Mayor less opposed to Bill 20 than to ‘cutting’ politics

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As Alberta Municipalities continues to denounce the provincial government’s pending Bill 20 – a move that would see political parties integrated at the municipal level and local elections influenced by corporations and unions – things are calmer and more measured on the homefront. 

Here in Taber, Mayor Andrew Prokop is taking a diplomatic, non-reactionary approach to the issue. Bill 20 is set to run as a ‘pilot project’ in Calgary and Edmonton, the two centres that are home to more than half of the province’s population, and the bill is still drawing ire from critics who view it as not only a power grab, but also a recipe for divisiveness.

Prokop, however, is not yet one of those critics, and he may not become one. In fact, he has no problem with openly sharing his party ties. In an early-May interview, he tipped his hand as to why that might be: He doesn’t seem interested in playing the game of cutthroat party politics that some of his political counterparts engage in.

“It’s kind of premature to say,” he offered, when asked about Bill 20. “That’s their concept and that’s sort of their trend. I don’t know that I’d have a problem with that personally. It could open up some other options for people interested in other parties.”

“We’ve had Grant Hunter as our MLA – UCP – and he’s been Wildrose in the past and had an office here at that time. The party in power has their offices in different locations, smaller centre or not. It’s been very positive. He’s usually available one day a week here for people to see personally, and he’s also got an office in Coaldale. He makes the rounds quite a lot in his constituency. To me, that helps things in a lot of ways.”

“I have no trouble talking to people about what my supports are. I don’t. I’ve always been Conservative, and with Grant Hunter, he’s been nothing but helpful for myself and for us as a council and the Town of Taber.”

“I speak highly of Grant Hunter for good reason. He’s also a friend of mine. He’s a very genuine kind of guy and a straight shooter, so to speak. That’s been a really great relationship. Same as our MP, Martin Shields, also Conservative. It’s been a really big help. It’s been nothing but positive.”

The mayor admits that Bill 20 is a dense document, so he’s neither quick to condemn nor affirm it. 

“I don’t know all of the details. I haven’t gone through the whole thing; it’s pretty involved. So, there may be some things that are questionable there, I know they’ve got to work through some things in the end. There are some other political members who are a little bit on the fence, because we don’t know; it’s really too soon to say without understanding exactly what’s involved.”

“I’m sure that there are going to be some hurdles along the way, but that’s part of a good democracy as far as having choices,” he said, before confirming that he would have no problem running for another term with a party affiliation attached to his name.

“I’ve said it publicly before through the media or with people over coffee who have asked that same question. To me, we’ve all got our own strong convictions and reasons why you support who you do, but it’s also about a track record. To me, I don’t think that’s an unfair question for someone to ask of me. It can certainly cause some friction, but we agree to disagree.”

One doesn’t have to look far – only 50 km to the west – to see a nastier brand of politics playing out. Prokop wasn’t afraid of pointing it out as a case of what not to do.

“I have a hard time with what’s going on in Lethbridge with some of the NDP critics of the UCP. They’re so strong critically,” he said, referring to some Lethbridge NDPers whose negativity can at times overshadow their message. “Fine. Say that. But to attack another party–I really have some trouble with that. I don’t think that’s fair and reasonable, even in the political circle. I don’t. It’s not appreciated by me in the political circle, and I don’t think it’s appreciated by a lot of the general public out there because it’s so cutting.”

He believes in a cleaner and perhaps more ethical method of resolving differences. “I think they’d get a lot further by coming together for some good conversation, and in the end if they have to agree to disagree, so be it. It would go a lot further down the road for relationship building and results. I guarantee. If that was a better discussion and  more of a professional atmosphere attached to that and how you treat people, and not looking to pick somebody apart every which way that you can, it would be a whole lot better system and a whole lot more productive Alberta.”