Medicine Hat mayor says all resident feedback should be considered as recall petition fails

A petition to recall the mayor started was launched by Nicole Frey in October but organizers said it only received 7,843 physical signatures by the Monday deadline, about two-thirds short of the number required under provincial law.

Frey and others that signed the petition were hopeful it still sends a message to the city it should improve communication and be more transparent.

“It is a good showing of support from the community about our unhappiness with the current council, mayor and administration,” Frey said Monday.

“It speaks to the lack of transparency and accountability that we’ve been asking for.”

The petition was not submitted to the Alberta government for verification and so it failed by default.

‘A GOOD THING’

The end of the recall effort is not the only recent initiative by disgruntled residents to criticize council or the city.

Frey made a second petition calling on the province to inspect the city’s operations and the Medicine Hat Utilities Ratepayer Association was formed last week to criticize fees charged by the city-owned utility company.

Clark said these efforts, though critical of council, are a positive sign the community wants to be involved with council decisions that have a local impact.

“The community has gotten more engaged and I think that’s a good thing,” Clark said.

“That’s part of the democratic process. It’s actually a very good thing that people are choosing to tune into their local government because that is the level of government that’s closest to people.”

Paul Salvatore, CEO of Municipal Experts Inc., said Monday the recall effort could potentially put Medicine Hat in some negative light.

“It does reflect poorly because then you suspect that there’s something happening that requires this type of process,” Salvatore told CHAT News.

But he said it was important for municipalities not to dismiss the concerns of residents, noting the recall effort was less about removing the mayor and more about raising awareness over concerns its supporters had.

“It was very much issue-driven from that standpoint. Participation in democracy is not a bad thing, it’s just how you go about doing [it] that can make a bigger difference.”

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by Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Medicine Hat mayor says all resident feedback should be considered as recall petition fails

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