Catching Up With Council - Councillor Rajko Dodic

Putting your hand up to become an elected public official is not for the faint of heart. After the election campaigning is over, the real work begins. There is much more to a City Councillor role than attending weekly committee and Council meetings. The volume of information, context and legislative requirements can be daunting. 

Preparations are already underway for the next municipal election, scheduled for October 20, 2025. We invited all current Council members to share their thoughts on the first three years of this term. In the coming weeks, we’ll share their insights and priorities as we look toward the next election. 

Next up in this series is Councillor Rajko Dodic. First elected to City Council in 2004, as what was then known as an Alderman, Dodic served in this role until he was elected Mayor in 2010. After not seeking Mayoral re-election in 2013, he later returned to the Councillor role after being elected again in 2021.

What are you most proud of in the first three years of your term?

Rather than pointing to one single decision or tangible program or asset, Dodic cites the work to highlight the conditions and fine print associated with grant funding as something important to him.

“Bringing attention to the fact that getting grant funding from other orders of government does have a cost associated with it,” says Dodic. “If you get a million-dollar grant or ‘free’ money from the provincial or federal government, there may be a requirement to build something which will require at least as much (financial) input from the municipality or even more.”

“For example, you get a flyer in the mail and it says, ‘Get this for free’. Well, you do get it for free but there’s always conditions attached, which can end up costing you more money. That cost has to be paid for and in our situation as a municipality, it’s either through taxes or utility payments. It’s a very cautionary tale that grants are not actually free money.”

Sitting in the unique position of being able to compare the role of an elected official of now to say his 2004 term as Alderman, Councillor Dodic says he’s pleased with the level of collegiality between his colleagues.

“The fact that Council is able to debate fiercely on a particular subject, but once the debate has ended and the vote has taken place, it’s behind us,” says Dodic. “We move onto the next thing and there doesn’t seem to be any factions. There’s no, these folks against these folks. It’s a very even spread.”

What do you still want to accomplish in your last year? 

For anyone who has followed along with the City’s Land Use Bylaw renewal project, it would come as no surprise that Dodic feels strongly about this work and wants to see some changes implemented.

“I don’t want to change the land use for folks who have bought property believing that it’s zoned for say single-family residential, and all of a sudden the zoning is changed so your property or your neighbour’s property is zoned for multi-family use,” says Dodic.

“I think people should be able to rely on the zoning that they had when they purchased the property. If you want multi-family zoning, put it in new areas so when people buy, they know that they may have a four-plex on one side. It’s something I’m fairly passionate about.”

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of running in next year’s election? 

Chuckling to himself upon hearing the question, Dodic reflects on his own experience as a first-time candidate. He would tune into Council meetings on Shaw TV or read about Council decisions in the newspaper but says there’s little that can truly prepare you for the gauntlet of being an elected official.

“I mean, I could say, go to a couple of Council meetings, read some of the agendas to give you an idea. But it doesn’t give you the full picture,” says Dodic.

Referring to the role and time expectations of a Councillor, Dodic says it can be the timing of those hours that may be prohibitive for some candidates.

“The 20 hours per week is true for some people, but the trouble is those 20 hours may all come in one big block on a Monday or a Tuesday during the day. If you have a full-time job, it might be difficult to fit it in.”

“You’ve got to be able to read fast and absorb information quickly and that can be difficult to do when you have an agenda that’s hundreds of pages long. But, if you’re a person who wants to be a Councillor, then I say just do it. Just be prepared to put in more time than you think is involved.”

Subscribe to news from the City to follow this series and hear from the other members of Council. Head to lethbridge.ca/subscribe to get all City news and information, straight to your inbox.