City of Medicine Hat, George Cuff, and Ann Mitchell

By Kelly Allard

George Cuff was recently contracted by Medicine Hat City Manager Ann Mitchell to speak with Council at a public Council Committee of the Whole (CCOTW) meeting held May 29 2024 in Council Chambers at 3:30pm. It was streamed and remains on the city Youtube page. Cuff was also to have a closed session with Council and a meeting with staff from 8-10am Thursday morning.

Community TV/ The Trash Panda interviewed George Cuff Thursday May 30, that interview will be available later.

george cuff

Cuff describes himself as a municipal government expert. He told Thomas (Tom) Fougere of Community TV/ The Trash Panda

“...every municipal manager in Canada knows who I am … they know that I’m the guy who writes on good governance.”

This is not Cuff’s first interaction with Medicine Hat. Cuff provided Governance Assistance as recently as 2022 (Mitchell was hired in 2023). Councillor Robins said at the CCOTW that each of the council members were given a copy of one of Cuff’s books for their orientation in 2021. He provided council orientation in 2013 and did some work for the City of Medicine Hat in 1982 when he was part of another company.

george cuff and Municipal world

Cuff has multiple articles and books available on a website called Municipal World. Susan Gardner is the CEO of Municipal World. He’s done numerous podcasts, some of them with Gardner. Two minutes into this July 2020 podcast with Gardner, Cuff says he was a full-time management consultant at the same time he was mayor of Spruce Grove and that he was well-briefed by his City Manager.

(In contrast, Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark works full time as mayor, she has no other job or business.)

ann mitchell and municipal world

Susan Gardener also does a podcast with none other than our own City Manager Ann Mitchell. George Cuff has appeared on two episodes of Mitchell and Gardner’s podcast as recently as March 2024.

Mitchell now has her own column in the local newspaper called Municipal Matters. The first article was titled Local government primer. The next article will “address the unique relationship between council and their sole employee, the City Manager”.

Mitchell also has numerous articles published on Municipal World; most are only visible with a subscription to her podcast partner’s (Susan Gardner) website.

Mitchell cited no less than 5 of Cuff’s publications (far more than any other one author) in her master’s thesis which was produced in partnership with Municipal World. Ironically, her thesis is titled 

Local Government – Enhancing the Relationships between CAO and Council

(Not once does the thesis mention serving the mayor with a cease and desist letter in the workplace.)

George Cuff and Ann mitchell

Cuff acknowledges knowing Mitchell but says they are “not buddies”

Many of Cuff’s articles mention the role clarity between council and the CAO, a term often used by Mitchell. Cuff has many good points including the fact that everything must be done by bylaw or resolution in open council, nothing should be done behind closed doors.

why was george cuff brought in?

Everybody has been kind of wondering about that. Here’s an excerpt from our exclusive interview

Tom Would it be that because of the controversy going on here that Ann called to have an outside perspective brought in, is that kind of the idea?

Cuff I think so. I think she is saying, she would understand that I’m the one that teaches good governance and she knows that I’m the one that has this stern demeanour and she knows that I’m the one that’s been a mayor so that mayors can’t say I don’t know what I’m talking about. They have all of this optimistic view of what they hope I’m capable of doing; I guess that’s the point.

Tom It’s almost as if council and administration need a hero, they need a hero.

Cuff They need somebody who knows how these rules are supposed to work, council and administration needs somebody who’s independent and I'm fiercely independent, I don't get snookered by anybody, I have a strong spine I don’t get walked over by anybody. I don't care how strong the mayor is… nobody pushes me around and people understand that and that's what they appreciate.

If you want the gospel preached in terms of what’s good governance I'm the one that does that. There are other consultants that could do that, most of them are much nicer people than I am…I get results because I am as direct and as blunt as I am.

Further into the interview it was apparent that Cuff had little to no knowledge of what precipated the August 21 2023 Shitshow Showdown.

Tom Have you been following with how that has affected our council I guess you know about the sanctions against the mayor?

Cuff Yes at least a little bit not particularly in depth I haven't been asked to do a study of that which means I go more in depth.

Cuff has been adamant that “everything has to be decided publicly”, not in camera. That is one thing that council (with the exception of the mayor) neglected to abide by on August 21 2023 when they rubber-stamped the City Manager’s actions after the fact.

More to come, including the full EXCLUSIVE interview with George Cuff.

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