Mayoral candidate Linnsie Clark discusses her platform in the Medicine Hat News board room on Tuesday. -- News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Linnsie Clark says a more transparent city hall is needed to drive economic growth, reposition the city’s power company and create a more affordable, more livable community.
The 41-year-old candidate for mayor – who is a city solicitor currently on unpaid leave – made waves last week announcing her candidacy with a hard statement against how Invest Medicine Hat contract bidding was handled.
On Tuesday, she told the News that her campaign is focused on restoring public participation and making more information available about the long-term cost and benefits of city decision making.
“I strongly believe we need to restore accountability institutions in city government,” she said. “Often in the name of efficiency or getting rid of red tape accountability is eroded.
“Even though that may be more efficient – having no rules is most efficient – but that’s not where we want to be.
“We have to have a balance. I’d restore that oversight.”
Clark, 41, grew up in the city in a large family that has ranching interests south of the city. She earned a science degree from the University of Lethbridge and law degree from the University of Victoria.
She practised employment and labour law in Vancouver for 10 years and returned to Medicine Hat to join the city’s solicitors department in 2017.
She is currently on a leave of absence, and will face four other candidates in the October 18 election.
Clark said the city currently has the staff and expertise to modernize and strengthen the publicly-owned power company in a sector facing upheaval from increasing green power production.
“We need to stabilize the forecasted value in light of the energy transition,” she said. “Even if you don’t believe in climate change, there’s no doubt the costs of the transition are real, and other utilities are taking steps.”
Hatters objected last winter when administrators announced the power-plant valuation process might result in accepting private sector offers to buy the company.
The public also reacted harshly when the Invest contracting out process was revealed by the News early this month. It is now on pause, but Clark says part of the problem with the process was that the office, which also handle land sales, was removed from city council’s committee “oversight structure” this year. It is under the sole direction of the city manager’s office as part of a corporate reorganization.
“What happens in closed committee really should be very limited,” she said. “You need to provide information far enough in advance, otherwise consultation isn’t meaningful.”
The creation of a healthy community and economic development, in her opinion, will require clear strong action on two existing plans.
The Business Retention, Expansion and Workplace Development (known as BREWD) study from two years ago, was developed in partnership with industry and other groups.
“There are excellent steps here… that we can take together,” she said.
“The city needs to immediately proceed with an industry cluster strategy and build out an entire economic development strategy around that.
“We have a really good start in terms of long-term planning,” she said of the recently adopted long-term Municipal Development Plan.
It suggests a more disciplined process for approving new suburban communities to balance existing road and servicing costs with adding new expenses to a backlog of road, sewer and other replacement work.
That should include in-depth and publicly available projections to determine future cost and tax-base implications of any specific development, and planning decisions that factor in green spaces and facilities to improve quality of life.
“We need to do a better job of accounting for our long-term infrastructure needs,” she said, stating maintaining and maximizing existing buildings, roads and other civic infrastructure should be key priority in balancing the budget.
“It’s about prioritizing what’s important for the community,” she said. “We need to create a wealthy city, which includes business and jobs, but for me also means creating a community-oriented city.”
