McCrae quits city council
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/04/2013 (4721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Long-serving Brandon city Coun. Jim McCrae (Meadows) has resigned from his post at city hall.
The surprise move was made official Monday.
“McCrae … has announced that he will step away from Brandon City Council and all related responsibilities, effective immediately,” according to a statement issued by the city.
McCrae will be pursuing a “professional opportunity” in Winnipeg that he says will leave him unable to fulfill the duties of a Brandon city councillor.
“Something has arisen that will require me to carry out my duties in Winnipeg,” McCrae said.
His future plans are not yet finalized, so McCrae wouldn’t reveal details of his new venture.
“You know it’s got to be pretty interesting for me to leave something I do truly love doing, and that is being a city councillor,” he said.
McCrae’s career as a Brandon city councillor dates back to 1983, when he was elected alderman for Victoria ward.
In 1986, he was elected to the Manitoba legislature as MLA for Brandon West and was re-elected in 1988, 1990 and 1995, serving in the cabinet of former Premier Gary Filmon until 1999.
McCrae has been a realtor since 2000 and returned to his former role around the Brandon council table in 2006, this time as the councillor in Meadows ward. He was acclaimed in 2010.
“I have enjoyed my time at city hall very much,” McCrae said. “I’m very grateful to the people of Meadows ward for allowing me to be their representative for the past six and a half years … My colleagues, the city administration and staff have just been wonderful for me to work with.”
McCrae said he has no plans to move away from Brandon.
“Brandon is my home and the home for my family,” he said. “This will always be home for us.”
City manager Scott Hildebrand said that McCrae’s experience, wisdom and calm approach will be greatly missed.
“Jim has been an amazing colleague,” he said. “He’s been a go-to person, he’s very professional, a good leader with just a wealth of experience and knowledge that he would share with everyone.”
Mayor Shari Decter Hirst said McCrae’s experience as a councillor, his leadership and his professionalism have been an “inspiration” to council.
“Having Jim serve as my deputy mayor in the first year following the 2010 election was extremely valuable and something I can’t thank him enough for,” she said. “Not only did he have wise advice for me from his previous years on council, but he had a way of giving that wise advice so that it sunk in.”
A municipal byelection will be held in the very near future to fill McCrae’s seat.
“We are meeting this week with the city clerk’s department to determine the next steps,” Hildebrand said.
It is expected that the byelection will take place in June.
“We’re just … picking a date and working the dates backwards to try to make sure we capture all the requirements of a byelection,” Hildebrand said. “We will share a more definite date in the near future.”
» jaustin@brandonsun.com