New faces at City Hall: Ward 6’s Richard Pootmans

There are some new faces elected to Calgary City Hall, and a few familiar ones returning to the role. Ward 6’s Richard Pootmans is back after a one-term hiatus.

“I didn’t really anticipate returning to office until some friends started bugging me.”

Pootmans had been busy doing economic development for other jurisdictions across Canada with his own consulting firm and his friends told him he should be doing his work right here in Calgary.

“It starts with jobs. The economy is the main focus. The downtown and the problem we have with taxes–we’ve lost eighteen billion dollars assessment base, that’s a serious issue for us and it’s going to be hard to fund a city the way we need to fund it if we don’t resolve that issue,” he said.

Having been a councillor from 2010 to 2017, he says many expect him to mentor the new faces at City Hall, however, Pootmans believes he will be doing some learning as well.

“A lot of these people have other experiences in other areas, there are some pretty impressive credentials out there. So, I think it’s going to be not me being mentored, but I think I’m going to try to learn from them as well.”

Pootmans’ overall goal is to create a city that attracts talent and make the city inviting to young people growing up in Calgary.