BOWDEN — Now that he’s put his house up for sale, the time is getting closer to when longtime Town of Bowden Mayor Robb Stuart will step down. He and his wife will then move to Innisfail.
The next municipal election will be held Oct. 20.
It’s anticipated that Stuart will step down before then and a deputy mayor will serve in his stead.
Stuart, who was raised in Bowden, was first elected as mayor in 2010 and has served on town council for 21 years; 15 years as mayor and six as a councillor.
During an interview with the Albertan, Stuart said if his house sells, the move will follow and he will have to resign his post.
“You have to live in town to be an elected official,” he said.
The Stuarts will be moving into a townhouse in Innisfail.
“Way smaller, just me and the wife, right,” he said. “So, more energy efficient -- I hope anyway.
Given his length of tenure as mayor, Stuart was asked if his last day as mayor will be tough, full of memories.
“I don't think so,” he said. “There's been a lot of things that have been interesting over the years, but it's just getting crazier.”
Stuart indicated he won’t miss some of the negative stuff about the town that’s posted on Facebook.
He also said rules for municipalities brought in by the provincial government are “causing a lot of grief for all municipalities, not just us.”
“The grants are drying up, so therefore you don't have any choice but to raise taxes. There's just so many things that are negative.”
As he thought about it a bit more, Stuart said there will be aspects of being mayor that he will miss, “but there’s a lot that I don’t.”
“All my councils have been good,” he added. “We talk about things. Sometimes we disagree, but there's never been any major flare-ups or anything.”
Over the decades, things have changed a lot, Stuart said.
“I’ve got a picture of my wall here that the town budget was like $300 or $3,000 actually in 1902 or 1910 or something.”
