A City of Calgary bureaucrat who appeared at an NDP town hall meeting was approved to do that because he remained non-partisan, said the City..Thom Mahler, a manager with urban initiatives for the city, appeared with Calgary-Buffalo MLA Joe Ceci at an NDP town hall Thursday night, discussing the future of the city’s downtown core. Councillor Druh Farrell also took part.. Screen-Shot-2021-05-07-at-8.21.56-AMThom Mahler .Several critics took to social media wondering about Mahler’s participation, as it was obviously a partisan event..“Thom Mahler participated in an event organized by the MLA representing downtown Calgary, as a subject matter expert for The City’s Downtown Strategy,” said a city statement on Friday.. Screen-Shot-2021-05-07-at-9.54.06-AMCeci tweet .“Councillor Druh Farrell is representing The City at the event, with Thom supporting her by providing details on the Greater Downtown Plan and the recently approved financial package to support downtown’s reinvention..“Thom spoke on behalf of The City as part of our ongoing series of presentations to citizens, business groups, and community groups about The City’s vision, roadmap and action plan for our downtown. His presentation is non-partisan and is focused on sharing information with Calgarians interested in the future of our downtown.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
