An Irricana Town councillor recently resigned as news of charges against him for possession of crack cocaine with the purpose of trafficking began to surface.
Wayne Niblow, a 36-year-old father of two young children aged three and 18 months, announced his resignation from council in a press release June 14.
The release stated “personal reasons” for his decision.
However, the announcement came three weeks after Niblow was arrested on May 25 when Medicine Hat Police Services and RCMP seized a total of 149 grams of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $15,000 during their investigation of a drug trafficking ring.
Christina Louise Wells, 44, and John Gordon Gallagher, 33, both from Medicine Hat are also facing charges.
Niblow is scheduled to appear before the Provincial Court in Brooks July 10 for election and plea.
“I’m shocked,” said Irricana Mayor Lisa Constantini of learning about the allegations against Niblow.
“It’s unfortunate,” she said adding that she appreciates his resignation stating she felt “he did the right thing for the town.”
Niblow was a new councillor, having just come onboard in January after councillor Andrew Carr left his seat last November two years into his term citing personal issues and political stifling as the reasons.
As the only candidate running for the vacant position, Niblow was acclaimed Jan. 3.
Constantini said because Niblow was still “getting his feet wet” council won’t feel the impact of his absence for the final four months leading up to the next municipal election.
Council divided his committee responsibilities between themselves during the June 17 meeting. (See related story to the right).
She also said because there is now less than six months to go before the municipal election, the Town will not offer a bi-election.
Niblow is the third councillor to resign from Irricana Town council in the last eight months and Constantini said the constant reshuffling effects council and causes some “defunct.”
Councillor Frank Dusome was the first to go in October after 10 years in Irricana politics. He walked out of a council meeting Oct. 1 just before presenting his colleagues with his formal resignation.
His concerns stemmed from a recent investigation from Municipal Affairs prompted by a petition of 325 residents collected in August 2011.
The results of the investigation were revealed last October when Municipal Affairs officials ordered a list of 19 directives to Town staff and council. As well, two ministry appointed administrators were designated to supervise Town proceedings for the remainder of the 2012 year.
A by-election was held in December when Niblow ran against Peter Dunn. Niblow lost by seven votes but was then acclaimed shortly thereafter when Carr resigned and no one else stepped forward to compete.
Heading towards the next election, Constantini said she advises anyone considering running, to think about the commitment.
“It’s more than just twice a month for meetings,” she said, explaining responsibilities stem far past that. She said quite often there are meetings during the day as well, and finding ways to balance the commitment, especially if a councillor has another job as well can be daunting.
“It may be a small town but it’s a big commitment,” she said.
