Congratulations to the new City Council
Being a former educator for 31 years, my life has constantly revolved around lessons and learning; working on Council with The City of Calgary has not been much different. Over the past ten years I have seen other’s focus more time on what’s wrong and not implementing lessons learned for improvement.
Within our Country of Canada, Province of Alberta, and City of Calgary – I have seen discontent and anger building within our political spectrum. It seems some leaders have replaced consideration for positive impact with expressions of blame, chastisement, and negative rhetoric ; whether it’s about: Covid-19, economics, taxes, or the direction of our future.
My last posting as a principal at a newly formed school, we were tasked with defining a mission statement and vision. The school chose 3 power words and I still hold them close to this day: Accept, Achieve, and Aspire.
- Accept all as they are
- Achieve to be the best of their ability
- Aspire to be better than we are individually and as a group
During this 2021 Municipal Election, I witnessed the best and worst in campaigns. Despite the negativity and manufactured bitterness, there was one campaign that also used 3 power words deserving Calgary’s support: Positivity, Possibility, and Policy. These words ring true in an environment that is sometimes overflowing with misinformation and selfishness.
My interpretation of these 3 words are:
- Positivity – While we might not agree on a given issue, we endeavor to always be respectful and compassionate when having these discussions
- Possibility – Always trying to aspire to enable possible course-of-actions to move forward on a given issue with the focus of improving Calgarian’s quality of life
- Policy – Utilizing solid governance and adjusting policy in a responsible way that respects all parties and political processes
My sincere desire is for political environments, not only within our city – but across our entire country, adopt the intent of incorporating these 6 power words . While we must continue to be open-minded, evaluate different views and political aspects; as political leaders we must embody decency, ethics, and honesty.
Looking back to when I was first elected in 2010, I can’t help but get nostalgic about the well-maintained atmosphere of mutual respect of City Council at the time. S erving constituents meant conducting ourselves in a way that was collaborative, communicative, that demonstrated honest integrity. We solved many problems by being respectful when thinking critically, and strategic in our decision-making. Politics used to create meaningful and positive change , however much has eroded since then. It is up to this new generation of leaders to help rebuild political higher standards .
I wish to congratulate the following individuals on their achievement, and ask them to think of these 6 power words on behalf of all residents of Calgary. Thank you.
Ward 1: Sonya Sharp
Ward 2: Jennifer Wyness
Ward 3 : Jasmine Mian
Ward 5: Raj Dhaliwal
Ward 6: Richard Pootmans
Ward 7: Terry Wong
Ward 8: Courtney Walcott
Ward 9: Gian-Carlo Carra
Ward 10: Andre Chabot
Ward 11: Kourtney Branagan
Ward 12: Evan Spence
Ward 13: Dan McLean
Ward 14: Peter Demong
