Thoughts on Fiscal Responsibility
As a candidate for city council for the oldest Ward in the city, I am constantly coming in contact with really interesting community infrastructure. I own a small business that specializes in the restoration of old things and we passionately re-introduce them to the world of today. You could call me an antiques dealer, a vintage dealer or a restoration specialist. Who would have thought this unique skill set would be such an asset to the process of getting to know the needs of Ward 9.
Along the way, I’ve come to realize that we, in Ward 9 specifically, lean heavily on the good will, and past investments of the Calgarians before us. There was a time when all of these old things were new. The parks, the recreation facilities, our community halls. It would be hard to argue that these public spaces haven’t served our communities well considering most are still in use today. And yet, we now find ourselves with run-down assets that are, in some cases, on the verge of dereliction.
As a hobby, I’ve been learning about mechanics. My friend Ryan and I have been restoring a 1960 MGA Roadster. I was on a home visit to look at some furniture to potentially purchase for my store when my host asked me “Do you like classic cars?”. “Of course!” I said. “Would you be interested in buying one?” to which I replied “Uhh no.” But we went and looked at it anyway. In the garage, under a blanket, covered in boxes of books and things you’d find in a garage was a beautiful car sitting on four flat tires. She explained to me that it was her fathers, that he had purchased it in 1967 and had kept it all this time. She told me fondly how her brother used to drive it on weekends when he was in college, and how she took it to her high school graduation. It was parked in 1997 she told me, and had been there ever since. There was no confirmation that this thing would ever run again but the beauty of this car was obvious, even with its bumps and scrapes. I told her I would think about as I packed up the furniture I purchased. I called her when I got back to the shop.
First time out of the garage since 1997
When we went to pick it up, she had put together a couple of boxes of things that her father had kept with the car. Some shop manuals, spare parts, and some gaskets. Flipping through the work books I came across pages smudged by oily fingers. Confirmation that someone had been there in a hands-on kind of way.
Just this week, after a long winter we re-installed our restored, original engine block. Fitted with new gaskets and parts. I couldn’t help but find a parallel in this process and the one I find myself currently assessing as a candidate for city councilor. Here is a machine that is older than the Renfrew and Bob Mahan recreation centers. It was on the road before many of community halls that we know and love hosted their first community meetings. I find that inspiring.
It made me realize that we in Ward 9 have been gifted some really incredible pieces of community infrastructure. They’ve developed their own character over the years, and have become decidedly themselves. Its this character that so many folks are attached to, and don’t want to see changed when we talk about community growth, density and the future.
Perhaps in many cases, this is how we preserve the character of these communities - by thoughtfully restoring and investing in our existing community infrastructure. And perhaps this is how a city council can show fiscal responsibility. Something so overdue to us, the tax payers of Calgary. Renfrew isn’t asking for a multi-hundred million dollar recreation facility to replace its exiting one. Ramsay isn’t asking for a new community hall, they’re asking for support to get their existing one functional again. Have we stopped to assess how we might re-tool the Forest Heights Community Hall for the people who use it today? The MOCA community hall has been under various forms of construction for two years. In that time, the city has spent billions in two annual budgets.
I put affordability down as a plank of my campaign platform in November of 2024. I’ll be totally honest in saying I wasn’t sure exactly how I could have an impact in this regard. But I felt confident in its importance and that it would become clear to me as I knocked on doors and spoke with people. We need a city council that understands the value of these dollars collected and spent, and bears the responsibility to do so wisely. Ward 9, in many ways has what it needs because of good investments in the past. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t kept up with that responsibility but it’s not too late. Ward 9 has “good bones” as we say in the business and I feel confident that we can prepare it for a place in our city’s future.
If you’ve been out shopping for almost anything lately, you might also agree that new isn’t always better but it’s often more expensive.
My name is Harrison Clark, I am your independent candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.