MEDICINE HAT – Lynnsey Clark says she's ready for round two.
The embattled mayor of Medicine Hat, a city of about 65,000 located southeast of Calgary, has had a difficult couple of years in politics, but he is running for another term in Monday's provincial municipal election.
“I still have things to do,” Clark, 45, said in a recent interview.
In March 2024, the Medicine Hat council found that the mayor violated the city code of conduct by failing to treat City Manager Anne Mitchell with respect during a tense exchange at a council meeting.
As a result, he approved a list of sanctions that included suspending Clarke's duties and cutting her salary in half.
A few months later, a Queen's Bench judge overturned most of the sanctions, calling the board's decision “disproportionate and unreasonable.”
In July, a report commissioned by the province said something needed to be done about Medicine Hat's troubled mayor's office, where staff work in an “increasingly turbulent and suspicious” environment.
Clark, a lawyer and the city's first female mayor, said she needs to think twice about whether she wants the job again.
“It's hard for my family too. It's not just me that I have to think about,” she said.
“If I didn't think I didn't have enough in me, or that I was bitter, or hardened my heart, or something like that, I don't think I would have done it…my mom joined us, and that's when the decision was made.”
If re-elected, Clark said she wants all council members to take courses in conflict resolution and how to handle human resources issues.
Five other candidates are vying for the Medicine Hat mayor's seat.
Former Alberta Assemblyman Drew Barnes represented Cypress-Medicine Hat for three terms. In 2021, he was expelled from the United Conservative Party faction for criticizing the government's handling of COVID-19.
Barnes, 64, said he was approached by members of the public and asked to run for mayor.
“Our mayor and our city council have been so dysfunctional for the last four years. People are frustrated,” Barnes said.
“The council certainly sanctioned (Clark) excessively, but when you read the municipal investigation report, it is clear that Mayor Clark was the author of her own misfortune.”
Retired Medicine Hat Police Chief Andy McGrogan, 66, was elected four years ago to the same board that sanctioned Clark.
He said everyone could do better.
“The sanctions were disproportionate… I was part of it. But moving forward, what have we learned? Where are we going?” asked McGrogan.
He said he feels the community is not being fully served by a poor council and is running for mayor “to bring calm, mature leadership to City Hall.”
He said he was surprised to learn Clark was running for re-election. “I have nothing against Lynnsey Clarke. She's a good person. But she has no leadership training… no leadership experience.”
Also running for mayor are: Mark Fisher, an oil and gas executive; Alan Rose, retired from the chemical and oil and gas industries; and Chris Samraj, council member 2017-2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2025.
