The Lethbridge City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

. Eight councillors and the mayor comprise the council. The mayor is the city's chief elected official and the city manager is its chief administrative officer. For the 2017–2021 term, the mayor is Chris Spearman and the councillors are Mark Campbell, Jeff Carlson, Jeffrey Coffman, Belinda Crowson, Blaine Hyggen, Joseph Mauro, Rob Miyashiro, and Ryan Parker.

History

In 1890, when the local population reached 1,478, an application was made to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

to grant town incorporation. Such was granted on 3 December of that year and the following 9 February, the first town council meeting was held in the Lethbridge Hotel. Charles Alexander Magrath was the first mayor and was joined by six aldermen. Shortly after Alberta became a province in 1905, an application was made for a city charter. City status was granted on 9 May 1906, and the first council meeting was held on 21 May with a mayor and six aldermen as before. The

Alberta Legislature The Legislature of Alberta is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,. and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The legislature has existed s ...

approved a new charter on 25 March 1913 that would see the city governed by three elected

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

s: the mayor, who was also commissioner of finance; a commissioner of

public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...

and a commissioner of

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

. The charter became effective 1 January 1914 and the first meeting under this commission was held on 5 January 1914 under mayor William Duncan Livingston Hardie. Within eight years, however, local citizens felt the commission was becoming dictatorial and were able to get the charter amended to allow for three additional but advisory commissioners. The newly elected commissioners attended their first meeting on 24 April 1922. In 1928, Lethbridgians voted in a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

to change their civic government from commission board scheme to council–manager form. The council was to be composed of seven aldermen, one of whom would be elected internally as mayor. As well, a city manager was to be appointed by city council to administer its policies. The new elections were held in June 1928, with city councillors elected through Single transferable voting (STV). They were to serve staggered terms. In their first meeting, on 23 July 1928, council elected Robert Barrowman as mayor. Disillusionment with STV led to a referendum being held in December 1928, where a majority voted in favour of cancelling STV. Thereafter the city has elected its city council through Block Voting, at-large with no wards. Block Voting means there are a far greater number of votes than the number of voters. In 2017, 21,000 voters cast 128,000 votes."Your City Your Vote Lethbridge 2017" (on-line) In 1961, city electors voted in favour of electing their mayor directly. In 1962, city voters elected Frank Sherring as mayor. Seven years later, the number of aldermen was increased from six to eight, the number it still has today.

Elections

Every four years, the City of Lethbridge holds municipal elections for the positions of

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. All councillors are elected at large. The tables below show all candidates who ran in recent elections, bold indicates elected, and ''incumbents'' are ''italicized''.

2021 election

In the 2021 elections, to be held on October 18, 2021, voters will elect a mayor and 8 councillors.

2017 election

In the 2017 elections, the mayor was elected from 3 candidates, and 8 councillors from 28 candidates.

2013 election

In the 2013 elections, the mayor was elected from 4 candidates, and 8 councillors from 29 candidates.

2010 election

In the 2010 elections, the mayor was elected from 6 candidates, and 8 aldermen from 30 candidates. However, one alderman-elect died before being sworn in. The vacancy was filled in a 2011 by-election, by the 2010 runner-up, amongst ten candidates.

2007 election

In the 2007 elections, the incumbent mayor was acclaimed, and eight aldermen were elected from 16 candidates.

2004 election

The 2004 election was held October 18, 2004.

2001 election

The 2001 election was held October 15, 2001.

1998 election

The 1998 election was held October 26, 1998.

References

Dates in the History of the Government of Lethbridge
City of Lethbridge. Accessed 23 December 2006.

External links

City Council website
{{Canadian Legislative Bodies Municipal councils in Alberta Politics of Lethbridge