I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of my former colleague, Tooker Gomberg.

We have lost a formidable environmental advocate and a visionary activist who inspired many.

I first met Tooker years before we sat together on City Council. He made a impression right away when he spoke at a provincial gathering of environmental organizations. Most of the talk had been about the Getty government's sell-off of forests and its support for huge pulp mills. Tooker took the floor and began talking about environmental issues in cities, about conservation, cars, smog, and rational transportation systems. It was the first time I had heard anyone set out an urban environmental agenda. Because I was already active in city politics, it caught my attention. Soon afterwards, he and others founded Ecocity. In a real sense, Tooker was the founder of Edmonton's urban environmental movement.

Tooker's idealistic and relentless commitment to the environment made for some tough sledding at City Council. His uncompromising approach led to strong opposition, as well as support, on council. Councillors like Leroy Chahley gave him a rough ride. If Tooker supported saving a natural area, Leroy would refer to it as scrub poplar.

None of this put a dent in Tooker's enthusiasm or sense of humour. In fact, his council opponents were occasionally the subject of Tooker's pranks. Once, Tooker got a hold of a great picture of Chahley on a bicycle and mounted it on his office door with the caption "soon we will all be riding bicycles." All the councillors, even Leroy, chuckled when they passed by Tooker's door.

But Tooker's stubborn doggedness wasn't always the most strategic or effective. No one could polarize a debate as quickly as Tooker. At one council meeting, Tooker came in and turned off the lights. When others objected, he came back with a light meter and showed there was indeed enough light to read by. As was often the case with Tooker, he proved his point, and caused a huge uproar in the process.

Tooker's efforts also saved us hundreds of millions of dollars. When city administration proposed a major expansion to the E.L. Smith water plant. Tooker and other councillors helped develop a water conservation plan that made the plant expansion unnecessary. To this day, water rates in Edmonton are significantly lower as a result.

Though Tooker was known for his attention grabbing stunts, there was substance with the style. He was always on top of the latest information, the economics, and the technology on almost any environmental question.

The last time I saw Tooker, having dinner with friends here in Edmonton, he talked about how drastically he'd been affected by depression. And typically, he was completely open about it, ready to deal with it head-on, talking about it as the illness it is. I didn't realize, that it would take him, and so suddenly.

Losing Tooker is a loss for me, for our city, and for all Canadians. In fact, it's a loss for the planet.