Category: 2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Don Iveson

i’m voting for don iveson in ward 5.

Over the summer, I’ve had the great pleasure of volunteering for the campaign of my friend Don Iveson. Don is running in the October 15, 2007 City Council Elections in the very large Ward 5 (which also happens to be the Ward where I reside).

As I’ve joined Don and other volunteers in doorknocking in neighbourhoods across Ward 5, I’ve been quite surprised by the amount of times I heard people express their desire for change on City Council. While on the doorsteps, it hasn’t been uncommon to hear people say “City Council needs some new blood,” “it’s time for a change on City Council,” or “it’s time to get rid of the old guys on Council.”

I can’t agree more, and I can hardly think of a more effective person to provide this change than Don Iveson.

Don Iveson represents a new vision for City Council. Don’s campaign revolves around three main principles – Efficiency, Environmental Responsibility, and Vibrant Communities. These three principles tie together ideas on smarter urban planning, revitalizing public transit, reining in urban sprawl, and more.

Don was interviewed in this week’s SEE Magazine’s candidate profile. Don has also received the ringing endorsements of retiring City Councillor Michael Phair, former School Trustee and Alberta Liberal MLA Don Massey, and retiring Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MLA Dr. Raj Pannu. (You can also join the Don Iveson for Ward 5 facebook group…)

I encourage you to take a look at Don’s ideas for Smart Growth in Ward 5 and to join me in voting for Don Iveson on October 15, 2007.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election MNAG Edmonton

mature neighbourhoods matter.

As the October 15, 2007 Edmonton Municipal election gets closer, many community and public interest groups are preparing to promote important issues to City Council candidates. One of these groups is the Edmonton Mature Neighbourhoods Action Group.

MNAG Edmonton is comprised of 36 member communities of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.

MNAG Edmonton describes its mandate as:

There are many common planning & development issues in mature neighbourhoods and an urgent need for us to act jointly to convey our position on these issues to City Council for appropriate action on behalf of Edmonton residents. This resident up swell has identified major issues broadly across our city including:

1.) DC2 bylaw variations by development officers & misuse by developers;
2.) Limited enforcement of bylaws;
3.) Concerns with the SDAB including the ability to enforce its decisions;
4.) Lack of Area Redevelopment Plans (ARP’s) & updating of existing ones as well as the absence of a resident needs driven city wide development & transportation plan;
5.) Problems created by school closures;
6.) An apparent unwillingness on the part of City Council to follow resident approved area plans but rather follow a developer driven ad-hoc planning process;
7.) An apparent lack of appreciation of the currently available knowledge base within communities with the result that there is an “Administration knows best attitude” within the City. Ultimately this will have negative political repercussions.

MNAG Edmonton has also released a list of draft questions for candidates running for Edmonton City Council.

Just one more thing to think about when you enter the ballot booth on October 15, 2007!

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election 2008 Alberta Provincial Election Alberta Politics

updated candidates list.

The 2007 municipal election candidates list and 2007/2008 Alberta provincial election candidates list have both been recently updated…

(Also, thanks to Emerson Mayers, running for the PC nomination in Edmonton-Manning, for the bizarre email…)

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Stephen Mandel

mandel rising.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has launched his re-election campaign with a new website and billboard campaign…

In 2004, Mandel was first elected after coming from behind in a three-way race between then-Mayor Bill Smith and former City Councillor Robert Noce. Previous to being elected Mayor, Mandel served as a Councillor for Ward 1 from 2001 to 2004.

Here are the 2004 results:

Mayor
Stephen Mandel – 85,887
Bill Smith – 68,767
Robert Noce – 52,640
Tilo Paravalos – 921
Dieter Peske – 905
Dave Dowling – 858
Thomas “Buffalo Terminator” Tomilson – 768
Jean-Paul Noujaim – 390

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

and the floodgates burst open.

I’ve updated the Edmonton Municipal Election candidates list based on updated information from this website.

Newly listed candidates include:

– Peter Lefaivre for Mayor
– Kyle Balombin in Ward 3
– Chris Martin in Ward 3
– Judith (Jodi) Flatt in Ward 4
– Brian Wissink in Ward 4
– Brent Michalyk in Ward 5
– Lori Jeffery-Heaney in Ward 6
– Joani Linder in Ward 6
– Thomas Dennis Vasquez in Ward 6

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

elect me, please.

Two more candidates have been added to the 2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Candidates List:

– Laura Duffy for Mayor
– Jabin Caouette in Ward 2

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

i’m back…

…in Alberta.

And two new candidates have been added to the 2007 Edmonton Municipal Election candidates list: Ward 1 candidate Andrew Knack and Ward 6 candidate Chuck McKenna.

I will try to keep this list as updated as possible, so if you have knowledge of candidates that should be added feel free to post them here or email me at daveberta@linuxmail.org.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

2007 edmonton municipal election candidates.

UPDATED: Click here for the official list of City Council candidates!

Because it is never to early to start up a list of election candidates, I have put together a list of candidates running for election or re-election in the Edmonton City Council elections on October 15, 2007 (candidates in BOLD are daveberta approved candidates – I will announce more as the election approaches).

I will try to keep this list as updated as possible (last updated on September 14, 2007), so if you have knowledge of candidates that should be added feel free to post below or email me at

2007 Edmonton City Council candidates
(* indicates incumbency)

Mayor of Edmonton
Dustin Becker
Dave Dowling
Laura Duffy
Peter Lefaivre
Stephen Mandel*
Sonny Pawchuk
Bill Whatcott

Edmonton City Council
Ward 1 (Map)
Betty Kennedy
Andrew Knack
Karen Leibovici*
Linda Sloan*

Ward 2 (Map)
Jabin Caouette
Ron Hayter*
Kerry Hutton
Kim Krushell*
Dave Loken
Mike Sokoluik
Shelley Tupper

Ward 3 (Map)
Kyle Balombin
Tony Caterina
Ed Gibbons*
Jacob Hiller
Chris Martin
George Tsoukalas
Harvey Voogd
(Councillor Janice Melnychuk is not seeking re-election)

Ward 4 (Map)
Jane Batty*
Lewis Cardinal
Judith (Jodi) Flatt
Ben Henderson
Rev. Brian Patterson
Hana Razga
Brent Thompson
Steven Townsend
Brian Wissink
Debbie Yeung
(Councillor Michael Phair is not seeking re-election)

Ward 5 (Map)
Bryan Anderson*
Don Iveson
Brent Michalyk
Mike Nickel*

Ward 6 (Map)
Lori Jeffery-Heaney
Joani Linder
Chuck McKenna
Chinwe Okelu
Ronald Palmer
Amarjeet Sohi
Dave Thiele*
Thomas Dennis Vasquez
(Councillor Terry Cavanagh is not seeking re-election)

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Stephen Mandel

mayor off the mark.

Now, I like Stephen Mandel, but what? fining panhandlers?

Mandel suggested one model for the city to examine is the bylaw in Saskatoon, where coercive begging or putting the touch on anyone in a stopped vehicle or within 10 metres of a bus stop, bank or ATM can lead to fines of up to $10,000 for repeat offenders.

Come on, Mr. Mayor. I expected better.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election

roster change.

The Edmonton City Council election roster looks like it’s up for a bit of a bench change after the October elections.

Councillors who have announced they are not seeking re-election include Janice Melnychuk (Ward 3), Michael Phair (Ward 4), and Terry Cavanaugh (Ward 6). Councillors who have announced (or are expected to announce) their intentions for re-election include Linda Sloan (Ward 1), Karen Leibovici (Ward 1), Kim Krushell (Ward 2), Ron Hayter (Ward 2), Ed Gibbons (Ward 3), Jane Batty (Ward 4), Bryan Anderson (Ward 5), Mike Nickel (Ward 5), and Dave Thiele (Ward 6).

Council hopefuls lining up for October 2007 include Don Iveson (Ward 5), Ben Henderson (Ward 4), Amarjeet Sohi (Ward 6), Chinwe Okelu (Ward 6), Ton Caterina (Ward 3), and Donna Finucane (Ward 5).

The Mayoral election is expected to be a cake-walk for popular incumbent Mayor Stephen Mandel. Other Mayoral candidates that I know of include Dave Loken (who placed third in the 2004 Ward 2 Election) and perenial candidate Dave Dowling.

Mandel’s popularity still amazes me. I know Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats who all have no problem supporting declaring their support for him. He’s done an amazing job solidifying his support. Though I believe Mandel has been doing a superb job as Mayor, I tend to believe that public reaction to his performance has been boosted by the nine-years of the mediocre Bill Smith Mayorship.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election By-Elections Education

May 20, 2007

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. It’s rained over the past couple of days in Edmonton, but thankfully it’s not raining today. Here’s a bit of a roundup from a busy week.

– Long-time Ward 6 Edmonton City Councillor Terry Cavanagh announced that after 27 years on Council he won’t be seeking re-election in the October 2007 Municipal Elections. In April, Ward 4 City Councillor Michael Phair also announced that he won’t be seeking re-election this Fall. Also, Dave Dowling is running for Mayor again…

Also, make sure to check out the Edmonton Municipal Politics blog.

– The Alberta Teacher’s Association rebuffed Tory Education Minister Ron Liepert’s Pension liability proposal.

– The Calgary Elbow and Drumheller-Stettler by-elections continue this week.

– I saw the film Radiant City on Wednesday night. Playing at the Princess II Theatre on Whyte, Radiant City is a documentary filmed in Calgary highlighting the problems emanating from the post-WWII suburban boom. Anyone who’s traveled to either Calgary or Edmonton in the past 5 years will see that these two cities are now dealing with many of these issues. I’d stronly recommend that more people go and see this film.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Alberta Politics

out yonder.

Apologies for the lack of posts this week, I hope I haven’t disappointed my loyal readership (you know who you are… Anand!). It’s been a busy week as I wrap up one job and am on the brink of transitioning to another.

Here’s a roundup of stuff that caught my eye over the past week:

– I was sad to see that Michael Phair will not be seeking re-election in Ward 4 this Fall. Phair is one of Edmonton’s strongest City Councillors and I was happy to be able to vote for him in the last election.

– The court trial fallout of the Ward 10 scandal is wrapping up in Calgary. An investigation into a scandal surrounding Calgary’s municipal elections revealed there was, “an organized but unsuccessful attempt to stuff ballot boxes.” This led to Alderman Margot Aftergood admitting her campaign team requested 1266 mail-in ballots and had them sent to a mailbox rented by her husband, David Aftergood.

David Aftergood, his brother-in-law and three other members of her campaign team—including two brothers of PC MLA Hung Pham were charged for violating the Alberta Elections Act.

Yesterday, David Aftergood was found guilty of one charge.

– This scandal makes me sick to my stomach. What do we expect to acomplish over there if this is how we’re opertating.

– Gore stands up Stelmach. So much for THE DAYS.

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2007 Edmonton Municipal Election Canadian Politics

tip o’ the hat to the ol’ hydro electrical autobus.

Linda Duncan is making a move to once again become the NDP flagbearer in Edmonton Strathcona. In 2006, Duncan placed an extremely strong second to Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer. Depending on the strength of the Liberal candidate, Duncan again stands a decent running chance at potentially scooping the riding for the Dippers (though I tend to believe that 2006 may have been a high water mark for the NDP in Edmonton Strathcona – we’ll see soon).

Here are the 2006 results…

Rahim Jaffer, Conservative – 21,956
Linda Duncan, NDP – 17,142
Andy Hladyshevsky, Liberal – 9385
Cameron Wakefield, Green – 3,128
Mike Fedeyko, PC – 604
Dave Dowling, MP – 455
Kevan Hunter, ML – 106

It should also be interesting to see how strong the Green Party will be in Edmonton Strathcona next time around. 2004 & 2006 Green candidate Cameron Wakefield performed well in the last election and now with Elizabeth May as leader I believe the Greens will have an opportunity to surge (especially if Elizabeth May is allowed to join the national leaders debates!)

And I thought this was pretty cool Edmonton Transit System (ETS) now has two Hybrid Electric buses…

Two diesel-electric hybrid buses went into service in Edmonton on Mon, Dec 18. The buses are manufactured by Mississauga’s Orion Bus Industries, a division of DaimlerChrysler, and are designed to use as little as 50 per cent of the fuel burned up by traditional diesel buses in optimal operating condition.

Cool.
ADDITION: I am very pleased to see that Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has announced that he will be running for re-election in October 2007.

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