Putting to bed weeks of speculation, Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown announced he would seek the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) nomination for the position of Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the next Provincial election.
Brown made the announcement at a special event held at the Overtime Lounge on Jan. 22, attended by approximately 60 residents.
“I can tell you it wasn’t an easy decision. I love being the mayor. It’s been the best job of my life. It’s given me insight into our community probably deeper than I could ever have imagined,” Brown said. “I’m a person who likes to fix things and we have some things we need to fix. I know I can do the job and I would sincerely and humbly ask for your support.”
The election date for the PC party’s Airdrie representative is Feb. 21.
Brown said his years on council – he’s currently in his fifth year as mayor and spent nine years on council as an alderman – have prepared him to take on the role of MLA.
“In order to get where we need to go – we are the fastest growing community in Alberta, and the best community in Alberta, in my opinion – we need somebody who’s willing to go to the province and advocate, to negotiate, to defend, to push, to finagle, to do whatever it takes to get what we need in our community. I believe I have that skill-set to do that on behalf of our businesses and our residents,” he said.
Alderman Kelly Hegg, who won the PC nomination for Airdrie in 2012, said he wouldn’t be seeking the nomination this time around.
“I will be supporting Peter,” Hegg said. “Right now, I think what’s best for Airdrie and for myself and my family is to keep telling Airdrie’s story and (keeping) the issues (that are important) in the forefront as a member of council. That’s what I plan to continue to do.”
Hegg said he wasn’t sure if standing for the position of Mayor was something he’d be interested in if Brown is successful in being elected MLA.
“Do I have any aspirations? Someday. We’ll see how this all plays out,” he said. “There’s still a nomination process and then an election so it could be a year down the road, it could five months down the road, it all depends on the Premier and when things start to happen. We’ll see what things look like at that time.”
Also adding their support for Brown, are Alderman Fred Burley and Alderman Ron Chapman.
“I think he’s a good candidate,” Burley said. “He loves this city and nobody can question that. He’s great in the public eye and that’s what we need. We need public exposure in Edmonton, not that Rob (Anderson) didn’t do it but it’s hard to do when you’re in the opposition.”
“My support is behind Peter 100 per cent. Personally, I think he’s the man for the job,” Chapman said. “I’ll miss him terribly on council.”
“I got a lot of personal messages or phone calls or texts, tweets and Facebook messages suggesting that I’d make a good candidate. A lot of my key issues mirror provincial ones, if you’re talking overpasses and healthcare. I also have a lot of established relationships with some of the MLAs in Edmonton so I guess they thought it was a good fit,” he said.
Airdrie resident Kayla Jessen White said she was one of those encouraging Brown to run.
“If he wins, it'll be strong voice for Airdrie in Legislature. If he doesn't, he remains a strong voice for Airdrie as our mayor. Win-win,” she said in a message on the Airdrie City View Facebook page.
According to Manager of Legislative Services and Corporate Communications Sharon Pollyck, Brown will retain his position as mayor as he campaigns and will only need to resign if he successfully wins the MLA seat. At that point, his position on Airdrie City council would be vacant, pending a byelection, which would need to occur within 90 days.
Holding a byelection does incur a cost to the city. According to Pollyck, the last municipal election cost “just over $42,000.”
“My guess is it would be in the $35,000 to $40,000 range because I don’t need to staff as heavily,” Pollyck said. “Typically you don’t see the voter turnout.”
That number would be mitigated by the savings to the City for not having to pay the mayor’s salary after his resignation. Pollyck said she estimated this to be in the $20,000 to $25,000 range. She said she’s not able to estimate the amount saved by the resignation of any aldermen who decided to take a run at the mayor’s chair without knowing how many would be stepping down.
Brown said if elected, he’d be leaving City council in good hands.
“If successful, I really believe that we’re in good hands. I believe that sincerely. We’ve got two new aldermen and four very experienced aldermen (on council),” he said. “The worst thing that could happen is I fall back into the chair that I love the most. If I lose, I’m still the mayor.”
