Conversing With Albertans or The Journey Has Begun...

It began with a phone call from a friend who asked me if I was interested in attending a small social gathering of some very interesting and influential citizens here in Alberta, plus I’d get to go to an Oilers game. After about 5 seconds of thinking I quickly indicated my interest and boy, am I glad I did.

I met a group of informed, engaged and very prominent people who pay close attention to what is happening in Alberta including our government and politics.  They were concerned about the future of our province and the legacy we will leave future generations.  I can say without reservation that this was the most distinguished and experienced group of people I have ever had the pleasure to share ideas and perspectives with and I learned a lot.  

They were looking for a casual chat with someone engaged in politics but not connected to the PC Party. I discovered that they also had a keen interest in the Alberta Party potential.  That was encouraging, because these are folks that have worked for years as volunteers and fundraisers, both for various social causes and for political parties and people  they believe in. As individuals each have put time, effort and resources into the things that they believe in, and have been incredibly successful while doing so.

It was obvious that these folks were very comfortable in each other’s company and had known each other for some time. It was even more obvious that they were intimately familiar with the inner workings of the Alberta Government and ultimately that they were very concerned, almost from a paternal sort of way, for the future of this great Province that they had helped to nurture and build.

 It was a great night, the Oilers were winning out on the ice and up in our vantage point we discussed health care, the economy, the environment, the oil sands and much else. At one point I asked a long-time self-confessed PC party activist if he believed  our current government had the ability to lead us through the challenges ahead. His answer was short but direct – “Not a chance in hell.” When we  discussed alternatives, he and others were much less sure of what the political options were.

“The Liberals couldn’t get it done in 100 years so far; why would that change now?” I was told. “There is no way I could ever be a New Democrat,” said another while heads were nodding. One guest said he heard that I was involved with a new political party in Alberta, “I am, I replied.” “Is it that Wildrose Party?” he asked with obvious disdain in his voice. “No”, I replied, “The Alberta Party.” At this point the conversation got very interesting...

 Like many Albertans, I am used to being treated as kind of a pariah when I discuss my involvement with any political party other than the P.C’s.  Not  this time.  The overall reaction was  one of intense interest and curiosity about the Alberta Party as another viable option. A very in-depth conversation  took place between bites of snacks, sips of beverages and a general atmosphere of banter and good humour.

At the end of the evening, I was wished the best of luck with the  new Alberta Party.  I was told  that they were all very interested in following  its evolution  and  they will be “paying attention to my exploits.” Some comparisons were made between the young Oilers team and their winning performance on the ice that evening and to the potential of a new, young political party and a prospective future win in Alberta.

A few days later, I was in another  different but still intense  conversation over lunch in Calgary, this time with  some  members of the Alberta Party Board of Directors.   We very quickly got into a discussion about potential leadership candidates, the leadership convention and party organizing. 

It was obvious to me from the passion displayed by my hosts that they were “in it to win it” and are ready, willing and able to do the hard work necessary to build the Alberta Party into a contender next election.  These people had spent time working with opposition political parties but had lost both faith and hope that those brands could ever govern here. They were now ready to dedicate their efforts, funds and passion to building new. And again, I was encouraged to “keep going” on my personal journey for a political home as I discovered more about this newly reborn Alberta Party.

Finally, my week rounded out with a series of meetings with both experienced campaigners and seasoned vets from other political parties, balanced by coffee chats with first time campaigners that were still feeling the euphoria of the Nenshi Mayoral victory in Calgary. I had set up a series of face to face meetings, from Edmonton to Calgary, from Beaumont to Lethbridge and boy was it worth the trip.

All of these people were expressing a strong interest in The Alberta Party and a desire to do politics differently  in Alberta. All of them were encouraging me to keep on this journey, and to see where it takes me.

Upon reflection, my week was  very satisfying; I was meeting people that share such similar values with me, similar concerns and similar yearnings for something better politically in our province. I was able to reaffirm that I am not alone on this expedition, that many others are becoming fellow travellers who are interested in working to affect positive political change.  I share their belief and aspiration that we can do politics differently in Alberta.  We can have a political culture that enables and empowers individuals while we all strive to serve the greater good of all Albertans, now and in the future.

As for me, I am on a  continuation of a very interesting personal journey. My leadership in elected office at the local level has led me to leadership positions on a regional level with organizations such as GAER and FRI and at a provincial level with such as RADF and the AUMA. I’m at a place in my life where I am now looking beyond the confines of my home community and my home region.  I am exploring how I can contribute and help to influence political and governance change at a Provincial level by applying the lessons I have learned about servant leadership in local government.

I hope that you will join me and engage in active and informed citizenship, let’s bring our talents to bear and help change the political trajectory of this province so we can all achieve our potential as people and as a province.

Citizen Engagement

Well, I guess this can be considered a blog series; today’s post is the second in a series that I am writing on doing politics differently. In this post I am exploring Citizen Engagement, again from my perspective as a Citizen Servant Leader while sharing my experience as a locally elected official.

I hope that you find it interesting enough to engage in the discussion with me, if not, at least I had the opportunity to flesh out my thinking in this area and my friends don’t have to suffer alone as I share (often against their wishes and will) my thoughts on governance. Enjoy the read...

“Rational discussion is an open, focussed, serious, collaborative dialogue of discovery where you speak so that you can hear. In stating your opinion, you invite others to differ. You listen to their differing views and offer differing views of your own; moreover, you don’t merely exchange views with others; rather, you change your own views. You state your opinions experimentally, for the purpose of testing your thinking and developing your understanding.”

(Howard and Barton: Thinking Together, p. 20, italics theirs)

There has been a lot of discussion in Alberta lately regarding citizen engagement. Most of the discussion has been centred on the lack of meaningful public consultation with quite a few folks that I have discussed this with feeling ‘managed’ during the process. I find that state of affairs to be disturbing and disappointing. Governance should be about finding ways to engage our citizens, not disengage them.

During my years as the Mayor for Hinton our community has found ways to involve our citizens in shaping the future of our community by asking them to step up, come out and get involved with the planning of our community while bringing their perspective and insight to help shape the conversation.

We have asked our citizenry to weigh in on everything from the need (or lack of one) for a transit system in Hinton to the planning and timing of major infrastructure projects. We have asked for and received engagement on almost everything from the design of our Rec Centre Renovation through an Integrated Housing Strategy to our Social Development Strategy. In all cases what we were looking for, and ultimately received, were engaged conversations on the issues at hand so that our administrative team could benefit from the citizen perspective as they prepare background reports so that Town Council could make informed decisions.

Our most recent exercise in Citizen Engagement is an 18 month project to develop our Community Sustainability Plan (CSP). This project is led by a Citizens Advisory Group that is chaired by a local retiree and which is developing a report for our Council that will inform our decision making process for many years to come. Without getting into a lot of detail that is not really relevant to this blog post suffice it to say that our CSP will help us make decisions in a manner that will consider the potential impacts on our social, environmental, economic and cultural pursuits while ensuring that strong governance is the base of all decisions that we make.

Why do I lay all of this groundwork you might ask? While actually it is to share with you my perspective on, and experience with, working within the context of meaningful consultation with our citizenry from a governance context. As an elected leader in my home community I understand the risks associated with open conversation – you don’t always hear what you might want, nor what you might expect. But you must always be open to the conversation if you want to truly represent the interests of those that you were elected to serve.

I believe, and thankfully my belief is shared by my council colleagues that information must flow in every direction, up, down, sideways and crossways. Healthy governance should be based on a constant learning environment. Constant learning and relearning should be a staple for a government that is on a journey of development in which they can evolve and grow.

Leaders should be askers of questions; we should work towards becoming people that facilitate questioning, visioning and problem solving. For much to long leaders have thought that they are expected to solve and answer every question, but I think that the real power lies in asking the questions, stimulating the conversation and being open to hearing all of the responses. A leader in Citizen Participation needs to set a safe environment, one that allows the treasure trove of wisdom that is locked up in each citizen of our province to be opened so that this wisdom can be tapped into and shared.

My vision of a successful Alberta is one in which our government can move from a reactive into a proactive focus on solutions; an Alberta in which meetings are held with our citizens that gives each of us as much say as possible over the issues that affect our lives and our work. One in which everyone’s input and involvement is important and valued.

In our community, my experience has been such that when you ask citizens to come out and talk, and you are willing to listen and act on what we talk about, great things can happen. Meaningful conversation is a method that can be a small, quietly revolutionary method to transform government and governance. I’ve seen it at work, I’ve been privy to its success, and I believe that it can be, and should be, emulated at a provincial and perhaps federal level.

I for one, am willing to work towards creating a province where we celebrate and encourage true, meaningful citizen engagement. That’s the province that I strive towards and I believe that others are seeking the same future. I know this because I’ve seen the engagement and the success at a local level, and I believe that it can and should be replicated across our fine province.

I look forward to the journey of discovery and engagement and meeting you along the way dear reader.

Citizen Servant Leadership

I have decided to write this blog for a number of reasons, some of which I hope might appeal to you the reader, some of which might appeal only to me the writer, and I’m sure, some of which might only appeal to my mom – if she was interested in reading this.

This blog will be used primarily to discuss governance (rather than politics) and the lessons that I have learned during my years of service in local government and at a provincial level with the various boards, committees and organizations that I have served on and continue to serve. I will tell a few stories, offer opinions and maybe once in awhile a little insight.

Most of what I will write about will be concerning my experiences in leadership at a local, community level and how I think that the many lessons learned could – and should - be applied at a provincial and sometimes, federal level. You see, I worry that our leaders have lost their way in the twisted corridors of Party Politics in our great country; certainly they seem to have here in Alberta.

Through this blog I hope to encourage more civility in politics in Alberta and perhaps real citizen engagement and consultation. I would like to show how we do things at a local level and how they can and should be replicated at the Provincial level. After all, we serve the same citizens – why do we serve them so differently in style, attitude and transparency?

I am going to use this first blog post, which I hope will be the inaugural post (I don’t think I can call it the first in a series, until I actually write a second, third and so on...) to introduce myself to the many who don’t know me, and perhaps reintroduce myself to the many that do. I will tell you a little about me, what I do – and maybe why I do it, who I am and ideally what I hope to do. I will also tell you about my community, as this is where most of the lessons that I have learned have been developed, honed and applied.

For many years now, indeed most of my adult life, I have been thinking about governance and leadership, about Alberta, about my town, about my friends and neighbours and about our role in a free and democratic society.

Quite a bit of my thinking (and my work) has been about engaging our usually quiet populace in helping to shape the future of my town through my role as Mayor for Hinton and how we can take the lessons learned at a local level and apply them on a broader scale, on a provincial level, and perhaps a federal as well.

You see I take a certain measure of pride in our community; we are not what we seem to the many that don’t know us. We are more than smoke stacks, coal mines and forestry. We are more than loggers, miners and wildcatters. We are more than people think we are.  We are, I believe, one of the most progressive communities in Alberta. We are artists and writers, actors and musicians. We are healthcare workers, teachers, insurance agents and store clerks.  We are environmental activists, government employees, retired workers, single moms, the under-employed, and the over-employed. We are Albertans, and usually darn proud of it.

The citizens that I represent and take my measure of pride in earn their living from the land. This land that belongs to all Albertans. Most earn their living directly from the land by harvesting and processing our abundant natural resources, many earn their living and support themselves, their families and our community by providing services to these industries and the people that work in them.

We hike, we fish, we camp. We dance, we sing, we celebrate, we debate. We care strongly about Alberta and our place in it. We are striving to be responsible citizens, good parents and good providers. Yes, we have our challenges and our petty arguments, we have our disagreements and out bias’. But really, we just want to live our life, have a little fun along the way, grow a family, grow old together and just get along.

I tell you all this, because my job as the Mayor is one of servant leader. And you can’t lead if you don’t know who you are serving. Most of my stories will make more sense when you understand the lens through which I am filtering my experiences. The lens of serving our citizens, often in spite of their protests but always, I believe, in the best interest of our community as a whole.

I also think that my vision and perception of the folks that live in my town is probably similar to that of the populace and citizenry of every town, village, hamlet or city in Alberta. Our experiences and challenges, our triumphs and failures are not that different than that of all the citizens of Alberta.

Therefore I would like to think that my leadership and governance style, my perspective and experiences are such that they will resonate with the few that bother to read this blog as we explore this future of Alberta together.

So, who am I, and what experience might I have that would qualify me to write a blog like this you might ask? I am a citizen servant leader.

While I currently serve as the Mayor for Hinton (recently re-elected to my third term) I am also representing the towns of Alberta as their Vice-President on the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) where I chair the Municipal Governance Policy Committee. I am Chairman for Rural Alberta’s Development Fund (RADF) and also serve on the Alberta Utilities Consumers Advocate Advisory Board, the Alberta Municipal Health & Safety Association Board (AMHSA), the Grande Alberta Economic Region (GAER) and The Evergreens Foundation, a senior citizen and affordable housing group.

I fear that I have exhausted the word count for an introductory blog, so will sign off for now. Next time I will be writing about our experience in Citizen Engagement. I have followed with interest The Big Listen exercise that the reborn Alberta Party has been conducting and marvel at how similar it is to what we have been doing at the Municipal level for about two years now, so will write about the similarities next time.

Thank you for making it through this rather long introduction – I look forward to building a relationship and a dialogue with you as we explore how we can all be part of building a better Alberta together.