Sandy Bowman shares reading time with school children. Facebook image
Old and new faces fill RMWB council seats following municipal election
FORT MCMURRAY — It’s a mix of familiar names and fresh faces on the new Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council.
Ward 1 voters chose experience with the return of Don Scott and Mike Allen, both veterans of more than a decade in local politics. Incumbent Lance Bussieres was re-elected and will now serve alongside his sister, Luana Bussieres, marking the first time a brother and sister have sat together on council in the municipality’s history.
They join newcomers Ty Brandt and Jennifer Vardy, both of whom have been regulars in council chambers over the past four years, following debates and preparing for their eventual run.
In the rural wards, Kendrick Cardinal returns in Ward 2, joined by Greg “Cowboy” Marcel, while Stu Wigel reclaims his seat in Ward 3. Ward 4 will be represented by first-time councillor Kyle Vandecasteyen.
Mayor Sandy Bowman secured another term with what’s being described as the strongest mandate in nearly two decades, earning roughly 95 per cent of the vote.
Former councillor Sheldon Germain, who served nearly 20 years with the municipality, says one of the new council’s first priorities should be finding a permanent chief administrative officer, a role he describes as essential to bridging council and administration.
“It’s really important that the council gets some stability in the CAO position,” Germain said. “The high turnover is caused by a lack of clarity of purpose and oversight. Often that boils down to trust, communication and relationship.”
Germain says the next council must focus on defining clear expectations and strong evaluation processes for its senior administrator. “The council needs to develop a strong evaluation process for the CAO that helps create clarity on roles and responsibilities,” he said. “The firing or changing of a CAO is like the firing of a coach of an underperforming team.”
He adds that success will depend on clarity in that role and disciplined focus from councillors. “The key relationship is the triad between council, the mayor and the CAO,” Germain said. “They have to get in a room and really be clear on what the long-term goals for the region are, what the key deliverables are for the first year, and what the long-term vision is for the municipality.”
He says governance-level thinking at the policy and strategic level is critical, and councillors must resist the urge to focus on every pothole. Germain also emphasized the importance of council onboarding, saying orientation processes have often fallen short in past terms. He recommends each councillor identify three key priorities and group them into themes for the term.
“There’s always a few low-hanging fruit that you can easily knock off after the election to get some success,” he said. “There’s a substantial shift that has to happen after the election to move to some common ground. Synthesize everyone’s perspective and look at some commonalities that you can work together on for the long-term best interest of the community.”
The official election results are expected to be finalized on Friday, Oct. 24.
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