Dear Friends,
I am pleased to announce that I have accepted the position of Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Selkirk. Over the past few months, the City of Selkirk has engaged the Legacy Bowes Group to conduct a national search for this position. I submitted my resume as any other candidate would, without discussing my intentions with other members of council and I did not participate in any of the discussions or meetings related to the filling of this position. After an exhaustive search process, I and 3 other candidates were “short listed” and given the opportunity to be interviewed. After the interviews, council decided that I was the best candidate and offered me the position. I have humbly accepted.
I am excited by this opportunity to turn my passion for local government and our community into my profession. Over the past 12 years I have devoted countless hours to my role as councillor. Learning, considering, proposing and negotiating new and better ways for our city to operate and to improve the quality of life of all citizens. As CAO, this work will be come my full-time job, allowing me to focus my full attention and energy to the challenges and opportunities our city faces. I cannot wait to begin.
Accepting this new role means that I must resign my seat on council. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your representative on Selkirk council. I have spent the majority of my adult life in this role. While I am not going very far, five feet to be exact, my new seat in the council chambers will be quite different.
I ran for council because I believed that I could make a difference and that I could contribute to my community. I believe that I have done just that. I leave council now, confident in the skills, passion and vision of this current council. Beyond just having some “good ideas”, members of this council have demonstrated that they have the political will to make the tough decisions and tenacity to have high expectations for our community. While I leave council at an exciting time, I do so knowing that the community is in good hands, and that my new role gives me an even greater opportunity to be a catalyst and facilitator of positive change.
My resignation will be effective as of noon on Friday May 9th and my first day of work as CAO will be Monday, May 26th.
I would like to thank you all for the trust and faith you placed in me and for your continued support over the past 12 years. It has been an honour to serve you as councillor – and I’m looking forward to serving you as Chief Administrative Officer.
Sincerely,
Duane Nicol, Councillor
City of Selkirk
