LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -- Chris Spearman said he feels privileged to have served as mayor of Lethbridge for almost eight years, but has decided that he will not be running for another term in October.
“I thought now would be the right time to make that decision,” Spearman told reporters at city hall.
He added, making the announcement now will give anyone who is considering running for mayor about 10 months to prepare.
“I intend to fully serve the term, and will be working just as hard for the next almost ten months,” Spearman said.
Prior to running for mayor, Spearman spent 18 years as an elected trustee of the Holy Spirit Catholic School Board. He enjoyed a 33 year career as a controller at Black Velvet Distillery before retiring to run for public office.
Spearman was unsuccessful when he first ran for mayor in 2010, losing by a narrow margin of just over 200 votes to Rajko Dodic.
He rebounded to win the 2013 municipal election, defeating Bridge Mearns by over 3,400 votes, and easily won re-election in 2017.
Social issues
Spearman said city council’s focus in recent years has been on economic development, social problems and reconciliation with the city’s Indigenous population.
He said anyone considering running for city council in any capacity should have a vision and ideas on how to deal with the social issues, adding the issues Lethbridge has been dealing with are not necessarily a municipal responsibility.
“For my entire service as mayor, we have been asking for intox serves, detox services and supportive housing, and really haven’t got anything of any significance from any provincial government.”
Mayor Spearman said the city will never solve homeless and addiction problems without provincial cooperation.
He pointed out construction has yet to begin, on an $11 million supportive housing project that was approved by both the NDP and UCP governments.
Spearman said controversy over the social problems in Lethbridge did not play a part in his decision to retire.
He said retirement is something that he had been considering over the past six months, adding he is looking forward to having more control of his free time, and having time to spend with the people he loves.
“2020 was a really hard year for me in terms of not being able to contact my family. I’m no exception. That happened to everybody,” added Spearman.
He said he fully intends to serve the full term, and will continue to work just as hard for the next 10 months. But after that he plans to “unplug and disengage."
“I’m beyond the normal retirement age, and for me to contemplate another term probably isn’t fair to me, my family, and you know, maybe Lethbridge needs a change too.”
