Calgary high school teacher who called for anti-racism task force to run for Ward 8 councillor

Courtney Walcott, a teacher at Western Canada High School, has announced his candidacy for Ward 8 councillor. (Facebook/Courtney Walcott for Ward 8)

CALGARY — A teacher and basketball coach at Calgary’s Western Canada High School has thrown his hat in the ring to become the next city councillor in Ward 8.

Courtney Walcott made the announcement on Twitter Monday morning, with a commitment to fighting for "a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous Calgary."

Walcott has been a teacher for the past five years and recently petitioned the Calgary Board of Education to form an anti-racism task force.

He has been one of the main organizers of Project Calgary's Defund2Fund campaign — a group looking to reallocate funds from policing to help Calgarians in crisis.

Walcott was nominated for a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence by his students and helped bring 15 community organizations to advocate for an additional $8 million in community funding from the City of Calgary.

Ward 8 is currently represented by Evan Woolley, who announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking another term as councillor in the upcoming October municipal election.