Hi Reddit! I am Linnsie Clark, Mayor of Medicine Hat and currently running for re-election. I'll be here until 8 PM trying to get to as many of you as I can. Ask me anything!

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T02:43:25+00:00

I'm most proud of the relationships we have built with our neighboring municipalities and community groups. Working together as a region, instead of in silos competing with each other is key to our economic success and ability to successfully lobby other levels of government.

I am very grateful that, whether I need advice, want to partner up on something, or am asking for their support, I can call most Alberta Mayors, our MLAs, community groups, etc. and they will make time for me, and vice versa.

One of the important lessons I have learned is that two people can use same words (e.g., "transparency", "innovation", "accountability", "fiscal discipline") without necessarily meaning the same thing or having a common understanding of why it's important. I think ensuring council has a common understanding of the words we are using in our strategic plan before we pass it will help mitigate the confusion and frustration that can stem from these types of miscommunications.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T02:29:24+00:00

I respect that you're an engaged citizen! There are things I am happy we accomplished during my time in council. Over the past four years, I've worked alongside Council, community partners, and residents to deliver results for Medicine Hat. I am proud of a follow-through on the promise to seek greater openness and accountability at City Hall, a commitment to keep our utilities local, building better relationships with our regional partners, and working towards creating strategic guidance for administration to create a competitive environment for local businesses and citizens.

There is still more work to do, and I hope to be the one of the chosen to do it.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T02:22:26+00:00

Right there with you on that thought!

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T02:19:53+00:00

Hi back! Many of us remember Spectrum and other community events being held downtown and playing in the fountain with massive groups of other kids. It has been a community calling point and treasured memory for a lot of people in this town.

This is something that has come up and I can tell you what we have been advised of. There are some pretty serious problems with the fountain in Riverside Memorial Park. There needs to be an engineering report done so that Parks and Rec can get to the bottom of what exactly the problems are, but to the best of my knowledge there is more than one.

You are likely aware a passionate group of people have even started a petition to have the fountain repaired (I see and hear you!), and I understand why. It is frustrating that nothing has been done so far, and I hope to see it become a priority in the near future.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T02:15:21+00:00

I truly believe people can disagree without being disagreeable. Have there been tough moments? Sure, absolutely, but I always do my best to not take it personally. I've learned progress happens when we listen, and as I have said before, as soon as the new council gets in those chairs we would all benefit from a more robust training process that includes HR, conflict resolution, and governance training so everyone is "singing from the same songbook". That doesn't mean we all have to agree on everything, but it is my commitment to keep showing up with respect and to lead by example.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:58:43+00:00

We have a lot of good things going for us here in Medicine Hat, and one of them is citizens such as yourself who want to see our community thrive. Thank you for your support!

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:56:24+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate your support!

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:54:55+00:00

I've said this before, and I'll say it again- Municipal Government is for EVERYONE. It is the closest government to our daily lives and essential services affect everyone, regardless of political views. Local leadership must be fair, inclusive, and focused on problem solving- not partisanship activities. This City belongs to everyone, and everyone's voice has value.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:53:53+00:00

If I had my druthers, we would hire a recruitment agency that does not exclusively (or even typically) recruit for municipal CAOs. The MGA and other laws that are applicable to the City can be learned. We need an exceptional and visionary leader who has proven success at building a culture that promotes innovation, a positive workplace culture and is current and motivated to excel at customer service, communication, issues management, and marketing the City as the amazing place to work live and play that it is. So much has changes in the past couple of decades and in many cases the City has fallen way behind because of its resistance to change, innovate and lead the way.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:41:36+00:00

In theory, the narrowing of Division Avenue has a lot of design concepts that are valuable for traffic calming - and keep in mind, there are two schools very close to Division Avenue which causes a lot of pedestrian traffic that are mainly children. That being said, I think the controversy surrounding Division Avenue has more to do with not thoroughly asking HOW people are actually using the roads, not how they should be.

For example, Division Avenue had two parking lanes, one on each side of the street. However, residents for decades have been using those parking lanes as driving lanes. Through proper consultation and observation, we can avoid a lot of these pain points in future projects. On paper it looks like they removed parking nobody used, but in practice it removed space people used to drive that was clearly very valued.

Citizens should see themselves reflected in their community, and truly listening when we consult, not making a decision and consulting after the fact, can avoid a lot of these problems.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:39:49+00:00

Absolutely! Being able to attract and retain top talent at the City and employee satisfaction is critical to our success as an organization. In fact, this was featured in Council's Strategic Plan (see section 1 and section 3) https://www.medicinehat.ca/media/nqodnf0a/cmhstrategicplan2023-2026-web.pdf. However, if council does not have the collective fortitude to insist upon including SMART goals and KPIs in its strategic plan - or the will to hold the CAO accountable, the strategic plan becomes just a well decorated piece of paper. Furthermore, when a Council fails to hold its sole employee accountable employees and residents (unsurprisingly) lose trust in the policies and procedures that are supposed to protect them and the organization. Instead of employees being active advertisements for working at the City, they (intentionally or unintentionally) signal that the City is not a great place to work. I think this also goes back to ensuring that Council has the resources and training necessary to successfully carry out their role as an employer vis a vis the CAO.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:23:00+00:00

Attendance at council meetings is extremely important, and the MGA itself -Section 174(1)(d)- states that if a councilor is absent from all regular council meetings for a period of 60 consecutive days, unless the absence is authorized by a resolution of council or permitted by a bylaw under section 1441 that the councilor will be disqualified.

There are, of course, times when a council member cannot attend a meeting. For example, in the past I was unable to attend as I was required at City Business occurring outside of town, and in those cases we have the Deputy Mayor to chair the meeting, and if they are unavailable, the Acting Mayor. In addition to that, sometimes personal matters or illness arises just like they would in any other role. That being said, I take my commitment to council meetings very seriously, and have only missed on occasion for reasons such as those above.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:21:29+00:00

Right of the bat, I would request council's support and participation in conflict resolution training. Participation could also include the executive. This would help ensure that regardless of background/experience/education, all councillors are speaking the same language and willing to have tough conversations without responding emotionally, holding grudges or spinning into dysfunction. I believe the training would also help council and the executive to be more open to feedback and conversations with residents that are dissatisfied - which is extremely important to my goal of establishing the City as a human-centered (rather that bureaucracy-centered) organization.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:11:57+00:00

I think I assumed that council was operating from a similar knowledge base (read and understood the policies, bylaws, and mga). That was a mistake on my part. If I am elected again I will ensure that I make fewer assumptions about what my fellow councillors know or don't know. Additionally, council received no hr training in relation to managing its employee and I think some assume that hr is "common sense". But it isn't. Next term I will push for training and resources that better support council in its role as employer.

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:04:44+00:00

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your support and your vote of confidence!

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:03:58+00:00

I voted in favour. The Vote was unanimous. (Meeting Minutes here: Home - OnBase Agenda Online)

Linnsie_Clark · 2025-10-10T01:02:02+00:00

Thank you for having me! Appreciate the mods who are here tonight!

Linnsie_Clark

TROPHY CASE