Ladies, it’s time to get your political hat on.
The city will host a female politicians’ discussion panel on June 15, where the city’s only female mayor, Anita Ratchinsky, and three current and former female city councillors will discuss the challenges and rewards of public office.
Chief legislative officer Chris Belke said the panel was put together after figures released from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) showed only 13 per cent of Canadian mayors are female and 23 per cent of councillors are female.
He added the FCM wants women to represent at least 30 per cent of all Canadian municipal politicians, a figure the city is also trying to attain.
“The proportion of women in the community is higher than that represented on council,” said Belke. “The people we elect to council are supposed to be representative of our city.”
Ratchinsky was first elected in 1986 as a councillor and won the mayor’s race in 1989, serving three terms as city mayor. She said the job of both mayor and councillor was a busy one, but one she said she had the skills for as a result of her former job as manager of a Bank of Nova Scotia branch and a community volunteer.
“You need many skills, like being a mediator,” she said. “All that prior experience, in my mind, gave me the tools to be a politician.”
Current Coun. Carol Watamaniuk said the job is a busy one, naming council committees, appearances and reading reports as some of the extra duties that go with being a city councillor. However, she feels there are many women in St. Albert who are able to take on the task and hopes the session will help them realize they should run.
“It takes a lot of self-confidence and passion, and a lot of women in this community have a lot of passion,” said Watamaniuk. “I’m hoping that somebody, two or three women in the crowd go, ‘I can do this.’”
Watamaniuk, who recently announced she wouldn’t run for re-election, said she understood how difficult the job could be for mothers, saying the balance between home life and council can be a hard one to achieve. But she hopes women from all walks of life consider getting their voice on council.
For former councillor Lynda Moffat, who served one term starting in 2001, an increase in female representation on council would allow for a greater diversity of opinions during council decisions, which she believes would benefit council decisions.
Moffat added that, during her time on council, she worked to change the titles for councillors from alderman to city councillor. She said there was a fair amount of backlash to the change but believed it was important for helping draw more women to council.
“It’s a gender neutral term,” she said. “It wasn’t without a little kicking and screaming that we got there.”
The panel discussion will take place on June 15 in the east boardroom on the third floor of St. Albert Place. Former city councillor Margaret Plain will also attend. It runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Those who are interested can register by calling 780-459-1500.
