Helen Rice will not be seeking another term as president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. The Grande Prairie city councillor has held the position for the past two years, but will be running instead for the Board of Directors. She admits it’s an unusual move, but believes succession planning is key to a strong organization.
“In order to keep that team strong, I’ll take the unprecedented step of running just for the board of directors so I can stay on that team while still allowing some fresh leadership into the other areas of advocacy.”
Rice says she’s proud of the work they’ve done on the Municipal Government Act negotiations, but argues her time as president has been the most tumultuous in the AUMA’s history creating relationships with five different ministers, four premiers,and a new government. Despite that, Rice argues the work they’ve done is shown in the attitude towards the AUMA in the legislature.
“One of the things I’m proudest of is we finally have the provincial government referring to the municipalities as partners, as opposed to stakeholders. That was huge for the municipalities.”
The AUMA’s annual convention is set for later this month from September 23 to 25 when Rice will officially leave her post.