THE RIGHT FIT FOR THE JOB

It’s natural that Calgarians want a rigorous vetting of the city’s possible bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The spectacle would be a massive undertaking that should not be taken on lightly.

That’s why it’s surprising that Mary Moran’s appointment as the head of Calgary 2026, the group that is tasked with studying a potential Olympic bid, has apparently been second guessed.

Moran is CEO of Calgary Economic Development and her change in jobs has raised eyebrows among some folks, given that the city agency is in charge of a recently approved $100-million fund that’s supposed to help fill vacant space in all those downtown highrises.

“There’s a real lack of investor confidence and what are the ramifications down the road with that, and yet we’re focused on putting on this massive two-week party,” says Colin Craig, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “The optics are certainly questionable. There’s a real disconnect.”

Hardly. Moran is a capable executive with the credentials necessary for helping to determine if an Olympic bid makes sense, and if so, working to shepherd the effort along.

Is the assumption, then, that a less-qualified individual should have been hired to help guide an important undertaking such as whether to seek the Olympics? Is the argument that Calgary’s economy is so wobbly that we need to look to Vancouver or Montreal for such expertise?

Perhaps the line of thinking is that Calgary Economic Development is so strapped for talent that Moran can’t be spared for a leave of absence — that the city is only capable of doing one thing at a time.

That is not true, either. Calgary Economic Development is quite capable of carrying on without Moran while continuing to do its valuable work. Calgary can, as the saying goes, chew gum and walk at the same time.

The truth is, if residents are going to have confidence in the Olympic-vetting process that is being conducted by the city, it needs the talents of people such as Moran. We demand no less.

By all means, be skeptical of the merits of hosting the event, but don’t question the value of putting a qualified candidate in charge of a process that will ultimately be decided by Calgarians themselves and three levels of government, to say nothing of the International Olympic Committee.

There was a time when people said Calgary had swagger — which has good and bad connotations. There is no upside to small-mindedness and pettiness.