Edmonton’s new city council may still have its training wheels on but the 13-member body is getting ready to start calling the shots.
Council has been in orientation for the past couple of weeks to help prepare four new councillors with the background to make decisions for the city.
Ward 9 councillor Tim Cartmell has 30 years of experience as an engineer in Edmonton, some of it with his own company, and he thinks that experience will be a valuable contribution.
“I come from a world of problem-solving,” Cartmell told CBC News Monday.
“Fundamentally, at its basis, engineering is applying science to solve problems,” he said.
“I think I can help have that and generate that fulsome discussion so that we do consider all the alternatives and come to the best decision as a body.”
Born and raised in Edmonton, Cartmell grew up in the north end and now lives in the south with his wife and three children, aged 17, 19 and 22.
Tim Cartmell is an engineer and first-time elected politician. (CBC)
He said he’s been interested in engineering since he was a kid, visiting cities around North America and marvelling at the bridges and buildings, freeways and ramps.
“I was just fascinated by that stuff, how it was done, how it was built.”
It’s that love of structures that drove Cartmell to run for office and what he believes will help him be a successful councillor.
“It comes with that 30 years of knowledge and experience and wisdom that comes from projects gone well and projects gone bad.”
‘A prudent approach’
“I believe in a prudent approach, not a leap from one position to another or from one bookend to another bookend.”
He said he’ll take this kind of approach when weighing matters to avoid “unintended consequences.”
For example, he said the beleaguered 102nd Avenue bridge over Groat Road project was the result of holding the contractor to its deadline, which led to a rushed job and a girder being installed wrong.
“What we didn’t do is take advantage of that circumstance and make sure that we got all of the interruption done at once, so that we never interrupted these people again.”
A ‘sense of duty to Canada’
While Cartmell brings three decades of professional experience to the table, one of the youngest city councillors, 30-year-old Jon Dziadyk, brings his own steady perspective.
An urban planner by trade, he said he wants to focus on improving sidewalks and roads, especially in north-side communities.
“If those basic pieces of infrastructure are in disrepair, that’s discouraging,” he said.
Originally from Ontario, Dziadyk is married to a woman from Edmonton and plans to stay in the city for good.
Dziadyk is also a reservist in the Royal Canadian Navy with HMCS Nonsuch.
“I like [a] sense of duty to Canada. I am very patriotic,” he told CBC.
Dziadyk’s election was an upset in the Oct. 16 vote, taking the seat from incumbent Dave Loken by just over 460 votes.
He attributes his success to a lot of door-knocking during the campaign and listening to Ward 3 residents’ concerns.
Rounding out the rookie pool is Sarah Hamilton, who used to work for Stephen Mandel when he was the province’s health minister. She represents Ward 5.
Aaron Paquette is an artist and writer and the first Indigenous person on council since the 1970s.
On Tuesday, council will get a lesson on the budget process, with discussions on the city’s economic forecast and regional perspectives set for Wednesday.