Calgary Coun. Ward Sutherland has officially entered the race for re-election in Ward 1.
Sutherland — who was first elected to city council in 2013, winning narrowly by 87 votes — filed his nomination papers with Elections Calgary on Friday.
“I still think there’s quite a bit of work to do,” Sutherland told Global News on Saturday. “There’s been substantial investment in my ward over the last eight years, over $4 billion of private investment.”
Sutherland said the investments cover infrastructure in new interchanges, developments and parks.
If he is re-elected in October, it would be Sutherland’s third term.
“I do believe in term limits. It’s debatable whether it’s two terms or three,” Sutherland said. “I would say that the max should be three.”
Sutherland currently serves as chair of the Business Advisory Committee, and the Standing Policy Committee of Utilities and Corporate Services while serving as vice-chair of the Event Centre Assessment Committee.
The Ward 1 representative also serves on the Priorities and Finance Committee, Calgary Stampede Board, Planning and Urban Development Committee, Foothills Athletic Park Redevelopment Advisory Committee and the Alberta Urban Municipality Association.
Sutherland said the upcoming four-year term will be challenging, in terms of post-pandemic recovery with strategies that are different than approaches used in previous years.
“The focus will really have to be on the COVID economy recovery, and the type of strategies we’ll need to address are going to be different than in the past,” Sutherland said.
He added the Downtown Recovery Strategy will be critical for economic growth in the city’s core and will be one of the key issues during the campaign.
Sutherland joins Coun. Peter Demong, Jeff Davison, George Chahal, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Sean Chu as incumbents running for re-election on Oct. 18.
“Vote on my record. I’m very proud of my record, and I can easily supply two pages of what I’ve done,” Sutherland said.
“I’ve worked very hard, and I actually do things rather than complain about stuff, and I think that’s the big difference.”
One concern for the councillor is an increasing trend of misinformation at the municipal level — a trend Sutherland said is disappointing and something he would continue to call out.
“When you’re not transparent and you create a narrative that’s not true, that’s a disservice to citizens. You’re not helping them,” he said. “Let people decide on the merits. You don’t have to play those political games.
Currently, Wards 3, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 will have no incumbents running for re-election.
Last week, Coun. Druh Farrell announced she would not be seeking re-election in the fall. Farrell’s announcement follows news from Evan Woolley and Shane Keating, who both said they would not seek re-election. Meanwhile, Coun. Ray Jones retired last year.
Councillors Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek have announced their candidacies for mayor.
“It’s going to be about the right leadership at the right time,” Sutherland said of the race for mayor. “What I see right now, to be honest, is no one has the right experience or vision to lead the city into the next phase.”
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