Mayor Chris Spearman: Community success highlights 26 years of public service
Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman has given 26 years of his life to public service. That includes the past eight years as mayor. With that in mind, he decided earlier that this year he wanted to try a new challenge – doing nothing at all.
Back in January, Mayor Spearman was thinking about what four more years in the mayor’s seat might look like. And given he is “a little older than the normal retirement age,” he decided it was time for some new ideas at city hall.
“I just thought that at my stage of life I should look after my health. I should enjoy my retirement, and my family, and do some things that I’ve always wanted to do,” Mayor Spearman said. “Being the mayor, you don’t get a lot of time off. Your working week is often seven days. It’s going to be nice for me to be able to get up in the morning and not have to do anything. I’m looking forward to that.”
The sentiment is certainly nice, but for someone who has given more than a quarter-century to public service, the question is whether he is capable of actually doing nothing.
Pandemic Inspired Lifestyle Changes
Mayor Spearman thinks he is up to the challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has given him a bit of practice as many of the mayor’s typical evening and weekend commitments were cancelled. There haven’t been a lot of the social events and business meetings that normally make up so much of his schedule.
Lethbridge is about 90 minutes from the Canadian Rockies. This provided the mayor with an opportunity.
“I spend a lot of time in the mountains, hiking, cycling, doing things which really have been healthy,” Mayor Spearman said. “It’s been sort of a transition in a way. I’ve enjoyed that.”
Pre-COVID, the mayor had a stacked schedule. And that is something he said many people don’t understand, the complexity of the mayor’s role. It’s a sense that comes with some foundation as he didn’t understand it either before first being elected in 2013.
Mayoral Role More than Business
Mayor Spearman thought he had a good handle on economic development, having worked in the private sector for over 30 years. He not only was he a founding member of Economic Development Lethbridge, but he was also an active member of the chamber of commerce. Coming into the mayor’s office, he speculated that the job was going to be all about economic development.
Then reality hit. Sure, economic development was a big part of the role, but he soon found himself dealing with a lot of social issues as well.
“You’re dealing with housing and poverty and all types of programs. How do we help? What’s the most effective way to deal with people who are struggling?” Mayor Spearman said. “There are no easy solutions and it’s tough to measure progress. Those are the things that can keep me up at night.”
Mayor Spearman still has some 75 days left on the job. But he has allowed himself some moments of reflection on what he has accomplished as mayor. And he can point to a lot of what he sees as major successes.
The creation of a local AgriFood hub, construction of a new regional leisure centre, and acquisition of the local airport from Lethbridge County are among the mayor’s highlights. The latter buoyed by the fact that the city received about $23 million of its $30-million investment in the airport from federal and provincial grants. That’s a good deal for the community, he explains. After all, a city like Lethbridge needs a viable airport to attract investors.
Strengthened Indigenous Relationships
And while he can easily point to these “catalytic” successes, the mayor is equally proud of the work with the local Indigenous community.
“Some of the things I’m proudest of is the positive relationship that we’ve developed with Indigenous people and the work that we’ve done on reconciliation,” Mayor Spearman said. “I think we were one of the first municipalities to have a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
The city established a reconciliation advisory committee. The largest part of the membership are Indigenous people. The committee advises the city on many topics. These included what the municipality should do during Indigenous Week, what aspects of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action it could work on next, and how to best promote greater employment and housing opportunities for Indigenous people.
Lethbridge has also adopted the word Oki, the Blackfoot word for welcome, as its official greeting. . Lethbridge is also installing more flagpoles at city hall to include both the Blackfoot and Reconciliation flags.
Council also begins each meeting with the acknowledgement that the city is located on Blackfoot territory.
“We’re building that relationship of trust,” Mayor Spearman said. “We’re looking at assisting our Indigenous neighbours with infrastructure supports to encourage investments and projects in their communities.”
Memories of Community Teamwork
Looking back on what he has helped the city accomplish as mayor is important. But also important are all the things about the job he is going to miss in retirement.
Among the things he will miss is getting to work with the public to build a stronger community. This has included his monthly meeting with community leaders, not to mention his place among the Mid-City Mayors group. A collection of 22 mid-sized Alberta municipalities, together they represent more than one million people. Collectively, he adds, the group has as much influence as Calgary and Edmonton.
Whether it is working with the Mid-City Mayors, his council colleagues, or the residents of Lethbridge, Mayor Spearman is a fan of the efforts of local governments. He believes the federal and provincial orders of government aren’t quite as closely connected to the community.
After all, the city has one MP and two MLAs, but nine council members.
“Municipal governments move faster. We are directly accountable to people; we’re directly involved in the community, in community organizations. That helps us,” Mayor Spearman said. “We’re involved in the community every day; we’re much more accessible. But we also have to have good relationships between our council and our provincial and federal representatives in order to get things done.”
Travel, Family, and Free Time
Mayor Spearman relishes his role in the community. But he is definitely looking forward to retirement.
Sure, he has that goal of getting up every day and having nothing in particular to do, but that isn’t stopping him from making plans. Extensive traveling is on his agenda. After all, he has one son living in Japan and another in Australia.
And, as the COVID-19 situation has taught him, spending time with family is essential.
“As a grandfather, I’ve got six grandkids as well, and I want to see my family. My wife and I want to travel. All of that’s in the mix,” Mayor Spearman said. “Once my obligations as mayor and my responsibilities for Lethbridge are over, I think I’m going to welcome the break. That’s it. Visiting family, doing some traveling, looking after my health, and having lots of free time.” MW
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Sean Meyer is Senior Content Editor for Municipal World.
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