In case you missed it, this week marked the one-year anniversary of last year's ho-hum municipal election when barely a third of the electorate bothered to vote. My how time flies when no one's paying attention!
Perhaps St. Albertans are so content living in a first-class community that they couldn't care less who calls the shots at city hall, as long as the garbage is picked up and roads are smooth and black. Or, maybe the polls reflect an evolving community of urban transplants only after the big house and suburban quiet — folks more likely to follow the arena debate in the capital over our own industrial land needs study. Then again, it could be symptomatic of a wider view that politics, especially the local variety, is boring.
Of course, city council had a full year to change some minds and connect with residents (perhaps even with a tweet from the city's new Twitter account!) While some councillors stood out, others could be mistaken for stand-ins. So, for the non-apathetic out there — all 34 per cent of you — I offer this humble report card.
Nolan Crouse: B-
Nolan Crouse is a hard worker who leads by example. That's a good and bad thing. Good, in that Crouse is highly visible and caring. Bad, in that he can micromanage (see council's firing of city manager Bill Holtby and its installation of an interim governance structure). Two terms in and we've seen modest gains with economic development, but the industrial land issue is progressing at a snail's pace and council has taken a public beating on that front after the firing of popular economic development director Larry Horncastle. That blindside hit council hard — and Crouse in particular — since it left the impression the captain wasn't on the bridge of his ship. His Worship turned off many more when he used an official invite on city letterhead as an opportunity to finger-wag the prime minister. But the city is trying to connect to citizens in new ways via social media, a platform Crouse has also taken up personally. He's scored points as a leader on the regional scene, helped craft the efficiency review (though the jury is out on its effectiveness) and physician attraction task force.
Cam MacKay: B+
Whether you like his politics or not, Cam MacKay has stood out for his preparation and attention to detail. His performance during last year's budget alone, where he introduced dozens of motions to cut spending endeared him to his tax-weary faithful. He also learned the hard way that a councillor has to be part of a team and that means building consensus. His bid to look at private quotes for waste collection died, and his efficiency review at city hall initially derailed until it was reworked with the help of the mayor and Coun. Malcolm Parker. He's also shown a practical side by favouring an Avenir vision knocking at the city's door today rather than holding out for industrial plans for tomorrow.
Cathy Heron: B+
Cathy Heron has been a polarizing figure, but there's no denying she comes to work. Heron is bright, does her homework and isn't afraid to bring ideas to the table. She also votes according to her convictions. She was the strongest supporter of administration's scheme to buy a Starbucks franchise and didn't back down in the face of strong public backlash. While I don't like the risk for taxpayers, I respect Heron's view that the addition will make Servus Place better and, hopefully, reduce its deficit. She hasn't pushed to change the city's "no call too small" policing model, which she questioned during the election, but has backed new funding for police. She's been a big booster of the new recycling scheme and social media, and is set to be council's first official newspaper columnist (where she's more than welcome to grade local columnists).
Malcolm Parker: B
Malcolm Parker has also stood on the opposite side of losing votes like the council column, new spending for city planners, and Starbucks. A past chair of the St. Albert economic development advisory committee, Parker has shone on issues like the industrial land needs study and wasn't afraid to openly question the firing of former economic director Larry Horncastle. He's worked hard on the physician attraction task force and has come up with compromises like a motion to guarantee a specific amount of commercial development in the Avenir project. He won't dazzle, but he will dutifully go about his business.
Roger Lemieux: C+
Roger Lemieux has parlayed a small business background into a credible council performance on fiscal and budgetary issues (albeit after a steep learning curve during the first term). But while he's not afraid to question spending like dollars for consultants, he's also not a voice for drastic cuts or changes to the status quo. At times he leaps before he looks, like when he wanted to pump millions into the past-its-prime Hemingway Centre over objections from city administration and, well, good sense. He's also prone to hyperbole, like his statement that 700 acres of light-industrial land will turn St. Albert into an "industrial city." We're talking warehouses and business condos, not Fort McMurray.
Wes Brodhead: C-
It's hard to say a lot about a councillor who's not overly vocal or engaging. Wes Brodhead's stance on the industrial issue showed he's OK with keeping St. Albert a quiet bedroom community. And while that may be the popular view among residents, it overlooks the fact that this city can't remain a sleepy bedroom community forever. Residential taxes are finite and will eventually reach a tipping point. His comments about Avenir suggest he genuinely believes this vision will come to fruition as proposed. I wish more people had that kind of optimism, but time will tell.
Len Bracko: D+
Len Bracko is a five-term councillor whose commitment to the community is beyond question. But his approach and preparation isn't what it once was, full of stand pat oratory on the aging population, walkable communities and not handing down debt to future generations. They're all valuable points but we've heard them before. Time and again Bracko shows he isn't afraid to repeat himself, like his recent proposal to prematurely spend big dollars on LRT studies after the same idea was quashed last year. We all know how this ends.
