Calgary selects a new city manager

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The months-long search for a new city manager has ended.

On Thursday at Calgary City Hall, David Duckworth was announced as the new leader of the city’s administrative team.

“This is a great honour and a privilege for me,” Duckworth said to a gaggle of reporters.

Duckworth is currently Calgary’s General Manager of Utilities and Environmental Protection but also brings in nearly 30 years of public service experience.

A native of Langley, he spent most of his career in British Columbia, including with the City of Vancouver and the City of Kamloops.

Duckworth also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA from the University of British Columbia.

After getting acclimated to the city through his current role, Duckworth is excited for the new position.

“We have extraordinary staff that are committed, professional and dedicated that work here at the city. There are definitely opportunities to do things a bit different, and I’m sure you will find out about that within the next six to eight weeks,” Duckworth said.

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Duckworth will officially assume the position on August 30th, taking over from former City Manager Jeff Fielding who left the post in March, and interim City Manager Glenda Cole — who most recently played a pivotal role in the arena deal.

Duckworth said he is a “quiet leader,” but he learned a bit from Fielding before he left for the City of Toronto and is prepared to try and keep council in line during their meetings.

Further, thanks to experience in Vancouver, he is ready to tackle some of Calgary’s biggest challenges, such as the tax shift.

“What they’re going through right has happened in other places, and in fact, I’ve been part of those other places,” he said. “The City of Calgary is going to come out of this stronger. We’ve got incredible staff that work for the City of Calgary, and I’m so excited to work with them. I have no doubt with the challenges that are ahead of us; there are opportunities and Calgary is going to come out stronger.”

The city went through many different candidates, both internal and external, before leading them to Duckworth as the right choice.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said there was one thing that set him apart.

“Passion,” said Nenshi. “He loves public service, he loves cities, and he understands the role of a city in making the community better. He brings that incredible education and management and leadership experience but never forgetting that vision that we have on every wall in this city, that we’ve only got one job. And our job is to make life better every day.”

Duckworth said he doesn’t seem himself as a revolutionary but wants to continue evolving the city with the help of the other public employees he praised so much.

“I look forward to seeing what we can do.”