Browsing posts in the ‘Alderman – Ward 8’ 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

Ward 8 Interview with Zak Pashak

October 7, 2010 - By

Zak Pashak currently lives in Sunalta and has so for the last seven years. In 2003, he opened Broken City, which serves as a live music venue. He is also the founder of Sled Island music festival, which has been a success since its inception in 2007. Pashak has also been named by Alberta Venture as one of the 50 most influential Albertas in 2010.

Why are running for alderman in Ward 8?

Pashak describes himself as an urbanist and believes that Ward 8 Is the best place to live. He owns a business in the ward and has hosted a music festival in and around the ward as well. Through all of this, Pashak believes he has dealt with a lot of people in the ward to give him the understanding and knowledge to serve in Ward 8.

What does the city look like 100 years from now?

Pashak believes that there will be some “pretty significant changes” a hundred years from now. He sees a city that will be environmentally sustainable, efficient, and affordable.

“[Calgary will have] a strong small business scene with a lot of great and independent business,” says Pashak.

Is social media an important driving [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 8

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 8 Interview with John Mar

October 6, 2010 - By

John Mar is a born and raised Calgarian. His family has mining operations in Northern Ontario, and he was an RCMP. He was also the former president of the Scarborough Community Association. He is the current alderman for Ward 8 (youngest on council), and sits on a variety of committees including the Calgary Police Commission and is involved in the 10 year plan to end homelessness.

Why are running for alderman in Ward 8?

Mar is running for re-election and believes that there is still work to be done to finish some of the projects that he is involved in. That includes the West LRT and helping Meals on Wheels.

“I want to see these continued and finalized,” says Mar.

What does the city look like 100 years from now?

“I think you’re going to see huge technological changes that we cannot fathom,” Mar told CalgaryPolitics.com.

Mar also adds that there will be new ways we think about transportation. We will be a major player on the world stage, and we may no longer be a resource based economy anymore.

Is social media an important driving force, or is it still the voting demographic and the hot issues that dictate [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 8

Ward 8 Interview with Antoni Grochowski

October 5, 2010 - By

Antoni Grochowski has been a resident in Calgary since 1977. He is a registered architect and a realtor. Currently, he is enrolled in the University of Calgary in fine arts, and taking courses to further his knowledge about the education system and the modern challenges that it faces.

Why are running for alderman in Ward 8?

Grochowski has been living in ward 8 for the past ten years, and thought this was an interesting ward with very different issues compared to the other wards, especially ones arising out of the downtown area. He also ran because he thought there was not a lot of competition in Ward 8.

Furthermore, Grochowski saw it as an opportunity to engage citizens in the democratic process.

“There is no discussion when a candidate is acclaimed,” Grochowski says.

What does the city look like 100 years from now?

Grochowski only hopes that Calgary does not turn into a deserted city 100 years from now. He points to the fact that even a great city like Ancient Rome with a million residents could lose a lot of people dramatically.

Grochowski also relates to his travels down to the United States.

“in Nevada, I visited 20 ghost [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 8

Ward 8 Interview with David Lapp

1
October 4, 2010 - By

David Lapp is a born and raised Calgarian. He grew up in a very musical family. His mother is a violinist and his father is a tuba player. As a middle child, he has grown up knowing how to deal with problems.  He has helped other people with their campaigns on the federal and provincial level, and has done a lot of volunteer work whether it is helping children in school or with a community association.

Why are running for alderman in Ward 8?

Lapp says he knows a lot of people in the community and that he lives and works within the ward.

“I’ve always wanted to run since I was a child,” says Lapp.

He also believes his performance arts background will catch the attention of Ward 8 residents.

What does the city look like 100 years from now?

Beyond being more technologically advanced and having a bigger population, Lapp envisions a city where “growth is under control under a manageable plan.”

Is social media an important driving force, or is it still the voting demographic and the hot issues that dictate the election?

The context was that some saw Barack Obama’s social media campaign to be effective, [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Alderman - Ward 8

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

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

Steve Chapman to run in Ward 9

4
July 10, 2010 - By

Steve Chapman is going to be running in Ward 9 after considering runs in both Ward 8 and 7. The news did break out earlier on Twitter about Chapman’s earlier press release to run in Ward 9, but this blog had a short interview with Chapman, and he did confirm his run in Ward 9.

Now I’m not actually sure about the rules of blogging or news breaking. I do understand and appreciate why Chapman has decided to run in Ward 9, but I am actually unsure if I am allowed to discuss that here. Certainly the blogger’s code of ethics and rules do not give me any idea of how to report a personal conversation with another candidate without explicitly talking about the reasons why. So with that in mind, you should probably ask the candidate himself on the reasoning, or I’d have to contact him to get an official thing going. Better yet, I’ll just say that the Herald and the Sun should report it because they probably do a better job of it.

Instead of talking about Chapman specifically then, we could look at how this will shape other candidates’ in Ward 9. Certainly Gian-Carlo Carra [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι Categories: Alderman - Ward 7, Alderman - Ward 8, Alderman - Ward 9

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