Norm LeBus
Medicine Hat News
He’s a King of Queens doing time in Brooks. Twenty-four year-old Queens grad Dan Quinn in finding his way in the municipal governance field, stepping gingerly between the application process and now the practical side of a year-long internship with the City of Brooks.
He’s one of 15 students from across Canada interning as municipal administrators in an Alberta government-sponsored program in cities around the province.
Quinn’s negotiated panel phone interviews, obtuse questions (Who are you? What do you believe in?), and a daunting stint on the reception desk during the last three months.
At 24, he already knows he’s not cut out for the medical operating room (he took a pre-med degree before a political science undergrad), nor for the reception desk.
“I have a serious appreciation for that job now,” Quinn says, laughing. “I am not that type of person.”
All kidding aside, Quinn is focused on a career in politics; it’s just a matter of finding the right level.
He served as a policy advisor in the last federal election, but is finding municipal governance is also a complex process.
“Giving the flash and flair of international relations, municipal politics can be overlooked in a political science degree,” he says. “I’ve learned there’s a lot more involved than you see at first glance, that’s for sure. There’s so much that goes on in municipal administration.”
Already Quinn is involved in Brooks’ human resources policy, drafting a smoking bylaw and helping develop a strategic business plan for the city. While he studied the bigger picture in political science, he’s quickly gaining an appreciation for politics at the grass roots.
“You can see the direct impact of your decisions on the community,” he says. “In federal politics, files like immigration impact the whole country, but it’s harder to see in each community.”
Quinn comes from an Ontario city of 45,000. He says Brooks is about the same-save for two aspects of life in our energy-sector fuelled economy.
“Two things surprise me more than anything,” he says. “One is the rate of growth; I take different routes to work and different things (businesses) are popping up each day, and the multi-cultural aspect is like a great test case for immigration. A phase like “New Canadians” is new to me. It’s great, and all part of the experience.”