Nicole Frey, centre, and volunteers gather signatures for a recall petition aimed at removing Mayor Linnsie Clark prior to a city council meeting on Oct. 16 at city hall. Frey said Monday the petition will not be formally submitted after 8,000 signatures were collected toward the 26,000 requirement.--News File Photo
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A drive to remove Mayor Linnsie Clark from office has failed.
City hall critic Nicole Frey launched the formal process to recall the mayor this fall in what she called a signal to council after delayed action on a number of issues, including high utility prices and approval of a “trap, neuter, release” program for stray cats.
Frey and her supporters had until the end of business Monday to submit the petition for inspection, but didn’t, said Frey, after collecting only about one third of the required 26,000 signatures.
“It’s a very high bar – higher than the number of people who voted in the last election,” Frey told the News on Monday after stating on social media on the weekend that about 8,000 signatures were gathered over the official 60-day period.
“(Petitions) are a mechanism of public pressure. The public has been putting pressure on council since the summer, and it’s allowed a lot of people to come forward with information … there were lots of beneficial things that have come forward with the recall process.”
She hopes the effect is increased support for her request for an audit done by Alberta Municipal Affairs.
Clark, who hasn’t much commented on the effort launched in early October, told the News on Monday she would be prepared to make a statement early Tuesday once the official deadline had passed.
In September city council approved what is a three-piece plan to address high utility prices: a package of $33 million in utility credits to city power customers, a new rate formula that sets a range of about half previous pricing, and a third-party review of the utility business model, due next year.
Last month, Coun. Shila Sharps also put forth a motion to create a formal public complaints process against council members and a process for staff to use in dealing with individuals with voluminous information requests.
Frey, who says she has launched a complaint against Sharps, says that has unfairly limited her ability to get answers about utility and city decisions.
City administrators have said most of the information requested is either publicly available or properly kept confidential as it deals with financial information that could compromise the city’s interests.
The city clerk confirmed to the News on Monday that there is no requirement to submit the partial petition under legislation passed in 2021.
Under the Municipal Government Act, a local elected official can be removed during a period between elections if a certified petition contains the names of 40 per cent of the area’s population.
In Medicine Hat, the total required equals about 26,000 names that appear on the official voter’s list.
About 19,800 Hatters cast a mayoral ballot in 2021, won by Clark with 13,151 votes.
“It gives the province some visibility on just how difficult it is to keep local officials accountable through the current legislation,” said Frey. “There needs to be some level of difficulty because we don’t want to be constantly changing mayors or council members, but the community needs there to be a mechanism to hold them accountable.”
Alberta Municipalities, representing urban cities and towns in the province, has released a position statement outlining concerns that recalls could become “onerous” for cities.
It also states the requirement should be based on voters, not residents, and higher hurdles for smaller municipalities would reflect local realities.
As well, they state that a third party should oversee the process, rather than a city or town manager, to avoid potential conflicts.
Recalls cannot be initiated until 18 months after an election, nor in the calendar year of a set election date.
