Just over a year since retiring as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Wayne Drysdale is back in the political world in Alberta. As of June 1st, 2020, Drysdale will be a member of the Municipal Government Board for a three-year term set to end in 2023.
Since calling time on his political career after 11 years as the MLA for Grande Prairie – Wapiti, Drysdale took a job in the private sector as the Senior Vice President with Nauticol Energy in Grande Prairie. However, he says the political pull was difficult to shake.
“I told [the] house leader, Minister Nixon, a while ago that I had a little time… and I’d like to help out with the government some, and I think a board position would be great. There are a couple of boards I could have fit into, the Surface Rights Board or this one, and this one had a vacancy so they phoned and asked if I’d be interested and I said sure.”
The Municipal Government Board is an independent and impartial board established under the Municipal Government Act to help in the decision making process surrounding land planning and assessment matters for municipalities across Alberta. Drysdale says both his time as a councillor in the MD of Greenview and more a decade as an MLA has afforded him a unique perspective and he hopes it will be a good fit over the three-year term.
“I’m always interested in municipalities; I talk to the mayor and councillors still because I’m interested in what was going on and thought I could add some value with my experience.”
Drysdale was one of eight members appointed or reappointed to the board by Minister of Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu.