This city owes a debt to underrated Ed Gibbons
Coun. Ed Gibbons has never been one to ask a ton of questions at council meetings. He’s not one to deliver an eloquent speech before he casts his vote. Nor will you find him in front of the TV cameras after a meeting, wowing reporters with charm and wit.
But Gibbons is nonetheless a force in this city, a champion of northeast neighbourhoods, a deal-maker with politicians from surrounding towns and counties, and a driving force for industrial development within the city’s borders.
Put it all together and Gibbons, 68, is city council’s most underrated politician. We’re going to miss him now that he’s decided not to seek a fifth term in October.
Gibbons is a key player in the faction that formed in 2004 around Mayor Stephen Mandel. This group moved city council away from its focus on zero debt to instead spend to renew neighbourhood infrastructure and to build roads, overpasses, LRT, libraries, recreation centres and the downtown area.
“It had to be done,” Gibbons says of the investment. “We had to build the city.”
People are happy when their neighbourhood gets nice sidewalks and a new recreation centre nearby, he says.
“We used to have this issue that everybody ran to St. Albert or Sherwood Park. We don’t have that problem anymore. We take the growth in Edmonton.
“We’re not second fiddle to anyone anymore ... People want to live in Edmonton.”
How does Gibbons get things done? Well, here’s how he’s getting needed traffic lights at 18 Street and Manning Drive, near the busy Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple.
A year ago, he convinced council to approve the project and the funding, then he made sure the province gave its OK as well. But a few months ago, when Gibbons noticed nothing was happening, he started to ask questions. When city administration was vague, he got cranky. Finally, administrators admitted to him the problem was a provincial administrator who was lagging with a permit.
Gibbons realized the project would be delayed a year if things didn’t move fast, so at once he worked the phones, talking to MLAs and government ministers. Soon enough, the project was on track again.
“I did not want to represent any area where there’s a family of Sikhs going out to the temple on full-moon night, when there’s up to 3,000 or 4,000 people turning left out there (on Manning Drive) and someone got killed. I don’t want someone dying on my watch because somebody decided, ‘Ah, we’ll do it in next year’s budget.’ So I went to task and I got it through.”
And here’s how he got the 118 Avenue revitalization funded. In 2004, when then-councillor Mandel asked Gibbons for his help in running for mayor, Gibbons said Mandel first had to come up and see 118 Avenue before he’d agree.
Gibbons took Mandel out door-knocking up and down 118 Avenue.
“Every third door was boarded up and the front porches had been used as somebody’s washroom for the last week or so,” Gibbons says.
Mandel agreed action was needed. Gibbons agreed to help Mandel win election.
From the sewers up,
118 Avenue was fixed.
“It’s gone from a hell hole and, it’s not Whyte Avenue, and no one expects it to be Whyte Avenue, but you know — when you see all the ethnic restaurants and one-third the amount of pawn shops — that you’ve done something.
“The community has done well at my end of town. I was for building northeast Edmonton, giving people in northeast Edmonton the feeling that we’re OK.”
A moment later, he adds, “I’m going to be buried in northeast Edmonton. Within a block-anda-half of my house is where I’ve got great-grandparents buried. You can see the trees from my back deck.”
The key for Gibbons was to always listen closely at meetings, read all the reports, then make sure he had sound arguments at the ready if people challenged him on the street about a controversial project like the airport redevelopment or downtown arena.
“You have to be able to convince people on the other side, so you can push back and push back and never roll over and get petted on the belly. So you can look someone in the eye in the Safeway store and not have them screaming and calling you everything under the sun.”
I ask Gibbons if he’s underrated.
“It doesn’t bother me. I feel good in myself,” he says. “I’m the quiet person. I’m the guy behind the scenes ... I’m the guy getting the work done.”