Diane Colley-Urquhart

Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart is municipal politician from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is a member of Calgary City Council and serves as the representative for Ward 13.

Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart
City of Calgary Councillor
Assumed office
July 10, 2000
Preceded byPatti Grier
ConstituencyWard 13
Personal details
Spouse(s)David Urquhart (Deceased)
WebsiteOfficial website
Official Facebook
Official Twitter

Early life and nursing career

Diane Colley-Urquhart grew up on a farm in Oyen, Alberta prior to moving to Calgary.

After receiving her BSc in Health and Human Services, Diane has had a nearly 50 year registered nursing career. Colley-Urquhart has held senior management and teaching positions in Emergency, Intensive Trauma and Cardiac Care with Foothills Medical Centre, the University of Alberta Hospital, Beverly Care Centre, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Cancer Society, Kids Help Phone and Westhampton Management Ltd. She has worked occasionally as a Nurse Specialist at the Calgary Chronic Pain Centre and with Alberta Health Services.

In April 2013, while running on a beach in San Diego, CA, Colley-Urquhart rescued an injured surfer. The man had been hit by his own board and was stunned. Colley-Urquhart pulled him out of the water and tended to several gashes on his face until help arrived.[1]

Political career

Alderman and Councillor

Colley-Urquhart was first elected as an Alderman on July 4, 2000. She won a contested by-election in Ward 13 over ten other candidates. She was sworn into her post on July 10, 2000, and has since been re-elected in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2017. In 2010, Calgary City Council voted to change the title Alderman to the more gender-neutral term Councillor, resulting in a change of title for Colley-Urquhart after the following election in 2013.[2]

Colley-Urquhart sat on the Calgary Police Commission between 2002 and 2017. Colley-Urquhart created the STOP Marijuana Grow-ops Coalition in 2005 in recognition of the growing number of marijuana grow operations within the City.

A self-styled fiscal conservative and promoter of a "common sense" style of leadership, Colley-Urquhart campaigned against tax increases in the 2008 budget debates. She held a "Tax Payers Revolt" at Calgary City Hall with close to 1000 people signing her petition. Colley-Urquhart opposed the Santiago Calatrava designed pedestrian bridges. She now sits on the City Council Audit Committee, pushing for greater scrutiny of the tendering process.

Colley-Urquhart was part of the "Smoke-Free Calgary" campaign. She has also pursued initiatives such as: the Telework & Carpooling Initiative, the Stop Marijuana Grow Ops Coalition, roundtable on racism and discrimination, the Deerfoot Trail Safety Audit, and the Calgary Transit Public Safety Audit.

In partnership with Mayor Dave Bronconnier, Colley-Urquhart helped develop a Military Leave Policy for the City of Calgary. In 2008, as the STOP MGO Coalition Chair, Colley-Urquhart received the Minister's Municipal Honourable Mention Award of Excellence. In 2008, Colley-Urquhart's assisted Calgary Economic Development was successful in obtaining nearly $1m for the Regional Telework Initiative from the federal government ecoMOBILITY Program, which was the largest sum given to any of the 14 municipalities that received funding.

Colley-Urquhart made a motion to have tow trucks on stand-by on major commuting routes,

Colley-Urquhart was re-elected in the 2010 Municipal election as Alderman for Ward 13.

Colley-Urquhart resigned from the Calgary Police Commission in February 2017, following allegations that she may have violated the Commission's Code of Conduct. The accusations stemmed from statements Colley-Urquhart made regarding the treatment of female officers serving with the Calgary Police Service, after she said she had dozens of private meetings with female officers who alleged they were bullied and harassed.[3] She was replaced on the Commission by Councillor Richard Pootmans.[4]

2017 Antarctic vacation

Colley-Urquhart was absent for council meetings in November 2017 as she was on vacation in the Antarctic. She alerted council to her absence in a letter that was referenced by the media.

"After flying into Buenos Aires and exploring the city, I will embark on an educational expedition voyage on a ship deep into the Antarctic to spend time with the penguins and icebergs …

"While I don’t venture off to many conferences or trips this venture has been planned for a long time and will be a life changing experience for me.

"When I am in Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, I will tip one for each of you and think of you … I will gain insight into global warming — perhaps!"[5]

During her trip she was absent for a motion in council to consider reviewing the South West Bus Rapid Transit project. She was the Notice of Motion's co-author. Had her trip not ended early due to mechanical problems, Colley-Urquhart would have missed council's budget review, which is held every year in November.

Calgary-Glenmore by-election

Colley-Urquhart was the candidate of the province of Alberta's ruling Progressive Conservative party in a by-election called in the riding of Calgary-Glenmore for September 14, 2009, to become that riding's Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly.

Colley-Urquhart finished in third place, behind the victorious Wildrose Alliance candidate, Paul Hinman, and the runner-up, Liberal Party candidate Avalon Roberts.[6] It was the first time since 1967 that the Progressive Conservative candidate failed to win the riding.

Volunteer positions

She has canvassed and volunteered for numerous organizations such as the World Police and Fire Games, Calgary Police Interpretive Centre, , the Alzheimer’s Society & Calgary Handibus. She also volunteered on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Committee in Wichita, Kansas, served as President of the Alberta P.C. Women’s Association, Vice-President of the National P.C. Women’s Federation, Alberta Vice-President of the P.C. Party of Canada, Co- Chaired the Kim Campbell Leadership Committee for Southern Alberta, and served as President of the Calgary Glenmore P.C. Association. Colley-Urquhart was President of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s SW riding association.

Committees and boards

Colley-Urquhart serves as:

• Chair, Standing Policy Committee (SPC) on Land Use, Planning and Transportation • Chair, Audit Sub-Committee on Snow and Ice Removal • Member, Finance & Audit Committee • Member, Complaint Oversight Committee • Co-Chair, Calgary Police Interpretive Center Capital Campaign • Director, ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams) Board of Directors • Member, Audit Committee • Member, Standing Policy Committee (SPC) on Community & Protective Services • Member, Intergovernmental Affairs Committee • Alberta Vice Chair, Canadian Forces Liaison Council • Honorary Chair, Safer Calgary Board • Honorary Spokesman, MADD • Director, Calgary Glenmore P.C. Association Board of Directors • Former President, Calgary South Federal Conservative Party Board of Directors • Former Member, Prime Minister’s Fundraising Committee • Former Member, Calgary Police Commission

References
  1. Platt, Michael (2 April 2013). "Calgary Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart saves struggling surfer in San Diego". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  2. "Calgary's aldermen to become councillors". CBC News. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  3. CBC News (14 February 2017). "Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart quits Calgary Police Commission". CBC News. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  4. Cole, Yolande (14 March 2017). "Council appoints Coun. Richard Pootmans to Calgary Police Commission". Postmedia Network. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. "Braid: Councillor goes absent in pursuit of penguins (23 November, 2017)". calgaryherald.com.
  6. "Wildrose Alliance wins Calgary-Glenmore byelection". CBC News. September 14, 2009. Retrieved 2015-09-25.
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