Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra announces he will not run in fall election

Calgary Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra announced Friday that he’s stepping out of the political spotlight but not necessarily leaving the arena.

In a newsletter to his Ward 9 constituents, Carra said he made the decision not to run for re-election “with wistfulness, but also clear conviction and fierce pride.”

When he was first elected in 2010, Carra said his mission was to transform how the city grows with great neighbourhoods.

“Over the past 15 years, we have settled the question of whether growth can pay for itself,” he said. “We’ve learned that the best city-building happens through collaboration between public and private investment.

“I am fiercely proud of the historic investments made in Ward 9 over the course of my tenure – from transit, active modes, Main Streets, and industrial sector mobility improvements, to parks, playgrounds, recreation facilities, cultural institutions, non-market housing and other critical infrastructure.

“I would confidently put Ward 9’s record of investment during my time in office alongside that of any councillor in Calgary’s history.”

In 2015, the Canadian Institute of Planners held a competition to identify its annual “great places in Canada” competition and declared Inglewood, one of the areas Carra represented, to be Canada’s Greatest Neighbourhood.

“A great neighbourhood to visit,” they said, “but also, and perhaps most importantly, a great neighourhood to live.”

In the newsletter, he said he will now work with the Calgary Party, one of the city’s new municipal political parties, to help get its mayoral candidate, Brian Thiessen, elected.

“We need to elect as Calgarians people who will govern,” Carra said Friday. “And I’ve been very clear that the people who understand the assignment, the people who are the adults in the room are Brian Thiessen and the Calgary Party.”

Cara admitted that this last council term has been tricky, and said he believes city hall needs to focus on governing and not “disjunctive political games.”