EXSHAW – A second councillor resignation this term for the MD of Bighorn will see a by-election take place in September.
Joss Elford, a first-term councillor for Ward 1 in Exshaw, submitted his resignation from Bighorn council on June 12.
The move led to the municipality announcing a by-election will take place Sept. 19, with the nomination period running until Aug. 22.
In a media release, Elford expressed regret for having to step aside for personal reasons.
“Your support during my term has been greatly appreciated and it has been my privilege to champion your interests,” he said. “My life has undergone many changes in the last 10 months, and I need to focus my energy on getting my personal life sorted.
“Additionally, finding housing in Exshaw has also been a challenging issue and in light of all these factors, I feel it’s best to move on. I want the best for the MD and look forward to seeing the positive changes that have been started by our council and to see what ideas a new councillor will bring to the table.”
Lisa Rosvold, the reeve for Bighorn, said Elford “contributed greatly in various discussions and decisions that have led to our new strategic goals and his work will continue to foster our safe and vibrant unique communities that make up the MD of Bighorn.”
Long-time former councillor Paul Ryan, who previously spent 19 years representing Exshaw and was defeated in the 2021 municipal election, said he has yet to commit to running but is giving it “serious consideration”
“I have been approached by a lot of people asking if I am willing to put in another two years on council. … Being a councillor is not really a job, it’s a commitment. A lot of people think it’s just a few meetings a month, it’s not. It’s a full-time job with part-time pay and giving up lots of weekends and nights.
“I don’t quit and I always deliver on my promises. Some people don’t like some of my answers to their questions, but they always get the truth.”
Shaina Tutt, Bighorn’s CAO, told council under the Municipal Government Act a by-election has to be held within 120 days of the resignation.
She said it would’ve made Oct. 10 the deadline, but with the municipality’s annual October organizational meeting assigning committee appointments, it was important to have someone in place prior to October meetings.
Tutt added the new councillor would have to go through orientation as well as get up-to-date with policies, guiding documents and past council meetings.
“We would be able to appropriately assign the duties of committees to all five members of council rather than having a missing piece of the puzzle,” she said.
An advance poll is only mandatory for a community of more than 5,000 people. If only one person submits nomination papers, an acclamation would mean a by-election isn’t necessary.
Elford, who was born and raised in the Bow Valley and is a longtime resident of Exshaw, is a full-time firefighter in Calgary. He previously served as a part-time volunteer firefighter with Exshaw Fire-Rescue.
He ran on issues surrounding groundwater problems in east Exshaw, strengthening municipal enforcement, snow removal and pushing for greater transit connection to Bighorn by potentially joining Roam.
Elford was elected as one of two Ward 1 councillors in the 2021 municipal election. Jen Smith earned 156 votes, with Elford getting 116 and longtime councillor Paul Ryan getting 105.
During the 2021 municipal election, Bighorn saw three new councillors join its council after longtime council members Dene Cooper and Erik Butters chose not to run for re-election.
Rosvold, who became reeve, was re-elected for a second term, and Paul Clark also returned for a third term. Rick Tuza, Jen Smith and Elford were newly elected councillors.
However, Clark retired in May 2022 to spend more time with his wife. Alice James was acclaimed and sworn in last June for Ward 3.
Council also deferred questions from ISL Engineering on Bighorn’s ward boundary review to a future governance and priorities committee meeting.
ISL had submitted a series of questions for guidance in its review, but several elected officials noted they didn’t have enough information to provide feedback.
Tutt said several aspects of the review had been completed or started.
Among the questions were whether Bighorn council needed to grow past five council members, potentially changing the way a reeve is elected, if public engagement should start earlier and how many ward options did council want.
“They’re all good questions, it’s just [not enough] to make a decision on today,” Tuza said.
Rosvold echoed Tuza’s sentiments, noting it was important to have more information.
“Those are questions they should be considering and bringing back to us, so I would prefer to not answer questions … They can provide as many scenarios they think for our council to consider. … The rest of the questions are requiring expertise we don’t have,” she said.
The ward boundary review came off the municipality’s population increasing 20.7 per cent between the 2016 and 2021 federal census and could potentially see the ward maps redrawn to represent the changing population growth.
ISL Engineering was awarded the bid, with the project budgeted at $30,000, but expanded to about $35,000.
The boundaries of the MD have changed several times since it was established in 1988, but there haven’t been adjustments to council size or ward numbers since 1989.
In the 2021 census, Bighorn, which covers an area of roughly 2,700 square kilometres, grew from 1,324 to 1,598 residents.
Ward 1 includes the hamlet of Exshaw as well as Kananaskis and Seebe settlements and lands in townships 25 and 26 to the north of Exshaw.
Bighorn is comprised of four wards, with Ward 2 having Harvie Heights, Dead Man’s Flats and Lac des Arcs and Ward 3 to the north, south and east of the Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation with West Jumpingpound region. Ward 4 is the largest geographical area and is the hamlet of Benchlands.
