Citing family and business pressures, Trent Houk has resigned from city council.
Houk's resignation, which takes effect immediately, was announced in a letter to Mayor Ian Hamilton and council, which was read by Hamilton.
His letter read as follows:
"I regretfully ask you to accept my resignation of my elected position as councillor for the City of North Battleford. There comes a time in one's life when his family needs him and ultimately that is my priority at this moment. The constraints of this position have placed an extra burden on family and also my employees at my business.
"I would like to thank all who supported me over the past four years and also thank all of city administration. It has been a pleasure working with you. I also would like to thank Mayor Hamilton and all members of council past and present. It has been a challenging and learning opportunity to serve the citizens of North Battleford together. Finally, I would like to thank the citizens of North Battleford for their support and wish all the best to mayor and council and administration in the future."
Houk had been an active and popular member of council during four years in office. In his last run for re-election in 2012, Houk was the only incumbent councillor to improve his standing, finishing second in the city vote count behind Ryan Bater to win one of the six seats available.
However, it had been obvious for some time that Houk was having difficulty making it to council on a consistent basis in 2013, missing several meetings during the year.
That issue finally came to a head at the Dec. 9 meeting of council when Mayor Ian Hamilton filed a notice of motion calling for expense claims and attendance records of councillors and other city officials to be posted on the city's website.
The motion was filed at the end of the Dec. 9 meeting and was debated and passed unanimously by a 6-0 vote Monday.
Hamilton indicated to reporters that Houk had tendered his verbal resignation Friday afternoon.
Upon hearing the news, all council members offered their best wishes to Houk, starting with Mayor Hamilton who offered his "understanding and support for his decision as it relates to family, to business and to everything else."
"He certainly brought a unique perspective," was the comment of Councillor Ryan Bater. "Whether you agreed with him or not he stuck to his guns and said what he believed to be right, and always added value to our debates." He added "as a personal acquaintance I would suggest his priorities are in the right order if he is putting his family first."
"Whether you agreed with him or not he was very passionate about his positions and he really wanted to make sure the citizens of North Battleford were taken care of," said Councillor Greg Lightfoot.
Councillor Don Buglas said, "Councillor Houk would always make you think, and it was a learning experience at the end to sit back and maybe reflect on your own thoughts, and that's a good thing."
Councillor Cathy Richardson said she "came to respect that he asked the hard questions quite often and made you think … and I hope he continues to let his voice be heard."
Councillor Ray Fox's comments were the most extensive, talking about the pressures all councillors face in serving in public office.
"It's a difficult role we walk sometimes, and I as well have to make choices sometimes with regards to my family and where I need to be," said Fox.
He also noted the 24/7 role that a council position demands. "I don't take off my councillor hat when I leave the chambers. Once you are a councillor you are a councillor," said Fox, who added "I think we have an obligation and a responsibility to answer people when they have a question."
Fox also acknowledged some of the personal issues Houk faced involving his family members.
"I know he's been having some difficulties and talking to his family, he's been in and out of some hospitals and I know he was in Edmonton very recently with a family member. So it's a tough decision and I'm going to miss Trent, and I just want to say thanks."
In speaking to reporters Hamilton noted the pressures that Houk was under.
"He just really had to reassess whether or not he could fulfill his obligations as a councillor," said Hamilton.
"As Councillor Fox said in these chambers tonight, we don't leave these chambers and become a citizen again. We are councillors and representatives of the community 24/7. I certainly respect his reasons and I support them because I am a very strong proponent of family, business and health first."
Now the plan is for a byelection, which seems likely to happen by the spring.
Mayor Hamilton indicated no decisions have been made as to a date, however the Cities Act requires the City to hold a byelection as soon as reasonably possible, he said.
City Clerk Debbie Wohlberg said she would be bringing back more information on that at the next council meeting in two weeks.
