Scott is perhaps best known for his eight years, 2013-2021, as the city councillor for Edmonton O-day’min, or Ward 6 as it was then called.
Ward 6 stretched from Commonwealth Stadium in the east to 149th Street in the west; from 111th Avenue in the north, then south all the way to the river.
His council commitments included leadership on indigenous relations, affordable housing, mental health and social isolation, as well as the arts, in particular Edmonton’s live music scene.
His achievements? Well, nothing is done in isolation, especially in government. He is most proud of his office staff — Roxanne and then Amy, Rachael, Rebecca and Sydney — and how they worked as a team to serve Ward 6.
Scott also feels a tremendous sense of satisfaction with how Team Ward 6 fostered the approval of a new and large downtown park, set to open in 2023.
Before civic politics, Scott was a career journalist. He worked 24 years at The Edmonton Journal, with his final eight years as the hometown newspaper’s City Hall columnist.
Scott’s journalism career at the paper ran the entire spectrum, from crime reporting to the environment beat. The majority of his years were spent at City Hall, reporting and commenting on city council.
Upon leaving the newspaper, Scott launched a last-minute bid in the 2010 civic election, finishing second. He then launched a successful communications business, serving local, provincial and federal clients.
During those years, he also became actively involved in the community, volunteering as director of the Downtown Edmonton Community League, the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, the Downtown Vibrancy Task Force, the Alberta Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health and the Lieutenant Governor’s Circle on Mental Health and Addiction.
Scott was also the City of Edmonton’s first ever Blogger in Residence, a position he stepped down from to run in Ward 6 in 2013.
Scott has three grown children, who all live in Edmonton. He lives in the community of Oliver, where he can often be seen zipping around on his yellow Vespa scooter.
He also now sits as a director on the board of the Mental Health Foundation, as well as the board of the Boyle McCauley Health Centre.