Bob Jackson, who served as a Westlock County councillor for over 21 years and was chair of the Aspen Regional Health Authority before its dissolution in 2008, passed away Nov. 2 after a short battle with cancer.
He was 78.
Jackson was first elected to Westlock County council in October 1986, defeating Ken Baggett to represent Div. 3. He ran uncontested over the next five municipal elections and was only challenged once in 2004, when he defeated Don James. Jackson finally opted to retire from municipal politics in the fall of 2007.
“I think 21 years is enough. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not a kid anymore,” said Jackson at the time.
In the 2007 Westlock News article, Jackson said he was proud of his work and what the county was able to do with limited funds. He noted they tried to hold the line on tax increases and keep the roads passable.
“I had the pleasure of working with many, many different councillors over the years. Certainly we didn’t always get along, but we tried to do the best we could for ratepayers,” he said.
Jim Wiese, who currently serves as the Div. 3 councillor, noted that Jackson represented the division for most of Wiese’s adult life.
Wiese said that Jackson was on council with Jean De Champlain and Peter Stasiuk and it was one of the most effective the county ever had.
“They really did a good job of managing the county … and they were really conscious of how they managed the finances of the county. Looking back, I think that was one of the best councils we ever had,” he said.
Wiese noted he didn’t recall all the members of council at that time, but De Champlain, Stasiuk and Jackson “were the three key members that made that council work.”
“They were all very effective councilors. And when you get three strong individuals on a council, then your council is more effective overall because they’re all working together.”
Jackson was also greatly involved in health care.
He served on the Westlock Auxiliary Hospital board for a time, and eventually became the chair of the Aspen Regional Health Authority when the province merged the 17 health regions into nine.
He was with Aspen for 14 years before the provincial government announced in 2008 the nine authorities would be merged into one single entity: Alberta Health Services.
Hinton resident Bill Bulger, who had served on the Aspen RHA board for about three years and was on the board at the time of its dissolution, said Jackson was very dedicated to serving the area.
Regarding the dissolution of the RHA, Bulger said he believed that Jackson was rather hurt by their sudden dismissal.
“I think he had greater aspirations for the health region,” Bulger added.
Of his service on the health board, Jackson said he was particularly proud of Aspen’s mobile MRI unit and completing their service with a balanced budget — one of only three RHAs to do so.
Jackson said he also enjoyed working with the other board members and the region’s administration. “All I can say (is that) they were a great board,” he added.”
