41188770•03/31/15
Garth Vallely a mayor that led the charge continued from page 73
Maybe that’s pie-in-the-sky. Here’s Garth again going off on one of his crusades again. But I believe it.”
Vallely ran for the mayor’s seat in 2001. Despite never holding public office before, Vallely won his first election with a comfortable majority. He promised three things coming in: To make Medicine Hat better, to listen to the people and to stay on for only two terms.
“Quite frankly I wish more politicians would think that way,” said Vallely. “I believe in the concept where you have a period of time you are effective and you are getting your points across. And, after that, that’s it. I said it publicly before the election that I would only seek the mayor’s chair twice, and I stuck to that. Of course, if I said I didn’t miss some of the things that go on when you are in the mayor’s chair I’d be lying to ya.”
first youth shelter. Vallely quickly won over even his harshest critics and brought new energy into local politics.
If you want
“I think he may be the strong leader we need,” said one self-confessed, jaded voter named J.C. Cruikshank in a letter to the editor in the Medicine Hat News on Dec.1, 2001. “I said I voted for Mr. Vallely once. I just might do it twice. Thanks for hearing me out Garth.”
As Mayor Vallely immediately began to set a different tone. He opened city council meetings up to the public in a way they had never been before. He held a weekly radio call in show to hear the concerns of people first hand. He instituted the annual Mayor’s New Year Levee. He pushed to begin construction on the long awaited Esplanade despite sometimes heated political opposition. He helped open Medicine Hat’s first homeless shelter, first hospice and
TEAM Insurance & Financial Services
Did You Know . . . TSG has introduced a new line of business insurance products?
Our products will provide state-of-the-art coverages and are priced for today's economic environment.
Connect with TEAM TSG Today!
Thomson-Schindle-Green Insurance & Financial Services Ltd.
100 Chinook Place 623 - 4th St. S.E., Downtown 403-526-3283
Toll-Free: 1-800-830-9423
www.tsginsurance.com
74 2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA Mayor Garth Vallely, 2007
to change things to make it easier for people to live, people in positions of power have to lead the charge on it.
In his second term in office starting in 2004, Vallely never slowed his progressive agenda despite experiencing some serious health problems. He led the charge to overhaul the city’s energy division to make it more sustainable as a business model. He helped celebrate the city’s centennial, dedicated BATUS Park, brought in the Giant Chess Set outside the library. He helped get Medalta recognized as National Historic Site. He got the ball rolling on building the new Event Centre. And he did all this while continuing to effectively tackle social issues like poverty and homelessness.
“If you want to change things to make it easier for people to live, people in positions of power have to lead the charge on it,” said Vallely.
Vallely kept his word and stepped down from public office in
2007 after two eventful terms. He was at the height of his personal popularity, with many publications at the time referring to him as “the people’s mayor.”
Even out of office Vallely remains a passionate social crusader. When recently asked about his legacy, Vallely said it was still a work in progress.
“I have a lot of optimism for the future, but the one thing that still bothers me is we need to look at rent controls. Because at $10.22 an hour, whatever the minimum wage is, it’s tough to make a living. There is way more people in this city that are disadvantaged, and not for a physical ailment—they just can’t make enough money to live—than meets the eye. A lot of people are living on peanuts; they are going from hand to mouth virtually every day. And it is getting tougher and tougher.” ■
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116