Posts Tagged ‘Dave Bronconnier’

What Do These Schmucks Do? – Mayoral Edition

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October 17, 2010 - By

(re-posted, with edits and additions, from October 2007)

Back to the Queen’s Printer, as (once again), nobody at the City of Calgary is inclined to tell us what the Mayor’s job is…

General duties of chief elected official

(1) A chief elected official, in addition to performing the duties of a councillor, must

(a) preside when in attendance at a council meeting unless a bylaw provides that another councillor or other person is to preside, and

(b) perform any other duty imposed on a chief elected official by this or any other enactment or bylaw.

(2) The chief elected official is a member of all council committees and all bodies to which council has the right to appoint members under this Act, unless the council provides otherwise.

(3) Despite subsection (2), the chief elected official may be a member of a board, commission, subdivision authority or development authority established under Part 17 only if the chief elected official is appointed in the chief elected official’s personal name.

(Municipal Government Act, Part Five, Division Three)

So, essentially… the mayor is an “Alderman-at-large” required to swing the gavel at meetings.

Again, as with Aldermen, the Mayor can do [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary, Political Theory

The More Things Change…

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October 10, 2010 - By

Nation, I was doing some research through my archives this morning when I came across this passage, written the morning after the 2007 Civic Election.

Among the issues that Calgarians want Bronco and the new council to deal with (despite his brave “they want exactly what I offered them” face last night):

  • Council Transparency
  1.  A formal record of all council votes
  2. Campaign finance reform
  3. Full disclosure of donors BEFORE voting day

 

  •  Affordable Housing
  1.  Expansion of capacity and units
  2. Secondary suites – NOT the $25,000 / 20 year-plan Bronco championed (universally panned as an unrealistic farce of a proposal)

 

  •  Transportation
  1.  Re-routing of the Westward LRT line
  2. South West ring-road
  3. Expansion of C-Train service and capacity

 

  •  Public Safety
  1.  Increased funding for the Calgary Police, Fire and EMS departments

 

  •  Environment
  1.  Expansion of curbside recycling to include high density housing
  2. Snow removal (a perrennial complaint)
  3. Protection of the Bow and Elbow watershed, both within and UPSTREAM of the city limits

 

… stop me when any of this starts to sound familiar.

 

So, I put it to you, [...]Read More

Tags: Categories: Calgary Issues

Don’t Fire Until You See The Whites Of Their Eyes…

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July 29, 2010 - By

Nation, the silly season is upon us in full force, as we have (at last count) 12 candidates for mayor, 44 confirmed aldermanic candidates, and 11 candidates for trustee spread out over 2 school boards – all vying for public attention, donor dollars, media coverage, and the all-important momentum, going into the October 18th vote.

The crazy train arrived a little earlier than normal this election cycle, with word earlier this year that mayor Dave Bronconnier would not be seeking re-election. From the day that announcement was made, it was only a matter of time before all heck broke loose – and break loose, it did.

3 sitting aldermen are seeking the mayor’s chair: Ric McIver, Bob Hawkesworth and Joe Connelly. As well, Alderman Joe Ceci has announced he won’t be seeking re-election. So, right there, you have 4 wards that will seat new alderman at the first council meeting this fall. That’s assuming no incumbents taste defeat – an unlikely situation, as the acrimonious and controversial nature of this past council hasn’t been seen in these parts since Danielle Smith was a CBE Trustee. People are hungry for change – and it’s not overstating the matter to suggest [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary, Political Theory

Barb Higgins Announces Run For Mayor

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July 29, 2010 - By

Barb Higgins will be the number one person to watch as the 2010 municipal election creeps up on us. No other candidate, not even Ric McIver, has created such buzz and excitement about their mayoral candidacy. 2010 will be a very big mayoral race in the recent history of open-seat mayoral races. 1980 saw Ralph Klein unexpectedly elected after defeating incumbent Mayor Algers. From the recollection of this blogger, there were not that many high profile candidates in that one. 1989 would be a more lacklustre mayoral race when Al Duerr. 2001 was one where it was both a nasty and a surprising win for Dave Bronconnier after Bev Longstaff was deemed the front runner.

2010 was supposed to be a year of Bronconnier versus McIver in a showdown reminiscent of Sue Higgins versus Ralph Klein back in 1983. Many people forget that, and Sue Higgins recaptured her own Ward 12 seat 3 years after her failed bid in that respect. But, it turned out that Bronconnier decided to rule out a 4th term. All eyes were on Ric McIver, and now many say that Barb Higgins will be the [...]Read More

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

Craig Burrows Announces Run for Mayor

May 28, 2010 - By

Yes I know Craig Burrows announced his run for mayor awhile ago, but this blogger was far behind in posting stuff, here’s a whole blog post devoted to Mr. Burrows.

Craig Burrows was the former alderman for Ward 6 before he was ousted by current alderman Joe Connelly. He served two terms and succeeded current mayor Dave Bronconnier. Burrows also challenged Dave Bronconnier back in 1998, and it was not until the seat opened up 2001 that Burrows took it with over 5000 votes.

There’s a certain thing I’m guessing about Ward 6 and people wanting to get in on the mayoral race. Connelly’s from Ward 6. Burrows was from Ward 6. There must be something going on that most of us aren’t aware of. It’s pretty much the same deal with Burrows. If he does win, he’ll be the second (ish) Ward 6 alderman (former now) to become the mayor.

There are several things that Burrows might need to watch out for:

1) 2007 election: He did end up being one of the 3 incumbents to lose their seats, and it might hurt him when it comes to facing [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

It’s Official! Ric McIver is Running for Mayor of Calgary in 2010

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April 22, 2010 - By

                                              It’s official!  Ward 12 Alderman Ric McIver has officially announced his candidacy for Calgary’s Mayor in the 2010 Election.  This announcement has been long anticipated by many ( including myself) and finally confirms his intentions to what what is considered by some the ‘most open’ secret in Calgary municipal politics.

   I was at Ric’s Block Party event last night and I must say it was quite impressive.  The media confirmed the event had over 900 people attend and from a quick scan of the room, it was a very diverse cross section of Calgary.  At a $150 a ticket, these events usually draw the business suit/tie crowd so I was amazed that there were people of all ages and backgrounds attending.  It is likely a testament to Ric’s popularity in this City. 

Ric gave an passionate speech about his vision for Calgary’s future, which I think was key.  He answered Bronco’s criticism of his “Dr.No” moniker and made repeat mention that he wants this city to be a Calgary for Everyone.  He also called for the inclusion of a written hansard in the City Hall meetings so there is a written record for all see, which I think is a [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

Ward 12 Alderman Ric McIver announces bid for mayor

April 22, 2010 - By

After almost a year of speculation, Ward 12 Alderman Ric McIver announced his bid for mayor, making him the fourth person to officially announce. Of course the price tag to be the first to know was not cheap. It was a $150 ticket to get into the block party. Or you could have found out a few minutes later on the Internet.

Ric McIver’s been Ward 12′s alderman since 2001, and before that he had operated a distribution company and a construction company. While the list is small, he’s capitalized on using the mainstream media to his advantage to become the perceived front runner in this race. Most people know him through the media, and he’s taken the fiscal conservative approach in the budgeting of our city system. He’s earned the notorious nickname of “Dr. No” by the mainstream media for his overwhelming number of objections to many readings and bylaws.

Perhaps the biggest thing to shock Calgarians because “we’re really into local politics” is that if Ric McIver wins, he’ll be one of the few conservative mayors that Calgary has had. I mean conservative as in association at one [...]Read More

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

Who’s running for Calgary City Council in 2010?

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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

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April: The month where Calgarians know if Nenshi or McIver is running

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March 30, 2010 - By

They have been hinting at it, but it looks like some of the bigger players will finally confirm their candidacy (or surprise us) for the mayoral race. Actually, they better or else this blog post will be pointless. So just how do we know that April will be the month? Let’s take a look:

Ric McIver

The Metro reported that by the time Ric McIver is finished with his block party on April 21, everyone will know his intentions. Actually, it’s been about a year or more, and you can track it all the way to the end of 2008 when Calgarians went crazy over the 22% property tax increase over 3 years. Many observers used the pedestrian bridge debate as a sign of things to come between Bronconnier and McIver. Since the incumbent decided to not seek re-election, it is safe to say that McIver is the front runner. He definitely has the plurality of votes, but definitely not all the votes. Here’s the official poster for his upcoming block party:

It’s a $150 if you want in on being the first to know live whether or not Ric McIver is [...]Read More

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

What About Bob?

March 25, 2010 - By

Nation, we’ve all heard by now that Bob Hawkesworth has decided not to stand for re-election as a City of Calgary Alderman in Ward 4.

The question, then, becomes…  will he be running for another job entirely?

As was reported several weeks ago, Hawkesworth had quietly been talking to people about his viability as a mayoral candidate, given the surprise announcement by Dave Bronconnier that Bronco would not be running for another term as Mayor of the ‘Burg on the Bow.  We heard that Bob was considering a run for mayor, and then he came out last week and announced that he would not be seeking another term as Alderman for Ward 4 – the public announcement, by the way, was via Twitter – follow Bob at @bobhawkesworth

So…  we wait for the other shoe to drop.  Is Bob Hawkesworth retiring from public life? Or is he just taking a deep breath before plunging into a deeper pool?

Calgarians like their mayors a little red in the middle – it’s a nice, civic medium-rare.  Hawkesworth would be liberal even by our regular standards, having been an MLA for the Alberta New Democrats.  All that said, though, Hawkesworth is far from [...]Read More

Tags: ι Categories: Mayor of Calgary

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

Pluralism or Regime Theory?

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March 8, 2010 - By

Much like international relations where there are two main schools of thought, realism and liberalism, there’s also two main schools of thought on city politics.

Pluralist Theory:

One is classified as the pluralist view of city politics. In Robert Dahl’s Who Governs, he asked the fundamental question of who governs, and his response was, well, everyone. He took the example of New Haven, Connecticut as his case study to prove the very point.

He discusses two different types of inequalities:

Cumulative inequalities: In essence one type of inequality leads to another, such as an economic inequality will also lead to political inequality.

Dispersed inequalities: This is where economic inequality is not the same as political inequality.

Dahl concludes that a political system like New Heaven’s had dispersed inequalities. He gave the example that certain groups like immigrants might have the economic disadvantage, but their numbers give them a numeric advatnage when it comes to voting. He also concludes that leaders are heterogenous, meaning that they have less of an ability to shape preferences, and have little overlap in issues between them.

What does this mean? No one group wins on [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι Categories: Political Theory

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.

-

-

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

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