After 10 years, Banff town councillor Stavros Karlos is quitting politics – for now.
The colourful councillor won’t seek a fourth term on council, having decided to dedicate more time to his young family and take a step back from what’s been a contentious term.
He’s been at the centre of many of the big issues, including his big push to limit the number of cars downtown to create a more enjoyable experience for resident and visitors beyond bumper-to-bumper traffic in a national park townsite.
“I’ve come to a point where I need to take a little bit of a break for a few reasons,” said Karlos, who was first elected in 2007 and was the top vote-getter in the last election. “I’m sad. It’s tearing me apart because I love being on council. I love it because I love this place.”
Karlos has never been one to shy away from controversial issues, passionately debating issues from housing to paid parking, while famously dropping the F-bomb during an emotionally charged meeting in which council was under attack.
He’s a big believer in pedestrianizing downtown and getting 50 per cent of cars off the roads in the long-term – paid parking is just one part of that – but he doesn’t feel there’s community consensus for this vision.
Given that, Karlos said it’s time to take a break and “refresh my perspective.
“Over time, I’ve become really entrenched in my thinking and I think that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I just need to check out and make sure that what I’m thinking is actually the right thing to do.
“As a politician, you’re expected to certainly listen to your constituents’ opinions and be able to respond to those, and over time that’s become a little bit more challenging for me because I’ve looked at a lot of evidence and I’ve really swung to certain positions.”
The father of two also wants to spend more time with family – wife Samantha Frey and young children – eight-year-old daughter Apollonia and six-year-old son Anders.
“For the entire time I’ve been married, I’ve been on council,” said Karlos. “I’ve never not had a public life since being married and I think my wife, not being a very public person, wanted to take a little bit of that time back.”
The pressures of public life can take a toll, especially when it comes to personal attacks. Because Karlos is so vocal on issues he believes integral to a better Banff, everyone knows exactly where he stands.
“I’ve had my businesses threatened, I’ve had my family threatened, and I’ve had my person threatened,” said Karlos. “You don’t have to agree with somebody, but there’s no need for that.”
Karlos said if Banff is truly serious about becoming an environmental role model, there are difficult and expensive decisions to be made. Ironically, when he was first elected a decade ago, he was in favour of building a downtown parkade and opposed to paid parking.
“I think Banff is at a crossroads,” he said, noting four lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic is not a pleasant experience for visitors or residents.
“I say that as a person who wants to enjoy my downtown core during summer, and I think right now we offer residents and visitors a sub-optimal experience because we’re not willing to buy into those long-term solutions.”
Instead, Karlos said he believes many residents and businesses get bogged down in the smaller issues, not the big picture.
“People say, ‘we need people to drive past my shop in order to keep busy,’ which is just an outright lie, or that ‘we need to build more parking in order to house more cars in the downtown core,’ ” he said. “It’s not about parking, people, it’s about what kind of a community you want to live in.”
All that said, Karlos said he believes there’s been great progress during his time on council, pointing to the extensive public transit system in Banff and regionally to Canmore.
“A transit system like we have now was just a pipedream 10 years ago,” he said.
Karlos is also proud of work to create more affordable housing options in town, which has been core to his platform in his three previous election campaigns.
He refers to the municipality’s new development, called Ti’nu, on Coyote Lane, which will add another 131 rental units when completed, as well as private sector initiatives implemented in the land use bylaw.
“I honestly think in about two to three years from now you’re going to see an impact, where vacancy rates will be back up,” said Karlos, noting vacancy rates for the past several years have been zero.
For Karlos, this is not a goodbye to politics forever.
“For now, I think I can be a vocal proponent from the outside, just as well as I can be from the inside,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s enough voices on the outside giving council feedback on a future vision for our community that helps Banff become a more livable place.”
