An academic expert in municipal governance says while there’s no law against being mayor and running for a provincial party leadership, it’s probably not the right thing to do.
University of Alberta political scientist Dr. Jim Lightbody, a tenured professor and court-qualified expert in civic governance issues, said in his mind there’s little doubt about the correct course of action for St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse.
“Fish or cut bait. That’s what it is,” he said. “Crouse has to make a decision whether he wants to try to be Liberal leader or not, and once he makes that decision he really should resign as mayor.”
Crouse announced Jan. 5 he would not seek re-election as mayor, and announced Jan. 17 he would seek the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party. The leadership race began Jan. 16, and will culminate with the announcement of a new leader June 4.
He has said while he will not step down as mayor or give up his role as chair of the Capital Region Board (CRB) even if he’s elected leader, he intends to focus on his municipal role before taking on the “full-time volunteer role starting this fall.”
Lightbody said legislation referring to Crouse’s specific situation is scant – the Municipal Government Act says you can’t be MLA and councillor at the same time but says nothing of a provincial party leader without a seat – in his mind it’s clearly an ethical violation, regardless of what the law says.
He said provincial Auditor General Merwan Saher’s comment about former premier Alison Redford’s ethical lapses rings true in this case: “What's needed is a backbone of principles, not a corset of rules.”
“You cannot be a full-time mayor, and take down a full-time mayor’s salary, while you’re campaigning for the Liberal leadership,” he said. “It is essentially unethical.”
Lightbody said Crouse’s situation is similar to that of Laurence Decore, who resigned his position as Edmonton’s mayor prior to entering the provincial political fray in 1986. He went on to become leader of Alberta’s Liberal party.
Lightbody said that even a leave of absence, in this case, would not really help things. Crouse would be absent for all the “heavy lifting” that needs to be done this spring, then if he returned after June 4 he would in office for the slow summer and fall.
“Then he’s going to come back for a little walk in the leaves in the fall?” Lightbody said. “From a political perspective, if I were a Liberal delegation that would suggest a lack of commitment to his pursuit of the goal.”
The pursuit of that goal is precisely what’s at issue here, he added, as running for a party leadership will take more time than one could reasonably spare with other full-time responsibilities.
Further to just connecting at the provincial level and in the metropolitan core regions, a party leader must connect with members in each constituency and work with local representatives, which is “the essence of leadership in provincial politics.”
“You cannot do that and give full service for which the people of St. Albert are paying,” he said.
But while Lightbody sees the conflict in performing the two roles, he dismissed the criticism from some of Crouse’s council colleagues that he would be unable to negotiate with the province on behalf of the city while also seeking to lead a party aspiring to unseat the NDP government.
In any negotiations, and he suggested they would likely be limited, Crouse would be representing his electors in St. Albert, who are also represented by NDP MLAs.
“Why would you spite the voters in St. Albert because you’re having a hissy fit with a guy who’s running to lead a party which only has one seat in the legislature?” he said.
Lightbody said that criticism is probably a “mask” for something else. He likened the criticism to the concern expressed by conservative councillors in Edmonton that former mayor Jan Reimer refused to wear the chain of office, when in reality what they didn’t like is that Reimer is a woman and a socialist.
“I would think the critique of Crouse in those terms is exactly that,” he said.
