[Dion]

Sue Higgins recalls political partnership with mayor Ralph Klein

“Ralph was very drunk — he made a complete ass of himself, and we had a go-round,” recalls Higgins.

“He came and told me I was no good or some damn thing, and then he told me I was a prostitute.

“It p----d me right off.”

It turns out Higgins and Klein were meant for each other — she as the fiscal hawk who was determined to cut spending, and he as the charismatic leader who took Higgins’ no-waste philosophy to the Alberta capital a decade later.

“It was ‘holy s---, he’s the mayor, so now I have to smarten up and be nice to him,’ ” says Higgins.'

“But after that, he was always very nice to me — he let me do the finance stuff.”

There were a few rough edges. She recalls telling Klein to smarten up his dress code in her council chamber (yes, her chamber) but for the most part they worked together, novice mayor and no-B.S. book watcher.

“We’d plant people in the audience at the debates, to ask Ralph questions he didn’t know the answer to. But when someone asked him how many millions we’re spending on such-and-such a thing, he’d just turn to me, and say, ‘Suzie, how much are we spending?’ ” she laughs.

“It used to p--- my team off — they said we were like an old married couple.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/04/04...or-ralph-klein