Legislating With David
Featuring David Shepherd
Politician, Musician
December 9, 2015
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
The story
David has been the Member of Legislative Assembly for Edmonton-Centre since being elected in May 2015. His previous experience includes working as a professional communicator for the City of Edmonton, Alberta Health, and the Canada Revenue Agency; as a keyboardist with many Edmonton acts including the Mike McDonald Band, the James Murdoch Band, and Screwtape Lewis; and as a studio engineer. He remains a big supporter of Edmonton’s music scene!
David is an avid cyclist and commutes by bike year-round. He began his public service by working to improve relations between cyclists and drivers and advocating for improved cycling infrastructure. He enjoys losing himself in well-crafted songs and well-shot films. He has an unabashed love of words and has been known to spend inordinate amounts of time working to craft the perfect turn of phrase or elaborate puns. He’s been a resident of downtown Edmonton for almost eight years and can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Fun facts
Due to broad-spectrum food intolerances, David has lived for several years on an almost exclusive diet of three foods: lamb, lettuce and cassava (a South American root vegetable).
David is an avowed fan of writer John Steinbeck and has read every one of his books. His favorite is East of Eden. One of the top items on David’s bucket list is to visit northern California where Steinbeck lived and set most of his stories and see the city of Monterey, the setting for the first of his novels David read. (Cannery Row.)
He initially approached the Alberta NDP and offered to volunteer in order to learn more about political campaigns. When asked if he was interested in being a candidate, he said no, thinking he didn’t yet have enough knowledge or experience to serve as an MLA.
Despite his love of cycling, backpacking and wilderness scrambles, David has never broken a bone. He’s hoping to maintain that record for life.
One of David’s favorite places in the world is the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. He spent many summers there at Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp as a camper, counsellor, instructor in rock climbing, and outtrip (1-3 night wilderness camping trip) director. He remains convinced that there is nowhere more peaceful than the top of a ridge or mountain peak.