Medicine Hat’s longest-tenured mayor remembered as a ‘common sense’ leader

The civic giant, who served as Medicine Hat’s mayor from 1974 to 1977, and then again from 1980 until 2001, was described by Sauer as a common sense leader who always had his finger on the pulse when it came to the city’s front-line workers.

“He would stop in at the gas department, or he’d stop in at the power plant, or he’d stop in at the recreation offices and just find out what the front-line people were seeing out there, what the people were thinking,” Sauer says.

A champion of the city’s natural gas and electricity utilities, both Grimm and predecessor Harry Veiner used the money to provide tax breaks for residents, one of the many decisions which kept Grimm in the mayor’s seat for 24 years.

“He showed that he could be a stable and kind of a leading influence for the City of Medicine Hat and in the province as well,” adds Sauer.

Grimm’s legacy and influence are still evident today, as seen through the current city council.

“I had the incredible opportunity of getting to know him a little bit over the course of my campaign and since, and he was very generous with his time and his wisdom,” says Mayor Linnsie Clark.

She says Grimm’s passing is a huge loss for the community, and describes him as a person who would make a plan and set out to achieve it. “If he was going to go for something, he was going to go for it. That shows throughout his term as Mayor and some of the balls he moved forward and some of the things he accomplished.”

Those accomplishments can be seen throughout the city, as the current City Hall building, the Esplanade and the former Family Leisure Centre, now the Big Marble Go Centre, were all built or proposed during his tenure.

Clark shared some of the things she learned from the late mayor.

“You have your own voice,” Clark says. “We all care about the community if we’re serving in these positions and so, it’s important to trust who you are and don’t lose that within the job.”

Sauer adds Grimm’s lasting impact will live on in what he did for the city.

“The legacy doesn’t have to be money, it’s the kinds of things that are left over after you leave, and I know that we’ll all remember Ted Grimm as a very positive person, and regret that he’s no longer going to be with us.”

Note: This story has been updated to correct that Grimm died on Dec. 10, not Dec. 9.

by Gates Guarin

Medicine Hat’s longest-tenured mayor remembered as a ‘common sense’ leader

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