LAC LA BICHE - In stride. That's how you take things when you've dealt with floods, fires, multi-million dollar projects, pandemics, windstorms, social issues, and the local effects of a global economic decline — all within your seven years in public office.
Omer Moghrabi took last Monday's election night loss in stride.
"I lead this community through some very challenging situations, and we still managed to get a lot done for our community. They are going to have their own mountains to climb. There will be continuing battles for them and opportunities for them to overcome ... just like we did," said Moghrabi whose two and a half terms as Lac La Biche County's mayor will officially come to an end when new mayor Paul Reutov is sworn into office next week.
Moghrabi credits those who came before his term in office for leading the way.
"Like it was for me, I had the foundations of councils who came before us to help. Some of our decisions might be seen as bad by some, but I'll tell you, that foundation of what we have now is built on decisions that were made for the community."
Moghrabi says Lac La Biche County is the envy of other communities in the province because of its service levels and amenities. He said much of those advantages are because his councils of the past eight years and those before, worked together for the common good. He expects the new council to continue on that path.
"If they work together — I know they won't agree on every decision — but they will have to work as a team to move the county forward," the outgoing mayor told Lakeland Today.
Moghrabi did contact the incoming mayor on election night after the numbers were released. The old mayor offered the new mayor his congratulations, but said it wasn't his place to offer advice. What he says he did tell Reutov was that it was imperative to continue the relationship with provincial and federal officials.
"The biggest thing I know is that you have to engage the government," said Moghrabi, wishing Reutov and the new council well as they begin their learning curve.
When asked about ongoing projects like the $14-million downtown streetscape, the removal of the downtown baseball diamond and the multi-million dollar aquatic centre project, Moghrabi said that while he will be out of office, he'll keep an interest on the projects.
"I'm politically quite astute, so I'll be watching a bit," he said. "This is my hometown, and I wear it on my sleeve all the time wherever I go."
Moghrabi plans to spend his last official days in office by cleaning out his desk and thanking staff for their continuing efforts. The new council will be officially sworn into office at the start of the new week.
The outgoing mayor also thanked the community and his family for their support over the years.
Moghrabi was first elected to the mayor's chair following a 2014 by-election caused after former Mayor Aurel Langevin resigned his position citing ideological differences with council Moghrabi beat Robert Richard in the by-election. In the 2017 general municipal election, Moghrabi beat Gail Broadbent to remain in the seat. In Monday night's election results, Moghrabi finished in fourth place of the four person mayoral race.
