Richard Pootmans stepping down from Calgary city council effective immediately
Calgary's Ward 6 Councillor Richard Pootmans is stepping down from city council, effective immediately.
During a council meeting Tuesday, Pootmans said he is resigning from council for personal and family reasons.
Pootmans was elected as councillor for Ward 6 in the 2021 municipal election.
He had previously served as the representative for the area over two terms from 2010-2017.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Pootmans' kindness left a lasting impact on the city and he will be missed.
"Councillor Pootmans made incredible contributions to this city," Gondek said.
"He is one of the kindest people that you will meet in a role like this. He was compassionate. He was very dedicated to his work and I'll miss working with him."
Others on council also spoke of what Pootmans means to them.
"I think we were all surprised," said Ward 8 Councillor Courtney Walcott.
"Councillor Pootmans was loved on this council, and this is a sad day for all of us."
Walcott noted everyone brings up Pootmans' humility and kindness.
"The fact that that's the impression he left on all of us when we are all fighting with each other all the time, I think just really describes that Pootmans was different from the rest of us," he said.
"There is no one kinder on council, and he will be missed."
"What I found with Councillor Pootmans is he's just genuinely interested in you as a person," said Ward 12 Councillor Evan Spencer.
"He cared about his colleagues. He called the best out of them consistently. ... He's just one of the most genuine people you could ever meet. I'm really going to miss him a lot."
Gondek said Ward 6 residents will still be represented during the transition.
She noted a byelection is not needed if it's less than a year before the next election and that it's likely others on council will cover Ward 6 for now.
She said further details are being finalized and will be shared with residents soon.
With files from CTV News Calgary's Jordan Kanygin
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Upcoming GST relief causes confusion for some small Canadian businesses
A tax break for the holiday season will start this week, giving some Canadians relief on year-end shopping. But for small businesses, confusion around what applies for the GST relief has emerged.
Public support key but harder to keep as Canada Post strike drags on, experts say
Public support is key to the success of a strike, experts say, but as the Canada Post strike drags on, that support is likely getting harder to maintain.
Ontario mulls U.S. booze ban as Trump brushes off Ford's threat to cut electricity
Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump is brushing off Ontario's threat to restrict electricity exports in retaliation for sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods, as the province floats the idea of effectively barring sales of American alcohol.
Canadian officials eyed 'new opportunities' no matter who won U.S. election: memos
As the U.S. presidential election loomed, Canadian officials envisioned new opportunities for co-operation with their southern neighbour on nuclear energy, supply chain security and carbon capture technologies — no matter who won the contest, newly released government memos show.
Man who set fires inside Calgary's municipal building lost testicle during arrest: ASIRT
Two Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a suspect lose a testicle after being shot with an anti-riot weapon.
She took a DNA test for fun. Police used it to charge her grandmother with murder in a cold case
According to court documents, detectives reopened the cold case in 2017 and then worked with a forensics company to extract DNA from Baby Garnet's partial femur, before sending the results to Identifinders International.
Suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew barred from U.K.
A suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew has been barred from the U.K. because of concerns he poses a threat to national security.
President Macron names centrist ally Bayrou as France's next prime minister
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday named centrist ally Francois Bayrou as prime minister, after a historic parliamentary vote ousted the previous government last week.
Climate groups tried to spur action with a Taylor Swift ticket giveaway. Can it work?
Taylor Swift commands a legion of devotees, but among the thousands decked out in cowboy boots, friendship bracelets and glitter at her Canadian performances, one was not like the others.