Chestermere Mayor Patricia Matthews will not seek re-election

Chestermere’s mayor will soon be looking for a new gig. Patricia Matthews has announced she will not seek re-election in the fall.

It’s a big change of pace for the local politician who has been a member of the Chestermere council since she was elected in 2004.

“When I started, Chestermere was about 3,000, 3,500 people, said Matthews adding, “when I started as mayor it was about 6,700 and we’re now over 20,000,” she said.

Matthews helped guide Calgary’s bedroom community through the hurdles needed to get city status back in 2014.

In 2015, she steered the ship after parts of the city flooded when a large amount of rainwater overwhelmed the sewer system.

Last year also proved to be difficult for the city leader as she was forced to tackle the issue of Chestermere Utilities seeking a large rate increase.

A petition was circulated and presented to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs demanding council’s resignation.

She and council would end up navigating those waters, working with a third party consultant, to come up with an equitable situation that would allow them to maintain their own service levels.

Despite the challenges both personally and professionally, she says she’s proud of the work she did and admits there are parts of the job that she’ll miss.

“My family and I discussed this at the beginning of this term actually and my intention in this term was not to run again,” she said.

Matthews says she’s been spending time recently setting up the processes in hopes of ensuring a smooth transition for her successor.

“I’ve always had opportunities that have come my way and I have some really exciting ways and I’m hoping to have more as the time draws near,” said the mayor. “I’ve been proud of so many things in my entirety of the ten years.”

At this stage in her life, she says she is counting out a run at other levels of elected office.

“I have no plans to move to another elected office anytime soon and I think my family would be happy to have me there on their birthdays for awhile,” she laughs.

Her message to the voters, “get out there and get involved.”