Coun. Larry Pimm, who last spent the bulk of the last three decades on Red Deer city council, has announced he won’t be seeking re-election.
“Oh, I made (the decision not to run) quite a long time ago,” Pimm said Thursday night. “Everything comes to an end and you have to judge when it’s the right time, and I guess in my opinion now is a good time.”
“Probably I’ll end up spending more time with family, but it’s not like we have a plan of something we’re anxious to jump to . . . It just feels right.”
Pimm has served nine terms as city councillor, totalling 27 years.
He was first elected to council in 1980, serving until 1995. After a three-year hiatus, Pimm returned to council in 1998, serving another 12 years.
He said the job was fascinating, and that’s why he has kept going back and back. He listed the Collicutt Centre, the rejuvenation of the downtown Recreation Centre, the soon-to-be-completed Dawe Centre and the new civic yards as some of the highlights of his last decade with the city.
“You compare where we were in ‘80 with where we are now, it’s a huge difference.”
Pimm recently proposed giving low-income seniors a $100 property tax credit to help them to stay in their homes as long as possible.
He had hoped the city would proceed with a staff report on whether the idea was feasible in Red Deer, but the majority of his council colleagues rejected the idea.
“People made honest comments and they voted honestly and it went down,” said Pimm after the meeting. “I don’t agree with the result, but that’s democracy.”
Pimm said his career as a teacher, from which he retired 12 years ago, offered him “an incredible window into the community” and helped him as a councillor.
He’ll finish up with the seven council meetings left before elections in October, he said, and then “there’s a whole library of books I haven’t read yet.”
Pimm is married with two sons, each of whom have two children themselves.
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com