There’s no quit in Grande Prairie council veteran
Soon after Helen Rice became a Grande Prairie city councillor in 1979, she was invited to help a fundraising committee for future boxing star Willie deWit with her feminine decorating skills.
“I was so proud they asked for me. I was new — I found out what they wanted me to do was table centres,” she says with a laugh. “I’m the least crafty person in the history of mankind. I said ‘That’s OK, I will be the auctioneer’ … But I had to do the table settings (as well), so I called the wives of all the aldermen and said ‘OK, we have a work bee.’ ”
It’s probably the last time anyone made the mistake of assuming Rice should be given a subordinate role.
The former local radio talkshow host is believed to have held office longer than any other sitting Alberta city councillor, keeping her position by understanding issues, giving residents what they want and speaking her mind.
While she happily agrees she can be blunt and outspoken, she likes meetings to move along and slams the door on pointless political blabbing.
“I’m not a very patient councillor. I don’t mind if somebody disagrees with something and talks about it. What I really hate is if nobody disagrees and 20 minutes later you’re still talking about it,” she says.
“There’s a phrase I use with council — ‘Tighten it up.’ ”
Rice, 67, occasionally rides the bus 460 kilometres between Edmonton and her northwest home, “eavesdropping like crazy,” to find out what’s on people’s minds.
She grew up in the capital, and moved to Grande Prairie when her then-husband bought a business in 1969.
The once friendless new comer admits she has become one of the most recognizable faces in the city of 55,000.
An acquaintance convinced her to take part in a 1979 council byelection following a losing campaign as a provincial Liberal, and she won, spending two hours a day with the city manager for the next month learning the job.
Except for an 18-month break after unsuccessfully running for mayor in 1998, she has been on council ever since.
“I educate myself on the issues, I keep up to date on them, I return phone calls and emails, but primarily, the main thing is I enjoy what I’m doing … I like the diversity. There are so many facets.”
The divorced mother of three grown children says she analyzes the Grande Prairie budget from the perspective of “Mrs. Average,” deciding whether a service should continue by determining what would happen if it was eliminated.
Rice sees the value in local government, calculating her municipal property taxes of roughly $100 a month pay for a huge variety of services that include police, parks, fire protection and social housing.
“If I was a private business and came to you with a contract and said: ‘It will cost $100 a month, you will get (all this)’ … If you said no, you would be out of your mind,” she says.
“Christ, I pay more than that for cable, and I don’t even watch TV.”
Mayor Bill Given praises Rice’s “bulldog determination” to help residents who need assistance, along with her talent for analyzing reports, getting to the heart of issues and remaining open-minded.
Her long tenure with groups such as the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Alberta Recycling Management Association means politicians across the province know and respect her, Givens says.
He has seen her ask cabinet ministers pointed questions and receive polite answers when others might get a cold stare. He recalls her moderating one political debate by warning speakers that when they had one minute left she would start walking to the podium “and when your time is up I will push you off the stage.”
But Givens says she can be equally direct with council colleagues she feels are wasting time on a subject, using the telling phrase “That horse is dead — dismount.”
“If somebody had never been exposed to her, somebody might be surprised by her candidness and direct demeanour, but she also does it in a way that she’s never disrespectful. She can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Rice counts among her proudest accomplishments chairing the steering committee for the 2009 Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta Arts Awards in Grande Prairie, although she chortles that “I’m the least cultured person in town.” Another highlight was helping get the regional recycling program off the ground.
This has led to such recognition as a 2003 Queens Golden Jubilee Medal and being named one of the 50 most influential Albertans by Venture Magazine in 2009.
Rice, who also works fulltime managing Grande Prairie’s Downtown Association, plans to run again in next October’s civic election and doesn’t sound like someone ready to rest on her laurels.
“I have pretty much enjoyed every minute … One of my best qualities is I’m easily amused,” she says, laughing again.