Browsing posts in the ‘Alderman – Ward 1’ category

Calgary, meet your new council

1
October 19, 2010 - By

The unofficial results are in and we have seen a mix of change and returning of the old guard happening. It’s a whole new ball game now; an entirly new dynamic. Here’s the list of who the fifteeen around the table will be:

Mayor - Naheed Nenshi
Ward 1 – Dale Hodges
Ward 2 – Gord Lowe
Ward 3 – Jim Stevenson
Ward 4 - Gael Macleod
Ward 5 – Ray Jones
Ward 6 - Richard Pootmans
Ward 7 – Druh Farrell
Ward 8 – John Mar
Ward 9 - Gian-Carlo Carra
Ward 10 – Andre Chabot
Ward 11 – Brian Pincott
Ward 12 - Shane Keating
Ward 13 – Diane Colley-Urquhart
Ward 14 - Peter Demong

The biggest question facing how this new council will work together is what kind of a chair will Naheed Nenshi be. Will he be a bullying mayor (not likely) or more laissez faire in his control of meetings? Or might he be more like Bronconnier and give alderman some leeway, but keep them on a short leash if they stray too far outside what is prescribed in the procedural bylaw. An alderman like Druh Farrell will live and die [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Mayor of Calgary, Political Theory

yyc Twibates Part II: Aldermanic

8
October 17, 2010 - By

This is Part II of getting the Twibate answers up.  There’s some more information about format and decisions on our first post, yyc Twibates Part I: Intro and Mayoral.

We held two twitter debates for aldermanic – one for odd-numbered wards and one for even-numbered wards.  We had 10 participants on the first night, and 12 on the second night.

Because of the number of participants, I will merely list answers in order that they came in rather than a column for each candidate.  Unless you don’t want it to be readable

A number of candidates answered with multiple posts.  They are grouped together, and the time of the first post determines order.

Odd-Numbered Wards

Participants include:

Ward 1: Ric Lockhart and Chris Harper (First two questions answered during, the rest answered later that evening)

Ward 3: Gary Tremblay

Ward 7: Michael Krisko (Krisko’s tweets unfortunately did not show up on the feed, but we acknowledge his participation), Druh Farrell (answered all questions after)

Ward 9: Steve Chapman, Gian-Carlo Carra

Ward 11: Brian Pincott, Wayne Frisch, James Maxim, Ernest McCutcheon (post-event – see comments section)

Ward 13: Andrew [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Events

What Do These Schmucks Do? – Alderman Edition

1
October 14, 2010 - By

(Nation, the following is a re-post, with edits and additions, of a post I put out in October 2007.)

The City of Calgary, whether by design or by unbelievable oversight, has NO information available on-line as to what, exactly, an Alderman’s job really IS.

Therefore, I have little recourse but to consult the Book of Armaments – er, I mean, the Queen’s Printer, and take the words right from the legislative horse’s mouth:

General duties of councillors

Councillors have the following duties:
(a) to consider the welfare and interests of the municipality as a whole and to bring to council’s attention anything that would promote the welfare or interests of the municipality;
(b) to participate generally in developing and evaluating the policies and programs of the municipality;
(c) to participate in council meetings and council committee meetings and meetings of other bodies to which they are appointed by the council;
(d) to obtain information about the operation or administration of the municipality from the chief administrative officer or a person designated by the chief administrative officer;
(e) to keep in confidence matters discussed in private at a council or council committee [...]Read More

Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Political Theory

The Ward 1 Profile

2
October 7, 2010 - By
Who’s Running?

…

Chris Harper

Social media and direct democracy will play an increasing role in public life for politicians.  Brian Pincott and John Mar both used social media, particularly twitter, many times during the last three years.  Chris Harper is easily identified as the social media-aware candidate of this race.  His announcement of candidacy was one of the earliest in the city – in February.

His bio indicates that he has experience in a number of different fields, and a lot of community service behind him.  Because of his early start, he has been seen as somewhat of the front-runner against incumbent Dale Hodges, especially among many in the social media groups.

Chris Harper participated in the Odd-Numbered Ward Twibate, although only after the official time, as he was doorknocking during the actual event.  He did answer all the questions, though.

See the Calgary Politics Interview with Chris.

See Chris’ website.

Follow Chris on Twitter.

Dale Hodges

1983 was the year that Dale Hodges was first elected Alderman in Ward 1, which means he’s held office almost as long as legendary Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion.  He regularly updates his constituents through the various community newsletters, [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Ward 1 interview with Bill Scott

1
October 7, 2010 - By

Bill Scott sat down with me on Thursday, and is one of the 5 challengers to incumbent Dale Hodges.  Of course, his initials for the rest of the interview are BS, but that’s his name, not any editorial on the content.

KS:What is the biggest issue in Ward 1?

BS: Dale has been an extremely good alderman, but people want change.  Every door that I’ve gone to has said it’s time for change.  This isn’t just in the new neighbourhoods.

We can talk about transit or other issues, but they’re also issues in other ridings.  But here, people are looking for change.

However, I would be the first one to stand and applaud Dale.  You cannot deny what he has brought to the table and what he has done for the community.

KS: What will it take to beat Dales Hodges?

BS: The best chance to beat Dale would have been just two candidates, him and I.  Statistically speaking, the more candidates the more difficult it is.

But what is it going to take to unseat Dale this time?  I think the citizenry of Ward 1 need to embrace the willingness to change.  That’s the only way.  They [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Analyzing The Aldermanic Polls

10
October 7, 2010 - By

Today, VoteCalgary released their All-Wards Aldermanic Poll done by O’Connell Enterprises. In each ward, 280 people were surveyed, which allows for a ±5.8% margin of error, 19 times out of 20. Here is the voter breakdown for those surveyed:

Age 18-34: 11%
Age 35-49: 25%
Age 50-64: 33%
Age 65+: 30%
Refused: 2%

Now, it’s clearly a skewed poll when you consider only 36% of the respondents were younger than a half-century, but clearly there wasn’t an age quota guideline for this poll. This was indicated by the fact that age was the LAST question instead of a screening question. Regardless, they did a solid job of matching their gender quota 50/50 split.

For the purpose of analyzing this poll, we will take “total support” as the first number and include the firm support, e.g. Candidate X – 20% (15%).

Ward 1
Dale Hodges – 37% (24%)
Chris Harper – 3% (1%)
Ric Lockhart – 2% (1%)
Bill Scott – 2% (1%)
Judi Vendenbrink – (1%)
Undecided – 43%

It looks like Ald. Hodges is well on his way to re-election, as the amount of voters for the also-rans don’t [...]Read More

Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9

cjsw’s 2010 civic election coverage!

October 6, 2010 - By

HOLY. So basically CJSW 90.9FM is super rad. We’ve launched our civic election coverage featuring over 80 interviews and forum recordings and honestly, it blows my mind. Back in August when we started sending out e-mails I honesty had no idea how it would turn out and how many interviews we’d really be able to do – there were so many candidates! Click the image to check it out!

Each interview had to be booked (and then re-booked, as the case was at times), conducted, edited and uploaded. We also needed a rad website to showcase all our interviews and Aendrew and Reid nailed it. In short, we had about 25 volunteers who put this all together for your benefit. Twenty five volunteers, two months, and over eighty interviews. I’m insanely proud of it. Kudos to Joe Burima, CJSW’s News Director, who works like a madman 24/7 and makes the world a better place.

Anyways, listen to the interviews, subscribe to the podcast and take our interviews on the go. Be informed. AND VOTE. Don’t let all our hard work go to waste. Kudos to all the candidates who were [...]Read More

Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Calgary Issues, Mayor of Calgary

Ward 1 interview with Dale Hodges

2
October 2, 2010 - By

Dale Hodges and I sat down last week to talk about an upcoming forum, and he allowed me to interview him while there.

KS: What do you see as the biggest issues coming up in the next 3 years for Ward 1?

DH: We need to get this Northwest Recreational Centre moving.  The sooner we get a yes or no from the province on purchasing enough land, at Rocky Ridge Road and Country Hills Blvd – we want to buy 65 acres from them.  They’ve had an offer in front of them since late July, and we knew we wouldn’t hear anything until at least September, so once we have the parcel nailed down, then we can begin.  We’ve already set aside $70M for it, so it’s not as if we need to get land and then worry about money.  We’ve already earmarked the money some time ago – two years ago.  We definitely need that rec centre – this is one of the only quadrants in the city that doesn’t have a regional rec centre.  We have privately run ones, like the soccer dome, but we don’t have a real regional rec centre like the West [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Ward 1 Interview with Judi Vandenbrink

1
October 2, 2010 - By

Judi is one of six candidates vying to become the Alderman for Ward 1.  She sat down with me almost two weeks ago now (I’m a little behind).  Here is the text of my interview with her.

KS: What is the biggest Issue for Ward 1?

JV: People are looking for a new vision. There’s a flavour of change that they are not finding from the candidate is there. They don’t feel that they’re being heard.

The people that I’ve been talking to are saying that nothing is changing; that their voices are not being heard. They have been asking for specific things and they don’t seem to be on the radar. They are looking for someone to come in and re-evaluate the ward.

Another thing that is unique to the ward is all of our parks; The redevelopment of Bowness park, looking at Bowmont park. There’s a lot of people who take ownership of these precious areas – we’re concerned about what we see happening with them. There is a plan to redevelop, but it doesn’t seem to be available for everyone to look at.

This openness and dialogue needs to be addressed. We need someone who [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Ward races to watch for this election

30
September 27, 2010 - By

With 14 other pseudo mayoral races, there has to be an analysis somewhere of the potential ward races. Here is a breakdown of some of the more crucial races that people should be keeping their eyes on (especially if you live in them):

Ward 1: This is a battle between challenger Chris Harper and veteran Dale Hodges, as many political observers note. Harper has been door knocking very early on in the year, and has hit over 10,000 homes by the end of August. Jennifer Banks last time ran an extremely successful and close campaign against Hodges, taking 40% of the popular vote. This is an important race because Harper may end up losing because of the split vote in that ward. In 2007, only 3 candidates were in the ward 1 race. Now we have 6, and Jennifer Banks is not in the race. Ward 1 is also home to the University of Calgary. Ward 1 will be an indicator of whether or not those aged 18-24 will be coming out to vote. Should they not, it would mean that the city will continue to struggle with the youth for a least another decade.

Candidates who are running:

Harper, [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9

How Many Calgary Municipal Election Candidates Will Get The Nomination Day Blues?

2
September 6, 2010 - By

Anyone that is actively following the 2010 Calgary Municipal Election scene should be getting excited that the races for Alderman, Mayor and School Board Trustee are about to become official!  With nomination day fast approaching, the race is also on for some of the candidates to get their paperwork in order in advance of the September 20, 2010 deadline. 

The 2010 election is expected to include the most candidates that Calgary has ever seen and some of the races are becoming more and more crowded every day, which is a good thing for local democracy.  While I believe that everyone has a democratic right to run for office and respect those who put their names forward for this election, I wonder how many of these candidates will actually be on the ballots after nomination day.  I took a look at the City of Calgary website for more information on the nomination requirements, which I have summarized below:

Required Signatures

All candidates must be nominated by eligible electors. The required number of signatures are:

  • Mayor – 100 Signatures

 

  • Alderman – 100 Signatures

 

  • School Trustee – 25 Signatures

If running for Alderman, and/or Public or Separate School [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Calendar, Mayor of Calgary, Political Theory, School Board Trustees - Calgary Board of Education, School Board Trustees - Calgary Catholic School Board

Interview With Calgary 2010 Ward 1 Alderman Candidate Ric Lockhart

2
August 3, 2010 - By

This is a continuation of a series of interviews that I will post about local candidates that are running in the 2010 Calgary municipal election. I do not endorse any of the candidates necessarily, unless stated otherwise. The intent is to allow the candidates a forum in which they can share some of their views.

This interview is with Ric Lockhart, who will be running for Alderman in Ward 1 this term.

 

Question #1: What do you think is the biggest issue facing the voters of Ward 1 that is totally unique to that part of Calgary?

RL: As an aldermanic candidate, trying to identify a “single biggest issue” among 90,000 people in 11 distinct communities, composed of every age, race and religion, would be as daunting as trying to attain world peace. I think you might have better luck with world peace.

  The beauty of Ward 1 is its diversity. Some of its neighbourhoods are established and some are very new, some are bustling and some quiet. The ward also includes business and residential sectors, each with its own agenda and concerns. There is just about something for everyone, including issues. We did, however, find [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Ric Lockhart to announce run in Ward 1

1
July 27, 2010 - By

Some of you might have had a scare if you thought it said McIver after the Ric, but rest assured it is a different Ric! He’s going to announce the launch of his campaign on August 5th, so this blog is at least a week ahead of reporting the official news. From his checklist, his campaign will be geared towards a north west recreation centre, and clear and accountable tax spending.

So now the bigger question for Ward 1 is whether or not all these challengers to Alderman Dale Hodges will actually help the incumbent win his seat back for the millionth time. Although many have said that Chris Harper is a potential challenger, his odds of winning, especially against an incumbent, are now lower with the entrance of a new candidate. As well, we can expect more candidates to enter the Ward 1 race. Unless we see someone drop out like we did in Ward 6 last election, where incumbent Craig Burrows was defeated by Joe Connelly, Ward 1 may end up in Hodges’ favour once again. Had this kind of intense campaigning occurred last election, even more than [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 8

Interview with Calgary Ward 1 Alderman Candidate, Chris Harper

1
May 13, 2010 - By

This is a continuation of a series of interviews that I will post about local candidates that are running in the 2010 Calgary municipal election. I do not endorse any of the candidates necessarily, unless stated otherwise. The intent is to allow the candidates a forum in which they can share some of their views.

This interview is with Chris Harper, an local active community volunteer that will be running for Alderman in Ward 1  this term.  Chris is a part of a new generation that “gets’ social media and I first came across this chap on Twitter in fact! 

 

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the voters of Ward 1 that is totally unique to that part of Calgary?

CH:  The largest issue facing ward 1 is change. The ward has been represented by the current Alderman since 1983 and has seen some substantial changes since then. Overall the residents I have spoken with feel that they have been well represented; however, state that the once healthy relationship with their Alderman is no longer present. Unreturned phone calls, lack of communication, and silence from their current Alderman are strong concerns [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1

Who’s running for Calgary City Council in 2010?

2
April 4, 2010 - By

There sure are a lot of names coming out of the proverbial woodwork right about now saying they are going to run for Calgary City Council. Now it’s a long way off from nomination day on September 20, and everyone can change their minds still, but it’s already getting hard to figure out who is who, and who’s saying their running and who is not.

So with this in mind I decided to put together a list of everything I’ve seen reported, heard personally and have heard rumour of. I’ll try to update this list regularly as we hear or see other things. If you know of anyone missing, please just let me know and I’ll add it!

PS – Try not to read too much into the difference between “rumoured” and “declared”. At this point it doesn’t really mean much. It’s more a degree of veracity in their statements up till now that made me choose one over the other. Some however, are just rumours.

Mayor
Dave Bronconnier – Incumbent (not running)
Craig Burrows (rumoured)
Joe Connelly (rumoured)
Bob Hawkesworth (rumoured)
Kent Hehr (rumoured)
Paul Hughes (declared)
Alnoor Kassam (declared)
Jon Lord (declared)
[...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 1, Alderman - Ward 10, Alderman - Ward 11, Alderman - Ward 12, Alderman - Ward 13, Alderman - Ward 14, Alderman - Ward 2, Alderman - Ward 3, Alderman - Ward 4, Alderman - Ward 5, Alderman - Ward 6, Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9, Mayor of Calgary, School Board Trustees - Calgary Board of Education