More than 50 years after he first entered the politic arena, former Prince Albert mayor and NDP cabinet minister Don Cody is stepping away from public life.
Cody has represented Ward 4 in Prince Albert for the last 12 years, but announced during Monday’s executive committee meeting that he would not seek re-election this fall. Cody said he’s enjoyed serving as a city councillor, but felt at age 88 it was time to step aside.
“The time comes—and age of course is a part of it—where you finally say, ‘look, you’ve got to do other things such as maybe go for a golf game when you can, instead of having to go for a meeting,’” Cody said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “That’s kind of why I decided that this was it. Let’s face it, you can’t run forever, and I’m getting up there in age…. There does come a time when you say you’ve had enough of public life.”
Cody made the announcement during the Mayor and Councillors Forum section of Monday’s city council meeting. Cody told council he wanted to give his potential replacements more time to think about putting their name forward.
He’s confident the race to replace him in Ward 4 will be a close one.
“It’s a very good area, so be prepared to have a very good and serious contest,” he said during the meeting.
Although Cody won’t run in the fall, he’s still confident Prince Albert is headed in the right direction under Mayor Greg Dionne. Cody has been a strong proponent of the decision to build a new indoor recreation centre in the southeast end of the City. He made the motion to borrow $18 million for the project in February, calling the decision “just good business.” He also vocally rejected any suggestion the project should be put on hold.
On Wednesday, Cody said the City is “on the right track” under Dionne.
“I think we’ve got a good mayor,” Cody said. “Mayor Dionne has done a good job. He’s very much in tune with what I think the people want. We’ve got some very good councillors. They’re all great…. We’ve done a lot of things and there’s more to come. I’d love to be a part of it, but the time does come.”
Cody entered politics in 1971 when he was elected MLA at age 34. He served in several portfolios as a cabinet minister under NDP Premier Allan Blakeney, and later entered municipal politics, serving as Prince Albert’s mayor from 1994-2003.
Cody said the job of a councillor is not always rewarding, but there were plenty of positives, the biggest being the people. That’s what made it difficult to step away.
“It’s always a tough decision,” Cody said on Wednesday. “You miss your colleagues—I miss my colleagues already—and I miss the administration. We’ve got a great administrative crew, we’ve got great colleagues, and the public in general are fantastic.
“I represented great Ward 4 here now for the last 12 years, and they’ve been just gracious to me. They’ve been fantastic people. You couldn’t beat it … so I have no regrets on any of the things. It’s just that one day a guy has to say, ‘well, I guess it’s done.’”
Cody is the only current councillor to announce he will not seek re-election in the fall. Tony Head in Ward 3, Blake Edwards in Ward 6, and Dawn Kilmer in Ward 7 have all confirmed the will run again.
Prince Albert’s next municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 13, 2024. Cody will remain in office until the last pre-election council meeting on Oct. 7.