Rick Casson leans back in his oversized leather chair at his downtown office, smiling as he describes growing up in a family of nine siblings.
“We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough.”
Casson, who recently announced he wouldn’t be running again this term, grew up just north of Lethbridge in Diamond City. He married his high school sweetheart in 1967.
“Still married to the same wonderful person. High school sweethearts, I guess that sometimes works out. For us, it certainly did.”
After moving to Lethbridge, he started at the U of L in 1969 with the printing department.
“It was like running your own business, kinda cool.”
In the early ‘70’s, he moved to Picture Butte and started at the fire department. By 1977, he was asked to run for city council.
He spent nine years on council and nine more as the mayor of Picture Butte before starting his political career as a Reform Party member.
Although Casson is stepping down from his position as local MP, he says he’s not retiring. He jokes about relaxing around the house just long enough to drive his wife crazy before he finds something new, but for the time being, he has nothing planned.
His ambitious personality pushed him to pursue his dreams of being part of the political spectrum.
“The pursuit of something is always more exciting than after you’ve caught it. I worked my way up to manager of the printing plant . . . same with council and being mayor. I’d always thought in the back of my mind, although I didn’t do anything active, I wouldn’t mind being an MP here in Alberta.”
Later on, Casson and his wife decided they would take on the challenge of running for political office at the provincial level.
He smiles as he describes his wife and her thoughtful devotion to his early campaign trail and although there may be another election looming, he says they are ready to take a step back from public life.
“After I got elected, it sure took a lot longer to buy groceries,” he says jokingly. After reflecting on a lifetime spent in the public eye, he can appreciate the anonymity he found in Ottawa.
“That’s a place you can just disappear, but I couldn’t do it here.”
Casson says over the years, he never minded being a public figure, but as time goes on, he feels “a little more protective of his weekends” spent at his recreational property with his family.
Outside of the office, Casson is “an old car guy.” He describes his ‘67 Plymouth GTX as “ black and nasty and goes fast.” He laughingly admits from time to time he’s gotten the odd photo radar ticket.
“I’ve always driven a little fast. My wife got (a ticket) in the mail the other day and I said, ‘Oh, honey, you got one’ and she said ‘Oh, now I can see your big white head sitting in the driver’s seat.’”
Although Casson doesn’t know what awaits him in the near future, if he’s made one thing clear, he’s up for the challenge.