Browsing posts in the ‘Mayor of Calgary’ category

2010 will be a year of new faces

March 21, 2010 - By

2010 is going to be a year of sweeping change at Calgary’s City Hall.

If you’ve been paying attention to the papers these past couple years you’ll know there is a deep seeded frustration among Calgarians with their current council. And with that frustration has come with the hope for something better. (Affectionately referred to as “hope-y change-y stuff” by Fox News commentator Sarah Palin.)

But will the public get the change they have cried for? To do this, half of council would need to change. Given Calgary City Council’s average turn over 2007 saw a “lot” of change when three incumbents were defeated and one retired. However four is a long way from a majority of new faces, and that is something that has not happened in a very long time. As a matter of fact, only five of the current 15 council members were not sitting in their same seat in 2001. That’s not much change over the last decade.

However 2010 may just be shaping up to the year it actually happened.

First Dave Bronconnier announced that he will not be seeking another term. Then two days ago Bob Hawkesworth, who first [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Cormac on the Mayoral Race

March 12, 2010 - By

Just a quickie, Nation – I was cruising the 660News site, and came across Cormac MacSweeney’s blog, where he takes a look at some of the potential mayoral candidates. It’s worth checking out!

On an aside, it’s nice to see a piece from the MSM that talks about candidates other than Alnoor, Ric and (possibly) Naheed. Those “media” types might be clueing in to the notion that they’re going to have to work really hard to be able to call themselves the “2nd Best Political Team in the Blogosphere” this election cycle. ;)

Dreaming of Maui…

-E.S.

Tags: ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Paul Hughes Declares Candidacy For Mayor

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March 11, 2010 - By

 Local food advocate Paul Hughes has declared his candidacy for the 2010 Calgary municipal elections. He has been a proponent of establishing a food council policy, a food charter, and been advocating for more community gardens.

He’s been featured in the Calgary Sun and Fast Forward Weekly for his work with sustainable food systems.

This is the first candidate to offer something more than just the usual transit and roads platform, but something new and potentially exciting. Beyond traditional politics, this is a particular issue that has rarely been addressed in the past.

Now the race just got a lot more interesting.

More to come…

Tags: Categories: Mayor of Calgary

From the Savage Inbox…

March 7, 2010 - By

Draft Ric McIver – for Mayor March 2010

Dear Calgarian,

You have probably already heard Dave Bronconnier is not running for mayor in this October’s election.

If you are like me, you hope our next mayor will bring a dose of common sense back to a city council that has drifted further and further out of touch.

Remember, this is the council that made our parking fees the highest in North America, second only to New York City! They even named this strategy “planned congestion.”

A council that ordered yet another study of our failed snow policy instead of making changes now so we are prepared for next winter.

A council that refused to cancel or scale back a $25 million designer footbridge in the middle of the worst economic downturn in decades.

Someone needs to stop this nonsense. That someone is Ric McIver.

As an Alderman for South East Calgary for the last nine years, Ric has fought hard to steer council in the right direction. Unfortunately it’s been an uphill battle.

That can all change on October 18th. That’s when you and I get to judge the performance of City Hall. That’s when you and I get to [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Calgary’s Mayoral Race 2010: What I don’t want to see

March 2, 2010 - By

As everyone who pays any attention whatsoever to politics in this city will already be aware, Calgary’s 3-term mayor, Dave Bronconnier, announced last week that he will not be running for re-election this fall. This makes for the first “open” mayoral election here since 2001.

With candidates just starting to announce their intentions, I don’t have anything resembling a preference yet. I do have some notions of what I don’t want to see, though.

Misrepresentation in the media

In 2001, somewhere between a dozen and twenty candidates were on the ballot for mayor (I really cant remember the actual number and couldn’t easily find a reference online). You wouldn’t have known that, though, if your only source of info on the election was the mainstream (primarily corporate) media. They decided that there were only four “legitimate” candidates who merited any substantive coverage. The media gave effectively no attention to any of the other candidates.

I consider that to be viciously anti-democratic. All citizens should have an equal opportunity to learn about every candidate, regardless of how “serious” or “fringe” they may be considered to be by those in power (which includes the media who are currently very much part [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary, Political Theory

Pie in the Sky? Alderman Joe Connelly Has No Chance At Becoming Calgary’s Mayor in 2010!

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February 25, 2010 - By

Its good to have goals. Even better, some say you must dream big if you ever want to be successful in life! That said, I think that Alderman Joe Connelley’s dream of becoming mayor is way bigger than he will ever be able to achieve. In light of Mayor Dave Bronconnier’s announcement that he will not be seeking re-election, first term Alderman Connelly has decided that he is mulling over a potential run at the mayors chair. The only problem? He has no support and no money.

Now I must admit, I had the chance to golf with Joe at the Premiers Golf Tournament in Calgary this past June. I honestly liked him and he is a funny, larger than life approachable guy. In fact, after spending the afternoon with him, I felt a little bad about bashing him on my blog. Then I remembered, the post was well deserved. If you want a peek, the link is here WOW, Could they be any more arrogant! In this post, I quote the following rant that will haunt him forever:

“If I want to go be a bus [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Bye Bye Bronco!

February 23, 2010 - By


Great news!

Bronco Not Running For Mayor in 2010! Ya-Hoo!

You cant see me right now, but if I had a live webcam feed you would see some serious ass shaking! I am literally dancing around the house like a mad man! Why? Because the the city I love finally has a chance to get back on the right track! With the Bronco’s announcement today that he will not run again, we finally have the potential to get some real leadership at City Hall!

This news is no surprise to me! I called this in a post on 12/1/2009 Called “Bronco’s Running Scared” although I thought he would wait until the last minute to bow out. Anyone that reads this site understands that I am not a huge fan. For some past Bronco jabs, check out:

The question floating around today is Who Will Run? I wondered this same question in May 2009 on this post: Who Will Be Calgary’s Mayor in 2010? And apart from the addition of Druh Farrel, Craig Chandler and [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Another Slow News Day in Calgary…

February 23, 2010 - By

… although, I’m happy to say that I’ve found a new place in town to get an absolutely fantastic straight razor shave – for those who have never had one, it’s absolutely GOT to go on your Bucket List.

Well, that’s all to report today. Talk to you lat -

Sorry, wait a second – text message coming in.

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Oh.

REALLY?

Wow. Didn’t see that one coming.

Days into his preamble for the next “Dave versus the Province” battle – which he seemingly always WINS – David Thomas Bronconnier, 35th Mayor of the City of Calgary, has announced he will not be seeking re-election this October.

Which means we are in for an absolute GONG SHOW of speculation in the next few weeks and months as to whom, exactly, will be running for the empty chair, with the popular incumbent and his million-dollar war chest out of the way.

The first and most common question is going to be “WHY isn’t Dave running again?” – to which the only answer I can provide is: Heaven only knows. As I mentioned, Dave is going into a very public shouting match with the province over broken promises, and despite the [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Bronconnier will not run again; so who will?

February 23, 2010 - By

So Dave Bronconnier has just announced he will be stepping down from the mayor’s chair and handing over his oversized mayoral necklace (does that thing have an actual name?) come October 2010. He will not be running for re-election.

While it is possible we could spend some time reflecting on our 35th mayor’s tenure – after all he’s been mayor of Calgary since 2001, having been elected three times, and before that was alderman of ward 6 for nine years as well – the real fun lays in what this means for the candidates that have been mulling about the starting line of the mayoral race for the past year or so

Bronco’s announcement today almost guarentees Joe Connolly and Ric McIver will run for mayor, but who else? Will Alnoor Kassam now return for another kick at the can? Could we see Diane Colley-Urqhart or Druh Farrell step up in the coming months?

Personally, my guess is you’ll see one one Brian Pincott, who is currently ward 11 alderman, or frequent civic commenter Naheed Nenshi step up and take a serious run.

Either way, things just got interesting. Tie on your sneakers, because the race is about to begin.

[...]Read More

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