Coun. Shila Sharps is looking to finish the work she started in the last council term, hoping the community will agree that she pushed hard for the transparency she promised when she first ran for municipal office.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Coun. Shila Sharps has put her name back in the pot, determined to continue what council started in this last term.
In the past four years, Sharps says she feels she has shown the reality of transparency; that while good governance requires that level of openness, it can sometimes be uncomfortable to see the inner workings and potential problems of a municipality.
“It’s been four years of incredible intensity,” said Sharps. “Four years ago, I said, ‘Let’s get stuff out in the open.’ Transparency is never easy and it’s never clean. It’s like getting the lights on in a hoarder’s bedroom. It can be ugly, but now you know what you’re dealing with. That’s what’s happened in the past four years.”
Having pushed for as little time in closed session as possible in the past, Sharps says she finds the city is now in a place where it can begin to address some of the issues that have been uncovered, which is something she wants to be part of.
Moving forward, Sharps wants to build on the strong environmental framework she was part of building and continue to explore alternative sources of energy. She says alternative energy has become a major draw for businesses looking to settle in recent years, making it vital for a city that wants to diversify and broaden its economic base.
With that comes a need for a reduction of red tape and more shovel-ready land, says Sharps, to get these projects moving into Medicine Hat.
“We’ve done a little bit, but nowhere near enough. We need an administration that’s aligned with that and says, ‘Yes, that’s what we’re going to do,’ we’re going to take a development permit from three months to three days, or as best as we can reduce it,” said Sharps, citing a need for investment to have more land ready for development to bring more projects on board faster.
“My priority is to also figure out a balance for our community between City Hall and the citizens,” said Sharps. “I need to be really clear, it’s not the employees. The employees are never the problem. The employees come in every day, they do their job. Our city looks amazing. It runs amazing. Where we need to get at a better comfort level is governance and administration.”
She expressed a need to have more clear direction for administration, to ensure there are fewer situations in which administration is having to guess or assume council’s intent behind a motion, as this can lead to disconnect and loss of trust in procedure. She would like to see, moving forward, more clarity and detail from motions in order to address this.
To be able to have the background to make those detailed motions, Sharps would like to see not only herself, but more of council fulfilling a stronger ambassadorial role within the city by attending more events.
Looking ahead, Sharps recognizes she is fighting an uphill battle in some areas and a downhill one in others.
“I’m just gonna throw the cards on the table for a lot of people. August 2021 really bothers them, and I always say to them, don’t let it bother you. It’s not bothering me and it’s not bothering Mayor Clark, so just move forward,” said Sharps.
She described the infamous day – a public argument between Clark and CAO Ann Mitchell – as her interfering in a situation she was watching go bad, and acting with integrity when faced with potentially embarrassing an employee. The particular case, says Sharps, was not unique to Medicine Hat as far as issues on council, nor was it against Clark, but merely bringing the situation to a halt and dealing with it.
If re-elected, she promises to work to continue to operate with the integrity she has brought to the previous term, and work to establish a base of common understanding and ground with the new council without shying away from conflict and discussion should the need arise, as she believes it can lead to good outcomes.
“Maybe the community will say I’m done, and that’s OK. You have to respect that,” said Sharps. “I’m hoping they don’t, but I do know that I’m a very strong personality, and that isn’t always easy for people. I get that. But I’m also the same person they call when they want something done. They know I’ll dig and I will find a good course of action.”
