INNISFAIL – After 12 years of serving the Town of Innisfail, Coun. Gavin Bates is leaving municipal politics.
The 74-year-old retired corporate leader will not enter his name for a council seat in this year’s upcoming general municipal election.
He will be officially retired from the Town of Innisfail's council on Oct. 20.
“I'm pragmatic enough to realize three terms, 12 years, and these are four-year terms, and it’s one of the factors,” said Bates. “When you sign up for four years, and when I look at it, I'm all in, or I'm not in.
“I think it's time. There's lots of younger, energetic people in the community,” he added. “It's been very enjoyable, very rewarding, and I would encourage anybody who thinks they want to try it, as long as they're willing to commit a certain portion of their life.”
When Bates entered municipal politics 12 years ago, he was joining a town council that for the most part was solidly conservative, and he was a good fit, as he was "fiscally conservative.
And the latter was never more important over the last four years as Innisfailians voted in a town council that was decidedly progressive.
Bates provided balance on council and he has been the fiscal watchdog since 2021, earning the respect from all members of town council.
“I regard myself as a fiscal conservative, and I basically never felt the need to structure anything,” Bates told the Albertan. “I just said what I felt whenever we addressed anything, and I'll continue to do that for the next three and a half months.
"You define yourself by your actions and words,” added Bates. “I know I have supported many initiatives simply because they were the right things to do."
Bates said he can’t name the “most significant” achievement he has been involved with on council, but he is “proud” to have been part of “so many.”
Those include the upgraded Innisfail Heliport at a cost of more than $650,000 that had its first STARS landing in the fall of 2022.
Bates also noted council’s commitment to the railway crossing issue near the Innisfail Schools Campus, the building of the Innisfail Skatepark, and the hard work that led to the current modernization of the Innisfail Aquatic Centre.
“I can't remember resisting any of the good stuff that we've done, and certainly you get more passionate about some things than others,” said Bates. “And looking at the pool, that's been difficult to get to where we are, and certainly with the increase in costs and no apparent other level of government funding that we can be sure of, that's been a challenge too.”
But the accomplishments are there, and Bates had a hand in every one of them, but he does not want to be singled out for any special accolades.
Bates is mindful he has worked with 15 different members of Innisfail town council over the past 12 years.
“I’ve learned from 15 different people. I've learned from every one of them,” said Bates. “And I think it's a matter of how you get along with people, how you listen, and how you empathize.
“It's the same with citizens. You have to be empathetic and listen.”
