Ryan Pollard

Category: Post

  • Pipestone Creek

    Pipestone Creek

    This past Sunday, Shannon and I went out to the Pipestone Creek conservation area in Wetaskiwin County. Apparently, there is more than one Pipestone Creek in Alberta (the other one being up near Grande Prairie and being known for fossil discoveries).

    The lands are maintained and preserved by the Edmonton and Area Land Trust. It’s a favourite hike for us. The conditions were good, with a just a bit of snow on the trail, and we spotted a moose down by the creek.

    It also happens to be a good excuse to update this blog. I had been intending on using it as a personal web site, and doing things like uploading photos and doing personal updates, since I am not on social media in the way that I once was. When I left e.g. the Meta platforms, I downloaded all my data, and it added up to gigs’ worth, especially photos. We’ll see how far and fast I get on re-homing those things.

    In the meantime, enjoy the photos! I’m still trying to figure out the best way to display these on WP.

    Edmonton and Area Land Trust – Pipestone Creek

    Pipestone Creek on AllTrails

    (click on photo below for Flickr album)

    5722A52E-96EF-4A9D-8BDF-8248C73EDE1C_1_105_c
  • Electoral Update

    Electoral Update

    As you may know, municipal elections in Alberta take place on October 20, 2025. If a person wants to serve as a councillor, mayor, reeve, or school trustee, that will be their chance to put their name forward.

    My name is not going to be on the ballot. I’m not seeking re-election for the next term.

    Councillor Ryan Pollard, January 2021. He has short hair and beard and is wairing a scarf and winter coat.
    Councillor Ryan Pollard, June 2025. Sunny day, a fence in the background, he has long hair and is wearing a baseball cap and hoodie

    How it started / How it’s going

    This is not the time for good byes or thank-yous or predictions or thoughtful wishes for the future. That will come in time. The term is not up yet and I’m going to keep working as hard as ever.

    This decision is one I came to quite some time ago. It was a hard one. I’ll spare you the whole story. One of the biggest factors was this: Shortly after being elected, I was promoted at my day job (this is, after all, a part-time gig, allegedly). This of course entailed greater responsibilities and a greater workload. I was able to balance the two jobs (although the regularity of my posting eventually took a hit — but let’s be honest, I’m a politician, not a social media influencer). I eventually came to realize that keeping it all up, while campaigning for the next term at the same time, would take too much of a toll on me and my family. I did not want my performance at either job to suffer. You, the citizen, deserve the best of whoever is representing you. I gave you my best but I didn’t want to risk getting to the point where I wasn’t able to do that anymore. Nothing worse than a politician who is just phoning it in.

    A friend asked me if I’m going to use my newfound free time to become the “most annoying citizen” (presumably with regard to what the new city council is doing?). I don’t set out to do that, others can decide if I have suddenly “become” annoying. I do intend to remain present and vocal, and to contribute to the civic life of our community. It’s what I’ve always done and I’m not going to stop. And I’m probably not finished with politics forever either, we’ll just see how it goes.

    There is still work to be done over the next few months. A lot of the work we’ve put in over the years is bearing fruit and you’ve seen it manifesting in the business we’ve been conducting of late. I’m proud of the work this team has done in setting Leduc up for success in the decades to come. It’s not done yet, and neither am I.