St. Albert city councillor Natalie Joly says she won't be seeking re-election in 2025, citing concerns that incumbent councillors hamper growth and diversity in community leadership.
“One of the things that I have to do as an inclusive leader is get out of the way of the next leaders that come after me,” the two-term councillor said in an interview.
“The statistics on incumbents winning are (high), and so without existing politicians really getting out of the way for that new leadership, we're not going to get the kind of diversity that I want on city council.”
In St. Albert's 2021 municipal election only two new faces were elected to council, Coun. Shelley Biermanski and Coun. Mike Killick, both of whom took over for former councillors Jacquie Hansen and Ray Watkins who didn't run for re-election.
Coun. Wes Brodhead, Coun. Sheena Hughes, Coun. Ken MacKay, Joly, and Mayor Cathy Heron were all incumbent candidates, with Hughes serving her third term and Brodhead on his fourth term.
Prior to being elected mayor in 2017, Heron had served consecutive terms as a councillor dating back to 2010.
Joly, who was first elected to council in 2017, initially made the announcement that the current council term would be her last on LinkedIn late last month.
With the current term not quite at the halfway point, Joly said one of her main goals before giving up her seat is to see the 22 St. Thomas St. affordable housing project come to fruition.
Ownership of the 1.3 acre plot of currently undeveloped land in St. Albert's downtown core was transferred from the city to Homeland Housing last fall for the steep price of a loonie.
Homeland Housing, which is a publicly funded non-profit organization, plans to build a multi-residential apartment complex with at least 55 per cent of the units priced below the rental market. The organization is scheduled to provide project updates to council moving forward as design work continues.
“That's my big one,” Joly said of the project. “We've had great meetings with the province about opportunities for support so I would love to see shovels in the ground for that process.”
During her first term, Joly's notable policy achievements included putting forward a city-wide ban on conversion therapy in 2019, which made St. Albert the first municipality in the province to do so.
Conversion therapy is the pseudo-scientific practice of using things like psychoanalysis and behaviour modification on a non-heterosexual individual in an attempt to conform them to heterosexuality.
The government of Canada criminalized the practice of conversion therapy early last year.
Another memorable policy change for Joly was an amendment to the city's land-use bylaw in 2019 that removed an out of date rule that prevented group homes for those living with disabilities from being located less than 300 metres apart.
At the time, St. Albert resident Erik King, who lives with Down Syndrome, told council the rule prevented him from picking his own neighbours, which was a clear violation of his human rights.
“I’m asking you not to discriminate against me or others with disabilities,” King had told council, leading to unanimous approval of the bylaw amendment.
Joly said both of those policy changes stood out as memorable moments due to the changes representing the values she wants to see in the community.
“I want to create a community where people feel empowered to advocate for change,” she said. “I want to create a community that's inclusive, I want to create a community that's welcoming, I want to invest in a community that values equity, so that's why those hit the top two.”
During her first term Joly completed a Master of Business Administration through Athabasca University, and as of last fall has also been working as the executive director of ElderCare Edmonton, a non-profit organization focused on providing recreational day-programming for seniors.
When asked if she has made plans for life after council, Joly said she didn't want to rule anything out.
“I'm really enjoying the mix right now,” she said. “I don't think I'll ever fully leave the nonprofit world (and) I don't think I'll totally leave the political world because those are two places that I'm really passionate about.”
“I'm proud of that, and I wouldn't rule out anything.”
