Al Sacuta, the Rock View County (RVC) councillor who served the residents of Bearspaw, has died.
Remembered by colleagues and friends as brilliant, passionate and genuinely invested in the interests of his constituents, Sacuta lost his battle with stage-4 stomach cancer last Sunday.
In a RVC press release, reeve Margaret Bahcheli offered her condolences to his wife, Lindy. “Everyone who knows and has worked with Al is sharing in your loss.”
In July of this year on CountyNewsOnline.com, Sacuta revealed his diagnosis and that the cancer had spread to his liver, lungs and abdominal lymph nodes. He announced his leave of absence from council until mid-October.
Former RVC councillor Kim Magnuson, who met him in 2009, said Sacuta was the one who encouraged her to run for council in 2010 and was inspired by the strength of his ideals.
“He always stood up for the underdog, he was a tireless advocate for accountable government and he always put others ahead of himself.”
In a press release, RVC communications manager Grant Kaiser wrote that Sacuta was “a strong voice on council on behalf of Bearspaw residents.”
Sacuta was elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2013 for a second term.
He was active on a number of committees, such as the county’s Family and Community Support Services Board, Urban Development Institute Committee and the Bearspaw-Glendale Recreation District Board.
He also served on the Calgary Inter-municipal Committee, Transportation Levy Sub-Committee and the former Infrastructure and Operations Committee where he acted as chair.
Division 2 councillor Jerry Arshinoff fondly remembers how impressed he was by Sacuta’s intellect. “I think it’s fair to say Al ran for council because we did whatever we could to force him because we’re not going to find another guy like that.”
Along with his duties as councillor, Sacuta ran the website OurBearspaw.com, where he published almost 200 reports of council meetings and also paid out of pocket to have them published in the Rocky View Weekly.
Enrique Massot, publisher of CountyNewsOnline.com, got to know the councillor during Massot’s 14 years reporting on Rocky View County news.
“He was a no nonsense kind of person. Very straight forward and very accurate in everything that he did.”
A celebration of Al Sacuta’s life will be held at RockPointe Bearspaw Church (corner of Highway 1A and Lochend Road), at 1 p.m. today (Aug. 27).
