After 18 years of sitting on council, one local politician is letting the curtain close on his municipal politics career and will not be running for re-election.
Councillor Jeff Carlson first ran for council in 2007 after working for more than 20 years in professional theatre. At the time, he ran on the foundation of innovation, compassion, arts, recreation and the environment. He says his focus has been to work with the community to move Lethbridge forward and to progress to be the best city Lethbridge can be.
“Many of my colleagues who were there remember me saying, I’m not here to complain about the city. I love this city. I want to be part of moving it forward, making sure it’s going in the right direction,” Carlson says. ”Every one of those things we have gotten better at. The one thing I will say that I’m a little sad about is the environment. We haven’t gotten as far or as fast as I think we should, but we got a good group of folks around the table right now [and] we’re going to have a great group of folks in six weeks.”
Carlson’s biggest piece of advice to those nominated on October 20th is to stand by your values. He explains it is your values that the community elects you on, so it is important to keep those values when you sit around the horseshoe in council chambers.
“You go out and you tell the community, I stand for this, I stand for this. I won’t lie to you. I stand by those values, and they will support you.”
“The other thing I’d say is don’t rush things. The biggest mistakes we’ve ever made in my time on council is when we try to go fast and not best. I’d rather do things right than do them over and over and over again poorly. So take your time, read the stuff, trust the experts and vote your values, and the community will support you.”
Carlson says when he steps away from municipal politics, what he is going to miss the most is the people he got to meet every day, his colleagues, and how no day is ever the same.
“Your job changes every time. It’s influenced by the society you live in, the community you live in, and the current events. It’s always changing. It’s always exciting. You’ve got to learn to love learning and love it being adaptable.”
Carlson says that in his retirement, he is going to enjoy gardening and reading for fun again.
“I haven’t read a novel for 18 years. I look forward to sitting down and emptying our public library and reading for fun again, that’s what I’m most looking forward to. Along with spending time with my husband, my family, and my friends. It’s going to be a blast.”
Carlson is one of two Lethbridge City Councillors who have announced they will not be running for re-election, with the other being Councillor Nick Pallidino, who was voted in for his first term on council in 2021.
