringing enrichment to our community in really constrained space. Public libraries are great equalizers, and they expand the horizons of everyone who is able to take advantage of their offerings, from events for community organizations, to adult learning groups, to internet access, to interlibrary loans, to programming for children and youth. As a City Councillor, I would actively look for ways to support and enhance what our local library is able to offer our community, both physically and through staffing. Councillors play a role on the Camrose Library Board, and municipalities join with the Provincial Government to finance and structure public libraries across the province. The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association continues to lobby the Provincial Government for stable, equitable funding for libraries, especially in smaller centres. I would advocate for Camrose to engage fully with AUMA to continue that advocacy.
I envision a Camrose that considers the needs of our citizens in
as fair and considered a way as possible. I want us to move forward into the
future prepared to work for inclusion, open to innovation, and basing our
decisions on the best available evidence.
Website: www.joy-annemurphy.ca