Debbie Baich resigns as mayor of Rocky Mountain House

“1021 Days in Office

In my 1021 days as Mayor, I have taken the voice and vote of the community very seriously and worked diligently to foster better relationships with Clearwater County, First Nation leaders and members, higher levels of government, as well as our many community groups. I have made some strong connections with other elected officials across Alberta and Canada. I have been very proud to represent the Town of Rocky Mountain House. I have continually worked towards promoting our community, recognized volunteers and community organizations and participated in many community events. I have endeavored to bring forward and address individual and group concerns within our community members. I have done my best to participate in meetings and voice what I believed to represent the views of the majority of the community when it came to public spending. I have done my best to carry out my duties as Mayor with a positive and professional attitude despite a very challenging environment on Council.

However, after much consideration, for my family and my health, I have decided to resign from office effective immediately. My values and ideals do not align with the majority of Council and I have irreconcilable differences with the CAO Dean Krause. The relationship between the Mayor, Council and CAO are vitally important to the democratic process. Given the current circumstances, there is no way to continue forward in a positive and constructive way. In particular, I am concerned with the direction that Council is taking and that the ongoing conflict within Council and with the CAO reflects negatively on our community and hurts our potential for economic development both with existing businesses and future investors.

I would like to thank past Council member Shane Boniface, Councillor Dale Shippelt and Councillor Ken Moesker for their contributions to Council, their engagement with important issues and their concerns for our community. I would like to thank the Town’s Legislative assistant Tracy Breese for her knowledge and support with policy and procedure; as well as her hard work on the AJTMA conference and also Director Betty Quinlan for her dedication to everything budget, always answering questions and helping Council to make the budget transparent and understandable to us and our fellow community members. I would also like to thank Clearwater County Council Members Daryl Lougheed, Gennifer Mehlhaff, Neil Ratcliffe, Bryan Cermak and Jordon Northcott for their continued support and mentorship.

I would like to thank all of the people who trust and supported me. I appreciate every one of you. I believe Rocky Mountain House is the best community in the world. I will continue to support and promote our community and region in the future albeit from a different position.”

Town CAO Dean Krause declined to comment on the now former mayor’s mention of him. Baich also didn’t return our call in time for publishing, so that she could elaborate on said, “irreconcilable differences.”

Deputy Mayor Marley Capraro, speaking to rdnewsNOW Tuesday afternoon, shared the following statement:

“On behalf of council, we’d like to say that we appreciate the contributions Ms. Baich has made to the town of Rocky Mountain House in her time as mayor, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”

Baich was currently under sanctions for a Council Code of Conduct-related matter, effective Aug. 1, 2024.

The sanctions, handed down July 16, 2024, stemmed from a Nov. 7, 2023 complaint, which was followed up by a third-party investigation.

Baich was alleged to have breached section 9.1 of the Councillor Code of Conduct, which reads:

9.1. Members must keep in confidence matters discussed in private at a Council or Council committee meeting until the matter is discussed at a meeting held in public.

Penalties for Baich included not chairing town council meetings, not acting as spokesperson for the Town or council, being removed from the Central Alberta Economic Development Partnership (CAEP) committee, and being removed from the Central Alberta Mayors & Reeves Committee.

Baich was also the subject of a Council Code of Conduct complaint in 2022 which alleged that she endorsed a local business on one of her social media profiles.

Baich was removed from being the Town’s spokesperson at local events for four months, and had to offer an oral or written apology.

In March 2023, another Code of Conduct complaint was lodged against Baich, but council deemed it frivolous and did not advance it for investigation.

According to the Municipal Government Act, when a mayor or ‘Chief Elected Official’ leaves a vacancy with more than 12 months before the next election, a by-election must be held.

If there are less than 12 months, council can either hold a by-election, or appoint one or more of its members as mayor for the rest of the term.

As there are about 14 months, the requirement would be the former, though asking the Province for an exemption will be discussed at the next council meeting on Aug. 20.

An exemption has been given before, and in recent memory, when the Town of Blackfalds had one of its councillors resign suddenly.

There have been two other by-elections during the 2021-2025 term of Rocky Mountain House town council.

The first was in November 2022, which elected Dale Shippelt. Shippelt replaced Merrin Fraser, who was serving a second term.

Then in February 2024, Ken Moesker won a by-election to replace Shane Boniface.

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by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Debbie Baich resigns as mayor of Rocky Mountain House

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