Mayor Carol Leclerc will not be seeking re-election when municipal voters go to the polls this October.
Leclerc told The Terrace Standard on May 10, she will be stepping down to spend more time with her family.
The mayor said her job is awesome but can be exhausting.
“Three terms as a city councillor, two terms as the mayor, that’s 17 years of community service,” she said, adding, “I think it’s time that I want to be able to spend more time with my family.”
Leclerc recently led a delegation to Victoria in March to discuss an upswing in criminal activities in the downtown core. Discussions with senior cabinet ministers led to the province promising to pay special attention to the needs of northern cities like Terrace.
Talking about the current events in the city where social issues are a concern, Leclerc said people in the community tell her they want the old Terrace back.
“I wish we could have the old Terrace back but the social issues that we’re facing in the city are like many other municipalities, communities around the province.”
Leclerc said it has been challenging to gather municipalities in the north together to address the province on social and other issues.
“Sometimes we don’t get the recognition of the provincial government for what’s needed in our community and we can do definitely with more social service support or housing or substance issues needs,” she said.
As the outgoing mayor, Leclerc attributed her success in office to team efforts and thanked the city staff and the council for ensuring the functioning of the local government.
Leclerc also said she is proud of the “amazing community” and its members.
“I don’t think that we can lose sight of the amazing community that we have. We live in a beautiful area and we’ve got amazing people here. They look out for each other. We can go down the streets and Terrace is very well known for people saying hello, even if you don’t know somebody, and it warms me to know that more people are looking to move to Terrace.”
Other members of council are also beginning to announce their electoral intentions with Evan Ramsay, a one-term councillor, saying he also won’t be seeking re-election.
“It has been an honour and pleasure to serve on Terrace City Council,” said Ramsay. “Due to rising time demands with my personal and professional life I find it best to step back for this term.”
Ramsay said he looks forward to serving the community in other ways and commends anyone else who is considering elected office.
Sean Bujtas, one of the more long-serving members of council, will be seeking re-election and so will Dave Gordon who was first elected to council in a by-election last year. James Cordeiro and Brian Downie both say they are undecided. Lynne Christiansen has yet to respond to a query from The Terrace Standard.
The municipal election is scheduled for October 15, 2022.