Categories
Andrew Knack Brendan Van Alstine Dave Loken Hana Razga

2010 city council candidates start their uphill climb.

With Edmonton’s municipal election less than a year away, I thought I would take a quick look at the non-incumbent candidates who have declared their intentions to seek election to City Council in October 18, 2010. The election will be the first held under the new one-councillor per ward boundaries.

Brendan Van Alstine (@bvanalstine): The first candidate out of the starting gates for 2010, Brendan is seeking election in the new Ward 7. A social worker, he currently works for Edmonton’s Pride Centre as the Youth Program Coordinator. I have known Brendan for a couple of years and I continue to admire his passion for public transit issues in Edmonton (he was a founding member of the Transit Riders Union of Edmonton and was a regular columnist on public transit issues for Metro Edmonton). He will be officially launching his campaign this weekend (more details).

Andrew Knack (@AndrewKnack): Declared candidate for the new Ward 1. Knack placed third against incumbents Karen Leibovici and Linda Sloan in 2007 and is also out of the gate for 2010 early. Along with Van Alstine, Knack participated in ChangeCamp Edmonton on October 17, 2009.

Hana Razga: Placed sixth in the hotly contested Ward 4 election in 2007. Razga declared her candidacy in the new Ward 8 on September 15, 2009 and this will be her eighth attempt at seeking elected office.

Dave Loken: On September 27, 2009, Loken informed me via email that he would be seeking election in Ward 3. Three years ago, I wrote that Loken (who was then running against Ward 2 incumbent Councillors Ron Hayter and Kim Krushell) was on my list to watch for 2010. He placed third in that election.

Categories
Brendan Van Alstine Don Iveson Public Transit

edmonton transitcamp.

A great event is happening this weekend in Edmonton. On the afternoon of Saturday May 30, a group of engaged Edmontonians will meet to talk about new ideas and the future of public transit in Edmonton at TransitCamp.

Edmonton TransitCamp
30 May 2009
12:00 – 16:30
World Trade Centre
9990 Jasper Avenue

TransitCamp is independent from the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Transit Services, and will use a pseudo-format similar to BarCamp and DemoCamp which means that the afternoon’s discussion will be shaped by those who show up, rather than a pre-decided discussion schedule. Don’t worry if you’re not a transit expert, this event is geared towards citizen engagement and participation through discussion that includes a diverse group of Edmontonians.

Mastermaq and Councillor Don Iveson have posted about the event on their blogs and Brendan Van Alstine wrote about it in his Metro Edmonton column earlier this month. You will also be able to follow Edmonton TransitCamp on twitter at #yegtransit.

Categories
Brendan Van Alstine Brian LeBelle Jody MacPherson Litfest 2009 Naheed Nenshi NoCalgaryVeto Scott Hennig

naheed nenshi for mayor.

Naheed Neshi has officially become Calgary City Hall’s unofficial watchdog (Scott Hennig sheds a tear).

A group of citizens based in Okotoks want to stop the City of Calgary from having a veto on the regional planning committee. They’ve started a petition and are on twitter @NoCalgaryVeto. The petition is hosted on the website of Jody MacPherson, who is also the Director of Communications for the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine.

– I remain skeptical about Alberta’s new rebranding campaign, but Chris LaBossiere likes it and has backed up his argument in a blog post.

– Mark your calendars, Edmonton Litfest 2009 is being held from October 22 to 25, 2009.

New Ward boundaries have yet to be approved, but two candidates are already preparing their 2010 campaigns for Edmonton City Council. Former Edmonton-Sherwood Park NDP candidate Brian LaBelle is planning to run in the Ward 2 area, and Transit Riders’ Union of Edmonton organizer Brendan Van Alstine is planning a run in the Ward 3 area.

– The anonymous author of the Tiny Perfect Blog seems to thinks that I should be more critical of the Alberta Liberals. I guess from now on, I’ll have to work extra hard to impress the all those anonymous bloggers out there.