Two time St. Albert city councillor Ken MacKay is seeking re-election in the 2025 October municipal election. In what would potentially be his third term, his intention is to run for councillor, although he didn't entirely rule out a run for mayor, depending on the circumstances.
First elected in 2017, MacKay was previously an investigator with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, and prior to that, a police officer with the Edmonton Police Service for 33 years. He and his wife have been residents of St. Albert since 1989, and he's enjoyed serving the community he's called home for 36 years.
"To be elected twice in this community and to serve the residents, I've really enjoyed it. I've found great value in it," MacKay said. "It's just been one of the best experiences of my life, so it's a big honour and I think it's one of the reasons I'm still continuing to put my name forward."
As of now, his intention is to run as a city councillor. But he stopped short of completely ruling out putting his name into the hat for the mayoral race.
"I'm always open if some opportunity changes, but it would have to be a significant change," he said. "I haven't closed that door completely, but right now I'm really focusing on running for council as a councillor position."
He added that if he felt like the slate of mayoral candidates were lacking "what I thought I could bring to the table, then I could certainly consider it. It would have to happen soon though."
Other factors into the decision include the amount of money and organization he feels it would require to run for mayor versus as a councillor, as well as what some other members plans are.
"I don't know what Mayor Heron's going to do. I don't know if another member of the current council is going to put their name forward," he said. As of right now, Coun. Wes Brodhead is the only other incumbent who has registered as a candidate, although he hasn't yet declared what position he is running for.
"I don't know what his plans are. I would love it if Wes ran for mayor," MacKay said. He added that as of right now, the odds of him running for Mayor himself are pretty low.
For MacKay, the opportunity to help continue to see some of the projects this council has brought in through to fruition is helping drive another run for office.
"It's an exciting time for our community, lots of opportunity," he said. "We've got the big opportunity with Lakeview [Business District] and I want to see some action towards that."
He also added he'd like to continue help see through issues such as servicing in the northeast, the community amenities site in Chérot, affordable housing, as well as the "uncertainty surrounding the province and the RCMP contract."
"I think my skill set and my experience in policing provides a little bit of a benefit to the community as we move through this time," he said.
MacKay also said that working as part of a team is valuable to him, and he's admired how this council has managed to be "fiscally prudent."
"Lots of great things are in development that I'm excited about and want to continue to see through," he said.
