McGrogan Wants To Bring Leadership To Council, Take Advantage Of Lessons Learned

Andy McGrogan says he began serving the community as a 19-year-old cop and wants to continue to do so as the city’s next mayor.

“We need to make sure we’re united as a council. That takes leadership. I think I’m an experienced leader. It’s something I’ve been really good at over the years. That’s why I finally put in for mayor,” said McGrogan.

Following his one-term as councillor, McGrogan says made the decision to run when incumbent Mayor Linnsie Clark hadn’t declared her intentions, and it appeared there was only one other option, though didn’t specify who.

“I really just believe my leadership skills would not allow us to be back in a position that we’ve been in over the last few years,” he said.

McGrogan said he made the decision to run for mayor in the last few months, “because of what I saw was coming that I thought wasn’t good for this city. That’s a poor reason to run but I’ve always said I’ve learned so much . . . that it’s almost wasted on someone who was going to do one term and go away.”

He cited one of the lessons he’s learned is from the city’s decision to revamp Division Avenue.

“If we had just made those travel lanes an extra three-feet wider on either side, take some of those bulb outs out, it would be a great project,” he said. “Driving down Division Avenue is not the issue. It’s trying to turn on to it and your car coming into the oncoming lane.”

Coun. McGrogan and Mayor Linnsie Clark. (File Photo)

One of the issues he acknowledges with this council’s term is the community hasn’t been served well.

“We’ve lost sight of that.”

McGrogan said he wants a news council to address that, have a strong strategic plan, hire a “unicorn” city manager that will bring the vision of council and Hatters to fruition.

“That’s what we’ve been missing,” McGrogan said.

On the issue of transparency, McGrogan stated it’s a word he doesn’t use as, “I just thought we were. I never thought of us as a city not being transparent.”

He said the when the public were entitled to more information, he pushed for it citing senior and executive expenses which he made notices of motion regarding. McGrogan added he’s also pushed for meetings to be held in open.

A four-decade public servant with city police before being elected to council in 2021, McGrogan said he was ready for a change.

As for comments regarding his successor, former MHPS chief Mike Worden, McGrogan said he doesn’t know what happened regarding his short tenure. Nor the subsequent allegations of an internal smear campaign involving claims of sexual impropriety.

“I wasn’t on the Police Commission, council really didn’t hear what’s going on – it wasn’t really our bailiwick,” said McGrogan. “I heard things like we all did, informally, but we all had great hopes for Chief Worden but it didn’t work out. I don’t know all the reasons why.”

The City of Medicine Hat is a named complainant in a $1.85 million lawsuit filed by Worden while MHPS Const. Noel Darr is facing criminal allegations connected to the legal action. Long-serving MHPS inspector Brent Secondiak resigned in the wake of internal investigations as well as being a named respondent, along with Darr, in the lawsuit.

McGrogan did have more to say regarding another high-profile city hire which didn’t work out, city manager Ann Mitchell.

He said while he may have been on the committee which recommended Mitchell, the decision to hire her was a unanimous decision of council.

“Sometimes we go the direction we go. Sometimes we’re successful but sometimes we want a do over,” said McGrogan. “I think we all had great hopes and aspirations that it would work but it didn’t he said, adding it, “was an expensive lesson learned.”

One of the reasons council is treading slowly in dealing with the city manager situation is they are wishing to avoid a lawsuit, stated McGrogan.

“We’re coming to a very abrupt conclusion over the next week or so,” responded McGrogan when asked if Mitchell has been fired. “It’ll be a lot more public then but it’s a personnel matter and at this time it has to stay more or less private.”

The trigger to the discord at city hall that first spilled into the public during an August 2023 were accusations by Mayor Clark that Mitchell didn’t follow city bylaws during a reorganization.

McGrogan said while Mitchell didn’t follow the bylaw, council knew that already.

“We were informed. We knew what was going on through the process,” he said.

But McGrogan added, “the whole issue is really about respect at that particular meeting and what went on from there.”

McGrogan said he understands the bylaw wasn’t followed but added so are many others.

“Our bylaws – a great number of them need to be improved,” said McGrogan, citing findings in the municipal inspection report released publicly in July. “Conflict is caused by bad bylaws. Bylaws that are maybe outdated, don’t make sense, cause confusion.”

That includes the city’s code of conduct bylaw which was required under the provincial Municipal Governance Act until being repealed earlier this year. Former minister of Municipal Affairs, Ric McIvor, specifically cited how Medicine Hat utilized there’s as why the legislation required amendments.

McGrogan had his own criticisms of that process.

“The provincial government scrapped it because I think there was so many independent codes of conduct bylaws but they scrapped it before they replaced it,” he said. “Here we are in a position now where there is no code of conduct and I don’t know if a bad one is worse than not having one at all.”

McGrogan said the provincial government should remember it was him who initiated the municipal inspection report. He added Hatters should focus on the six-page conclusion outlining its 68 recommendations the city was directed to respond to the minister of Municipal Affairs in how they are going to address.

While the report concluded with recommendations, it opened on its first page with a finding the municipality, “has been managed in an irregular, improper and improvident manner.”