Tag: Stephen Mandel

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Alberta Politics

PC Party opts for a short and expensive leadership campaign

Ken Hughes MLA PC leadership Race Calgary
Cabinet minister Ken Hughes has launched an “exploratory committee” to investigate a leadership bid.

In 2006, it was $15,000, in 2011, it was $40,000, and in 2014, the fee to become a candidate in the Progressive Conservative leadership race is $50,000.

Senior officials from Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party gathered in Red Deer last night to discuss timelines, entry fees and the rules that will help shape their party’s 2014 leadership race.

The first ballot vote will be held on September 6, 2014 and, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote on that ballot, the top two candidates will compete on a second ballot held on September 20, 2014.

The combination of a short campaign period (5 months and 18 days) and a high entry fee could limit the number of candidates able to enter the race.

Gary Mar Alberta Representative to Asia
Gary Mar’s campaign reportedly spent $2.7 million in his 2011 bid for the PC leadership.

In order to run a campaign, candidates will need to raise significant amounts of funds in a very short period in addition to the cost of the entry fee. In 2011, Gary Mar‘s frontrunner campaign reportedly spent $2.7 million on his leadership bid (collecting more than $200,000 in debt). Alison Redford‘s campaign spent $1.3 million.

It is not known whether the PCs will limit the amounts that individual campaigns are allowed to spend or if they will require the disclosure of financial donors to the leadership campaigns.

The practical reality for the PC Party is that they needed to consider high entry fees in order to help finance the organization and promotion of the leadership campaign. As leadership candidates  sap funds that would normally fill party coffers, the party needs to quickly recuperate the costs of the leadership race after in order to prepare for a general election in 2016 (or sooner).

Leadership candidates emerge, kind of…

Defying expectations that cabinet ministers should resign their posts when running in a party leadership race, Municipal Affairs minister Ken Hughes, 60, launched a public “exploratory committee” website at a press conference yesterday. A “serious” person, according to quotes on his website, Mr. Hughes does not appear to be serious about whether he should be a candidate in this race.

Other cabinet ministers, including Thomas Lukaszuk, Jonathan Denis, Doug Horner and Diana McQueen are rumoured to be considering leadership bids.

A website was launched yesterday to draft Senator Scott Tannas into the PC leadership race. Mr. Tannas is the founder of Western Financial Group and the son of Klein-era MLA Don Tannas. He was involved in a minor scandal related to $24,000 in questionable travel expenses as a Senator, which may turn off a few PC Party members still recovering from Ms. Redford’s travel expense scandals.

On the peripheries of public attention, it appears as though Stephen Mandel, 68, could be preparing to come out of retirement. The recently retired three-term mayor of Edmonton is rumoured to be preparing a campaign team to test the waters. Mr. Mandel will be 70 years-old by the time the next election is called.

Also said to be interested in mounting a leadership bid is former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice. The former Calgary Member of Parliament is currently serving as a Senior Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. He recently accepted a role as Enbridge’s envoy to northern British Columbia’s First Nations communities in their bid to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat.

Liberal leader makes fundraising pitch

Raj Sherman 2010
Raj Sherman

In a fundraising email sent yesterday, the Liberal Party announced that leader Raj Sherman will match all donations made to the party before March 31, 2014. According to Alberta’s political finance laws, individuals can only donate a maximum of $15,000 each year.

As a physician, Dr. Sherman has also frequently made donations to the Liberal Party through his professional corporation, raising his limit to $30,000. And as the Daryl Katz-PC Party donation fiasco taught us in 2012, you can always depend on family members or employees to make donations as well.

The Liberals fell behind the other major parties in fundraising in 2013, only raising a small $339,540 (the NDP raised $623,763 in the same period).

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2015 Alberta PC Leadership Race Alberta Politics

8 candidates who could run for the leadership of the Alberta PC Party

With yesterday’s announcement by Premier Alison Redford that she will resign on March 23, 2014, the Progressive Conservative caucus will need to select an interim premier and the PC Party is required to hold a leadership contest to select a new leader.

Dave Hancock MLA Edmonton-Whitemud
Dave Hancock: Interim Premier

Deputy Premier Dave Hancock and Agriculture minister Verlyn Olson have been rumoured as potential choices for interim premier until the party selects a new leader.

UPDATE: Dave Hancock is the new Premier of Alberta until the PC Party is able to hold a leadership vote. Candidates for the interim position are said to have included Doug Griffiths, Frank Oberle, and Verlyn Olson (who declined).

According to section 14.2 of the PC Party constitution, a leadership race must be held between four and six months from the time previous leader resigns. This means the vote will need to be held between July 23, 2014 and September 23, 2014.

Unlike previous PC leadership races, according to recently changed party rules, if no candidate earns a majority of votes on the first ballot, only the first and second candidate move to the second ballot vote. Previously, three candidates would move to the second ballot.

The future of the PC Party could be determined by the candidates who step forward to become its next leader and, for the time being, the next premier of Alberta. As blogger David Climenhaga writes, “[v]ery possibly the quality of the field will be a weathervane for the party’s chances of survival.”

Thomas Lukaszuk MLA Edmonton-Castle Downs
Thomas Lukaszuk

With that in mind, here are some potential candidates who could run for the leadership of Alberta’s PC Party:

Ric McIver (Calgary-Hays)
A former Calgary Alderman and mayoral candidate, Mr. McIver was first elected to the Legislature in 2012. Upon his election he immediately joined cabinet and served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, becoming a high profile member of Ms. Redford’s cabinet. Because of his conservative political leanings, some observers were surprised when he shunned the Wildrose in favour of being a star Tory candidate in the last election.

Thomas Lukaszuk (Edmonton-Castle Downs)
Until recently, the former deputy premier had become the most recognizable face of the PC government. Serving as the unofficial premier while Ms. Redford traveled the globe on trade missions, his combativeness and growing public profile may have been the reason he was demoted to labour minister in December 2013. It has long been suspected that Mr. Lukaszuk has aspirations to occupy the premier’s office.

Jonathan Denis MLA Calgary Acadia
Jonathan Denis

Doug Horner (Spruce Grove-St. Albert)
Currently the Finance minister, Mr. Horner was first elected as MLA in 2001. He placed third in the 2011 PC leadership race and became an ally of Ms. Redford’s after the leadership race. Born into a political family, his father Hugh Horner was Lougheed-era minister, his grandfather Ralph Horner was a Senator, and three of his uncles served as Members of Parliament.

James Rajotte
Member of Parliament representing south Edmonton since 2000, Mr. Rajotte chairs the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. He is said to be considering his options after he was once again looked over for a spot in the federal cabinet.

Donna Kennedy Glans MLA Calgary Varsity
Donna Kennedy-Glans

Jonathan Denis (Calgary-Acadia)
The current minister of Justice and Solicitor General is relatively young compared to others on this list, but Mr. Denis is a long-time politico. A lawyer and former business partner of federal Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre‎, he could earn the support of his party’s shrinking right-wing. A “Draft Jonathan Denis for Premier” Facebook page has already been created.

Donna Kennedy-Glans (Calgary-Varsity)
The first-term MLA left the PC caucus earlier this week, blasting what she described as a culture of entitlement. A former senior executive in Calgary’s corporate oil sector, Ms. Kennedy-Glans would bring business experience, deep pocketed friends and, now, an independent streak, to a candidacy for leadership.

Stephen Mandel Edmonton
Stephen Mandel

Gary Mar
The sure-bet to win the 2011 PC leadership race was quickly whisked away to Hong Kong after losing to Ms. Redford. Since then, the former cabinet minister has been far away from the lime-light while serving as Alberta’s envoy to Asia. It is unclear whether he would try a second time to win his party’s leadership.

Stephen Mandel
Oft-talked about as a potential premier, the retired mayor of Edmonton has not shown any signs he is actually interested in the job. After nine years as mayor of Alberta’s capital city, Mr. Mandel left office in October 2013 as a well-respected civic leader. He has since been critical of Ms. Redford’s government’s policies, but is is unclear why he would want to lead the deeply divided caucus.

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Alberta Politics Calgary Politics Edmonton Politics

Alberta politics 2013: Big City Mayors

Don Iveson Edmonton Mayor Election
Don Iveson

A generational shift in Edmonton

Framed as a lacklustre and uneventful campaign, local media and many mainstream pundits missed one of the most important stories of this year’s mayoral election in Edmonton.

The city’s crusty local establishment has lamented for years about the constant stream of locally-raised young talent choosing to build their careers and start their families in other cities like Calgary, Vancouver or Toronto.

But Alberta’s booming economy and a growing sense of optimism in Edmonton has led to an increasing number of young folks choosing to stay in our city, build their careers and plan to raise their families here. This important shift is a key part of what Don Iveson represented on the campaign trail this fall.

Supported by a diverse army of young Edmontonians who want to claim this city for the next generation, Mr. Iveson proved that substance and a positive campaign – or “politics in full-sentences” – can win elections.

And despite nearly all the local media and opinion page pundits predicting a horserace until the moment the polls closed, Mr. Iveson earned a stunning 63% of the votes counted on October 21. His closest challengers, councillors Karen Leibovici and Kerry Diotte, earned 19% and 15% of the vote.

Nenshi versus Manning

Naheed Nenshi
Naheed Nenshi

In Calgary, a weird proxy-war between popular mayor Naheed Nenshi and conservative godfather Preston Manning dominated this year’s election campaign.

The conflict was sparked by a leaked video recording of high-powered wealthy developers – the Sprawl Cabal – explaining their plans to take over city council by funding Mr. Manning’s conservative political training centre.

Mr. Manning’s group wants to bring a libertarian brand of conservative politics to municipal government in Canada. The “Municipal Governance Project” plans to grant private-sector developers increased powers while limiting the ability of city governments to implement long-term growth plans. This directly contradicts Mr. Nenshi’s plans to address the challenges caused by Calgary’s suburban sprawl problems.

Mr. Nenshi quickly shot back at the sprawl cabal, describing their actions as “shadowy, weird and unpleasant.” The developers attack quickly turned into an election issue, with Mr. Nenshi taking aim at the subsidies granted to suburban developers. Mr. Nenshi says his long-term goal remains to eliminate the subsidy completely.

The developers howled in protest.

Preston Manning (photo from AlbertaDiary.ca)
Preston Manning (photo from AlbertaDiary.ca)

Mr. Nenshi was re-elected with the support of 73% of Calgary voters on October 21, 2013.

Soon after the election, Cal Wenzel, the star of the leaked video, filed a lawsuit against Mr. Nenshi, claiming he defamed the businessman for political gain.

Big City challenges in 2014

Funding for infrastructure like light rail transit remains a priority for Alberta’s big city mayors, as does the promise by the provincial government to create big city charters.

The charters could give Alberta’s two largest cities new fiscal powers and responsibilities to address the growth challenges created by the province’s booming economy.

In June 2012, then-Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths signed a memorandum of understanding with Mayor Stephen Mandel of Edmonton and Mayor Nenshi to formalize their commitment to develop a big city charter.

“This charter will position our two largest cities for the future,” Premier Alison Redford said on June 18, 2012. A year and a half later, the city charters have yet to be released.

New Municipal Affairs Minister Ken Hughes said on December 12, 2013 that the city charters are one of his priorities, which is promising indicator.

While the Redford government enjoys its focus on promoting the oilsands and pipeline projects on the international stage, the two mayors may have to remind the provincial government that it cannot ignore the growth challenges facing our two largest cities.

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Alberta Politics

Why I am supporting Don Iveson for mayor

Don Iveson For Mayor Edmonton 2013
Don Iveson for Mayor

Edmonton has adopted a more ambitious attitude since Stephen Mandel became Mayor in 2004. I voted for Mr. Mandel in that election because he embodied an exciting and forward-looking change that contrasted sharply with the past decade of mediocre leadership.

In many ways, I feel the same way about Don Iveson in 2013 as I did about Stephen Mandel in 2004.

Because Mr. Mandel’s leadership, the City of Edmonton is a different place. Looking outward, our City is no longer embroiled in painful public squabbles with our regional neighbours. Looking within city limits, we have seriously invested into renewing our crumbling public infrastructure and public spaces. The expansion of Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit system has been a big step in making our city more accessible and our downtown and inner city neighbourhoods are beginning to blossom.

When I first moved to Edmonton in the early 2000s, I lived in an apartment in a decrepit area of Oliver. I soon moved south of the North Saskatchewan River, but when I moved back two years later, I was surprised at how different the area had become. New condo and apartment buildings had been constructed over the past five years, which led to new businesses and restaurants in the area. This spilled over into the 104 Street district, where a bustling farmers market, restaurants and new condo developments have brought people downtown. People are now actually walking down Jasper Avenue at night!

With the closure of Edmonton’s City Centre Airport, the development of the new Blatchford district will present many challenges and opportunities. It is a blank slate that, if properly developed, could grow into a vibrant core neighbourhood. It will take discipline and foresight to make sure this happen.

It would be unfair to only focus on the city centre. Our city’s suburban communities have greatly expanded over the past nine years, putting significant growth pressures on our city’s transportation infrastructure and school systems. The next mayor will need to balance the pressures of managing growth on our outskirts and the continued renewal of downtown and mature neighbourhoods.

Mr. Mandel helped take Edmonton to where it is today and our next mayor will need to avoid the comfortable allure of the status-quo. Our next mayor will need to take Edmonton to the next step. I believe that Don Iveson is the mayor who can take Edmonton forward.

Over his two terms on city council, Don Iveson has defined himself as a hard-working and thoughtful leader through his words and actions. Reinforced by the comprehensive platform positions released over the course of this election campaign, he has demonstrated a solid understanding of the infrastructure and growth challenges facing Edmonton. I appreciate that many of the ideas he has presented in this campaign are long-term plans and opportunities that would transform our city over the next thirty-years. I believe he has the leadership skills needed to build a coalition on the next city council that can implement these plans.

Read Don Iveson’s approach to funding our city and proposals for expanded LRT and public infrastructure, new approaches to housing choice and infill, support for business and the arts and volunteer sector, as well as expanded partnerships with Edmonton’s capital region partners.

Don Iveson has taken principled positions on controversial issues like the closure of the City Centre Airport and the development of the new downtown arena district. While I disagree with his final decision to support funding the downtown arena project, I respect his ability to ask tough questions of the process and how he made his final decision. I trust him to make the best decision, even when I may disagree.

I expect Don Iveson will be the strong advocate Edmonton needs when dealing with the provincial government. Along with Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Alberta’s two largest cities could be the powerful force needed to fix the fiscal inequities faced by our province’s urban municipalities.

Perhaps one of the characteristics I like most about Don Iveson is that he is not afraid to dream big. “No one should underestimate our city” is a catchy phrase, but it is more than a slogan. It represents the next step that Edmonton needs to take to become a great city. Stephen Mandel helped build a solid foundation over the past decade and I believe Don Iveson is the person to lead us through the next decade.

(For the reasons explained above, I am happy to be volunteering my personal time during the election campaign to help Don Iveson become the next mayor of Edmonton. If you want to help Don Iveson become Edmonton’s next mayor, you can volunteer too!)

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Alberta Politics

Mayoral election a race between Don Iveson and Kerry Diotte

It has become clear to this political watcher that Edmonton’s mayoral election has become a race between two candidates with distinct competing visions for Edmonton. And those two candidates are Don Iveson and Kerry Diotte.

Don Iveson Edmonton Mayor Election
Don Iveson

Don Iveson has positioned himself as the candidate who is looking beyond the status-quo and planning for Edmonton’s future. His thoughtful and forward-looking approaches to innovation, housing choice and infill development, light-rail transit, partnerships with capital region partners and critical infrastructure issues are the most comprehensive policies released by any mayoral candidate.

Mr. Iveson’s growing campaign is built on a foundation of solid ideas and driven a feeling of excitement about the  opportunities available to Edmonton in the future. And with less than two weeks remaining in the election campaign, he needs to continue building positive momentum and avoid being distracted by attacks from his opponents.

Kerry Diotte Edmonton Mayor Election
Kerry Diotte

Kerry Diotte’s four key issues – potholes, snow removal, spending and debt – have been the consistent focus of his campaign since the summer. The well-known former journalist’s message is appealing to a significant number of Edmontonians who feel disenchanted and disconnected from the city’s establishment and the decisions made at City Hall over the past nine years.

While Mr. Diotte would like to return Edmonton to where it was before Stephen Mandel became mayor, he has shown little evidence that he has the ability to build a coalition on city council in order to achieve his goals.

In the closing days of the campaign, expect Mr. Diotte to focus on wedge issues that will fire up his base of supporters (read: government spending and bike lanes). I would not be surprised if he tries to channel Rob Ford, who rocketed to office in Toronto by focusing on the issues that appealed to disenchanted voters in that city’s suburban communities.

Karen Leibovici Edmonton Mayor Election
Karen Leibovici

Once perceived as the frontrunner in this race, Karen Leibovici has adopted a thick negative tone since a poll commissioned by the Edmonton Journal showed her in a distant third-place behind Mr. Iveson and Mr. Diotte. While the career politician has released decent position statements, these ideas have been overshadowed by her continued attacks on Mr. Iveson.

Ms. Leibovici’s declaration that Edmonton will “grind to a halt” if she is not elected mayor is comical and insulting. Edmontonians have enough common sense to know that the fate of civilization is not tied to the success of Karen Leibovici’s political career.

Ms. Leibovici’s uninspiring campaign is disappointing, because I do think she would be a competent administrator. Unfortunately, with her campaign showing little sign of upward momentum, it has become clear that Ms. Leibovici’s has decided that her only path to victory is by demonizing her opponents.

Edmontonians have two clear choices when they visit the polls on October 21: we can either move forward as a city with Don Iveson or move backward by focusing on the bare basics with Kerry Diotte.

Editor’s note

Thanks for all the comments and responses. Not surprisingly, this post has sparked some interest in the campaign and has become one of the most well-read during this election.

I took a little heat on twitter from supporters of some mayoral candidates and from Edmonton Journal blogger David Staples, who, in a blog post implied that this website is an extension of Don Iveson’s campaign.

I want to be clear: there is no conspiracy. I wrote this post on my own accord. My blog includes my opinion and does not have any input from any political campaign. I have been publishing daveberta.ca for eight years and, similar to the role of columnist working at the Edmonton Journal, I use this space as an opportunity to publish opinions and observations that are my own.

But when it comes to my support in the October 21 election, Don Iveson is the clear choice in my mind and I am happy to lend my support to his campaign. I have publicly stated my support on this blog and during the #yegvote Google Hangout.

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Alberta Politics

PC Party tries to use mayor candidates as headliners for fundraiser

A screenshot from the Edmonton-Riverview PC Party website.
A screenshot from the Edmonton-Riverview PC Party website.

In a strange departure from the non-partisan politics of civic elections, it appeared for a moment today that three main candidates in Edmonton’s mayoral election were headlining a fundraiser for a Progressive Conservative Party constituency association. Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths was even slated as its host.

Once the event came to the attention of the general public, it appears to have fallen apart.

First, Mr. Griffiths withdrew from hosting the event, probably a wise move for a minister who will have to work with whichever candidate is elected. Then, mayoral candidate Don Iveson announced on Twitter that he was withdrawing from the forum. An organizer inside the Iveson campaign said a miscommunication led them to believe the candidate forum would  be separate of the fundraising program for the evening.

According to the Edmonton-Riverview PC Party website (see above for screenshot), mayoral candidates Kerry Diotte, Karen Leibovici and Mr. Iveson were to participate in a forum as part of a $150 per ticket fundraiser for the local PC Party association at the posh Mayfair Golf & Country Club on October 9. Visitors to the website are invited to fill out an online form to purchase tickets and receive a tax receipt for their political donation.

At the fundraiser candidates would be asked “How will the new Mayor get along with Alberta’s Progressive Conservative government?”

Outgoing mayor Stephen Mandel was critical of Premier Alison Redford‘s Tories after they implemented deep budget cuts to post-secondary institutions in this year’s provincial budget. The 2013/2014 provincial budget cut cut $147 million in funding to Alberta’s post-secondary education system. The budget cuts have forced colleges and universities across Alberta to cut staff, programs, and enrolment in order to deal with the financial shortfall.

Edmonton-Riverview is currently represented by PC MLA and Government Whip Steve Young, who was elected in last year’s election. The University of Alberta exists within the boundaries of Edmonton-Riverview and many academic staff live in the constituency.

It seems unusual that the candidates would agree to step into a partisan event in the middle of a non-partisan election campaign, but it may speak to how far each of the main three mayoral contenders  are willing to go to seek out potential voters.

Still, it is concerning to this political watcher that  the three candidates would be willing to have their names used as a  pitch for a provincial political party event. And not just any political party, the governing party.

While this could certainly raise the ire of partisans affiliated with the Wildrose, New Democrats and Liberals, after more than forty years on continuous PC Party majority governments, there is a reality that whoever gets elected will have to work with them for at least the next three years.

The Progressive Conservatives earned 40% of the vote in Edmonton and hold twelve of the capital city’s nineteen provincial constituencies (one former Tory, Edmonton-Manning MLA Peter Sandhu, now sits as an Independent). 

Update: Mr. Young announces the mayoral forum is now cancelled:

Ms. Leibovici’s campaign released the following, awkwardly worded, statement:

The only reason that we agreed to participate it because our opponents agreed to. We’re not participating. We will debate our opponents on the issues anywhere, anytime on any subject. We have more experience than they have because this election matters.

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Alberta Politics

Nomination Day: Edmonton civic election official starts today

Edmonton City Council
Edmonton City Council

Dedicated citizens across Alberta will gather this morning in town halls and community centres to submit their nomination forms to become official candidates in this year’s municipal elections.

In the capital city, the excitement is taking place at Edmonton’s downtown City Hall. With three-term Mayor Stephen Mandel not seeking re-election, three Councillors and a handful of other Edmontonians have stepped forward to fill the spot. While Don Iveson, Kerry Diotte and Karen Leibovici are the front-runners in the race, there is always the possibility of a dark-horse candidate stepping out of the shadows and jumping into the mayoral contest today.

UPDATE: The Edmonton Journal is reporting on the results of a Leger survey which shows Don Iveson with 47% of decided voters, Kerry Diotte with 28%, and Karen Leibovici with the support of 25% of decided voters. When taking undecided voters into account, the support is 20% for Councillor Iveson, 12% for Councillor Diotte, and 11% for Councillor Leibovici. While this is only one poll, and I look at all polls with skepticism, I am very surprised at how low Councillor Leibovici’s support is, considering her 20 year career as a politician in Edmonton.

Since early this year, I have maintained a list of declared nomination candidates for Council and the Public and Catholic school boards. I will have the list updated later today when the official list is released by Edmonton Elections.

There will be a few familiar faces missing from the ballot on the October 21 voting day. Six Councillors are not seeking re-election in their Wards. While this is a large turnover, it is not uncommon in recent elections. The last time Council faced such a significant turnover was in 2001, when six Councillors did not seek re-election.

Until this weekend it appeared as if Councillors Ben Henderson in Ward 8 and Amarjeet Sohi in Ward 12 would be acclaimed, but last-minute candidates have announced their intentions to challenges these incumbents. In Ward 9, Councillor Bryan Anderson remains unchallenged. If he remains unchallenged today, it will be the first time in recent memory that a City Councillor in Edmonton has been acclaimed.

#yegvote Google Hangout

Tune in to a special Nomination Day #yegvote Google Hangout tonight at 8:00 p.m. at EdmontonPolitics.com. Mack Male, Ryan Hastman and I will run down the list of candidates and give our analysis of the first official day of the election campaign.

Municipal elections in Alberta are being held on October 21, 2013.

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Alberta Politics

#yegvote Google Hangout with Steven Dollansky

After a week-long break from the world of political writing and social media, I was happy to return just in time for yesterday’s sixth edition of the #yegvote Google Hangout. This week, Ryan Hastman and I were joined by guest Steven Dollansky, who sat in for Mack Male, who could not make it this week.

In this week’s hangout, we focused on the three-main mayoral candidates – Kerry Diotte, Don Iveson, and Karen Leibovici – and how they are positioning themselves in the hotly contested race to replace outgoing Mayor Stephen Mandel.

With the election less than two months away, and nomination day on September 23, we are expecting the election to quickly heat up as candidates try to gain attention and differentiate themselves from the large pack of political hopefuls that are crowding this year’s municipal election ballots in Edmonton.

As noted by Mack in his weekly Edmonton Election round up, there are currently 6 mayoral candidates and 53 candidates for Council. Councillors Ben Henderson in Ward 8, Bryan Anderson in Ward 9, and Amarjeet Sohi in Ward 12 all remain uncontested.

To watch previous editions of the #yegvote Google Hangout, including last week’s edition with guest Kathleen Smith, visit EdmontonPolitics.com.

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Alberta Politics

Don Iveson brings new energy to Edmonton’s mayoral election.

Don Iveson Edmonton Election Mayor
Councillor Don Iveson launched his campaign for Mayor of Edmonton this week.

Councillor Don Iveson announced his candidacy for mayor this week, rounding out the list of the most likely candidates expected to run for Mayor of Edmonton this year. Councillor Iveson has represented south Edmonton on city council for two terms and is well-known as an advocate of sustainability and smart growth.

First elected to city council in 2007, Councillor Iveson defied expectations when he unseated Councillor Mike Nickel in the then-sprawling south Edmonton Ward 5. He was easily re-elected in 2010 in the new Ward 10 with 76% of the vote. He has served as chair of the Capital Region Board’s Transit Committee and as a strong advocate for public education as a member of Edmonton’s Public Library Board. At age 34, he is the youngest Councillor in the race and brings a wealth of unconventional ideas and energy to the contest.

Kerry Diotte Edmonton Mayor
Kerry Diotte

Over the past few months, I have attended the announcements of the three city councillors competing for the mayor’s chair and it has been interesting to observe the differences in atmosphere and attendance.

On May 16, the day after Edmonton City Council voted to move forward on the downtown arena project, Councillor Kerry Diotte announced his candidacy to a group of seniors in a windowless hotel conference room. Councillor Diotte was not particularly articulate when he spoke with the media at this event, but his anti-downtown arena and anti-pothole agenda will resonate with a surprising number of Edmontonians frustrated with the current leadership in City Hall.

On June 12, Councillor Karen Leibovici stood in front of a crowd of supporters, including many of of Edmonton’s corporate elite and political establishment, to announce her candidacy for mayor. Her campaign chose the brand new CKUA building, an institution embraced by our city’s baby boomers, to launch her campaign. A formidable candidate with four-terms on city council and two-terms in the provincial legislature under her belt, Councillor Leibovici brings 27 years of electoral experience to her well-funded campaign. As she positions herself as the heir-apparent to Mayor Stephen Mandel’s legacy, she may run into difficulties if she is too overcautious not to criticize the outgoing mayor.

Karen Leibovici
Karen Leibovici

On June 18, with supporters by his side, Councillor Iveson took to the podium at Edmonton’s Petroleum Club to announce his entry into the mayoral contest. The venue was an odd choice for the articulate and nerdy policy wonk known for his smart growth politics and love of bicycles. Perhaps to ease the worries of some voters who may feel uncomfortable with this younger and more progressive candidate, Councillor Iveson sent a message that while we need to look at new ways of developing our city, the industries and business that drive our economy are essential.

While praising the work of retiring Mayor Mandel, Councillor Iveson has not been shy to provide examples of where Edmonton city council could have done better over the past six years – including doing a better job of convincing the provincial and federal governments to share the cost of the downtown arena project.

The vibe of the youthful crowd at the Petroleum Club was different than the other candidate’s events. There was an unmistakable mood of optimism among those attending Councillor Iveson’s announcement, many who looked like they would be ready to start knocking on doors for the candidate that afternoon. In many ways, this diverse group of young Edmontonians – entrepreneurs, lawyers, university students, and public servants – represent the new face of our city.

Edmontonians now have three contenders who realistically stand a chance of winning the October 21 mayoral election. It is going to be an exciting four months!

(Note: I have known Don Iveson for many years and volunteered on his successful City Council campaigns in the 2007 and 2010 elections and will be volunteering on his campaign in this election)

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Alberta Politics

Karen Leibovici launches Mandel 2013 campaign

Karen Leibovici Edmonton
Karen Leibovici

Councillor Karen Leibovici launched her campaign for mayor of Edmonton at a press conference this morning at the CKUA building in downtown Edmonton. The four-term city councillor kicked-off her campaign by delivering a speech that sounded as if it should have been delivered by outgoing Mayor Stephen Mandel, had he decided to seek re-election in this October’s election.

She echoed Mayor Mandel’s oft-heard comment that Edmontonians should not settle for “good-enough” and spent much of her speech praising his progress on infrastructure, transportation and arts issues over the past nine-years.

While Councillor Leibovici spoke about continuing along the current path laid by the mayor, she gave little explanation as to what she would do to build upon the ambitious past nine years. She did talk about the need to return to “bread and butter issues,” and was overly cautious not to criticize the outgoing mayor, vaguely responding that she only wanted to do better on some issues.

It is no surprise that Councillor Leibovici is trying to position herself as the heir to the current mayor. She is expected to have the backing of a swath of Edmonton’s political establishment, including the mayor’s former deputy chief of staff Catherine Keill, now an employee of Hill & Knowlton, and veteran Progressive Conservative Party campaign manager Hal Danchilla, who is rumoured to be a key strategist. Her campaign is also sending a message that it is well-financed, as demonstrated by the slick branding and glossy media kits handed out at her press conference.

Karen Leibovici GQ
Slick branding: The Three Leibovici’s.

She also used her remarks to target one of her competitors. “Edmonton needs a mayor with experience, one who doesn’t reduce significant issues to one-liners,” she told reporters, taking an obvious direct shot at Councillor Kerry Diotte.

Councillor Leibovici will be a formidable contender for the mayor’s chair, bringing with her 27 years of election campaign experience at the provincial and municipal levels.

After two unsuccessful runs as a Liberal Party candidate in the 1986 and 1989 provincial elections, Leibovici was first elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark in the 1993 provincial election. She was re-elected as MLA in 1997 and in 1998 she placed third in the Liberal Party’s leadership contest, behind former Tory cabinet minister Nancy MacBeth and Lethbridge MLA Ken Nicol. She was elected to City Council less than a year after the Liberal Party’s rout in the 2001 provincial election, of which she was a surprising casualty. She was re-elected to City Council in 2004, 2007, and 2010.

Edmonton’s last mayor with any lengthy amount of prior elected experience was Jan Reimer, who served three-terms on City Council before being elected as mayor in 1989. Mayor Bill Smith had only run for elected office once before his win and Mayor Mandel served only one-term on Council before being elected as mayor in 2004.

More council candidates enter the fray

Past provincial Liberal Party candidate Arif Khan is expected to run in Councillor Leibovici’s soon-to-be-incumbentless Ward 5. The Edmonton-based consultant placed second to Tory Steven Young in Edmonton-Riverview in the 2012 vote.

Citizenship judge Sonia Bitar and former Edmonton City Councillor Mike Nickel announced their candidacies in southeast Edmonton’s Ward 11. Edmontonians may remember Mr. Nickel from his unsuccessful mayoral bids in 1998 and 2001, and his one-term on city council from 2004 to 2007. In 2007, Mr. Nickel was unseated by Don Iveson in southwest Edmonton’s sprawling former Ward 5.

Councillor Iveson is expected to enter the mayoral race before the end of the month.

See an updated list of declared election candidates here.

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Alberta Politics

Mandel’s retirement kicks-off Edmonton’s first open mayoral race in 45 years.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel
Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel‘s announcement yesterday that he will not seek re-election in the October 21, 2013 election has made way for our city’s first real open mayoral contest in 45 years.

Over those 45 years, Mandel is only the second Edmonton Mayor to leave on his own terms. In 1988, Mayor Laurence Decore stepped down to become leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party. Mayor William Hawrelak died in office in 1975. All other Mayors or interim Mayors were defeated in an election.

Here’s a short history lesson about Edmonton’s mayoral elections:

When Mayor Vincent Dantzer retired from municipal politics in 1968, he was succeeded by Mayor Ivor Dent. Dent was defeated by former Mayor Hawrelak in the 1974 election. When Mayor Hawrelak died in office in 1975, Alderman Terry Cavanagh became interim Mayor. Interim Mayor Cavanaugh contested the 1977 election and was defeated by Cec Purves. Mayor Purves was then defeated by Mr. Decore in 1983. When Mayor Decore resigned in 1988, Alderman Cavanaugh once again filled the role of interim Mayor and was defeated in the 1989 election by Councillor Jan Reimer. Mayor Reimer was later defeated by businessman Bill Smith in the 1995 election. Councillor Mandel unseated Mayor Smith in 2004.

Who can Edmontonians expect to run in our first real open mayoral election in a generation?

Councillor Kerry Diotte launched his campaign last week and Councillors Don Iveson, Karen Leibovici, and Amarjeet Sohi are suspected to be interested in running. The absence of an incumbent candidate might also draw candidates from outside City Council or traditional political circles.

More on this soon.

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Alberta Politics

Updated: Kerry Diotte running for Mayor of Edmonton.

Leaked photos that may have been a mayoral photoshoot for Councillor Kerry Diotte were posted on Facebook by photographer Con Boland last month.
Leaked photos that may have been a mayoral photoshoot for Councillor Kerry Diotte were posted on Facebook by photographer Con Boland last month.

To no one’s surprise, Edmonton City Council’s resident contrarian Kerry Diotte launched his campaign at a downtown hotel this afternoon, making him the first candidate to enter Edmonton’s 2013 Mayoral Election race.

After yesterday’s “final” vote on the proposed downtown arena project, the former Edmonton Sun columnist quickly announced he would soon make an announcement about his political future. Photos leaked to this blog last month suggest Councillor Diotte has been preparing to run for mayor for some time.

The current mayor, Stephen Mandel, is not a fan of Councillor Diotte, shared some harsh words about him on CityTV’s Breakfast Television this morning: “He hasn’t done anything…. He comes to Council and tweets all the time…. He doesn’t pay attention…”

When asked by reporters at today’s press conference about his vision for Edmonton, Councillor Diotte stumbled, citing “listening” and a grocery list of issues including opposing the arena, fixing potholes, and stopping the construction of bike lanes.

If trying to figure out Councillor Diotte’s vision for Edmonton is difficult, so is pinpointing his politics. He has acted as the right-wing contrarian during his three-years on city council and has attached himself to more controversial attention-grabbing issues. This has not made him popular with his council colleagues and has typically placed him in the minority vote on council (he would typically be the “1” in a 12-1 vote).

Though his supporters preach about his populist streak, it feels more gimmicky than real grassroots (his public engagement seems focused on holding contests on his website, like ‘Kerry in your Kitchen,‘ or a contest where he took a constituent to an Edmonton Oilers game).

Council Diotte’s explanation why he wants to be Mayor was not awe inspiring, articulate or well-prepared, but it was frankly reflective of the frustration felt by some Edmontonians about the leadership-style of current city administration. He is a backlash candidate who could appeal to many voters who either disagree with the current mayor or feel left out of Edmonton’s decision-making process.

Despite the many criticisms of Councillor Diotte, he should not be discounted and should, at this point in time, be considered a serious candidate.

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The gaggle of Wildrose Opposition Caucus staffers standing at the back of the press conference may give an indication as to how the one-term Councillor plans to build a city-wide political campaign. With the Wildrose Party looking to gain an organizational toe-hold in major Alberta’s cities before the next election, it is easy to understand why their organizers would gravitate toward Councillor Diotte.

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Other candidates suspected to be interested in the mayor’s chair include Councillors Don Iveson, Karen Leibovici, and Amarjeet Sohi.

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Alberta Politics

Will Downtown Arena funding be issue #1 in Edmonton’s municipal elections?

Scrambling to fill $55 million in missing funding for the proposed Katz Group downtown arena, City Councillors voted last week to postpone any final vote on financing the project. Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel won the support of enough Capital Region politicians last week to potentially secure an extra $25 million for the project (though, the vote may have been improperly recorded).

Dave Colburn Edmonton City Council
Dave Colburn

As it becomes clear that poor planning and bad strategy is leaving a few current Edmonton politicians scratching their heads at how to fund this mega-project, it is becoming more likely that the downtown arena will become a top issue in the October 21, 2013 municipal elections.

There are still no candidates declared running for Mayor, but a swath of hopefuls eyeing spots on Edmonton’s City Council recently announced their intentions to run in the October elections.

In Ward 7, three-term Public School Board trustee Dave Colburn launched his campaign for City Council yesterday at the Bellevue Community Hall. Mr. Colburn recently wrote a guest post sharing some ideas about how to save inner-city schools from suburban sprawl. He will be challenging Ward 7’s incumbent Councillor Tony Caterina.

Running to replace Mr. Colburn in the public school board’s Ward D is his predecessor, former NDP MLA Ray Martin, who served as trustee for the area from 2001 until 2004.

David Dodge Edmonton City Council
David Dodge

On May 21, David Dodge will launch his campaign for City Council in Ward 3. Mr. Dodge is the producer of Green Energy Futures and the past-president of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues. Ward 3 is currently represented by first-term Councillor Dave Loken.

On May 14, Richard Feehan will be launching his campaign in Ward 10. Mr. Feehan is an instructor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work in Edmonton and is a former vice-president of Catholic Social Services. Also running in Ward 10 is community organizer Michael Walters. Incumbent Councillor Don Iveson, has announced he will not seek re-election for City Council in Ward 10.

See the full list of declared candidates running in Edmonton’s municipal elections

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Dave Colburn: How to save inner-city schools from suburban sprawl.

By Dave Colburn

Dave Colburn walks and talks with daughter Spence.

When the Edmonton Public School Board ended its two year moratorium on school closures in Nov. 2012 it generated a good deal of public discussion. Parents and communities wanted to know what this new world would mean for schools with falling enrolment. People speculated on whether this moratorium had achieved anything and offered views on what the Board should do next.

The media analyzed closures, infrastructure and the board’s responsibilities. Our own planning department weighed in and talked of infrastructure challenges and different strategies to deal with closures. Even the City of Calgary saw media reporting their City Council wanted to play a greater role in closure decisions.

As a three-term trustee on the board, and former Board Chair, I have seen my share of school closures. The district closed 14 schools in my first 6 years on the board. Closures that reached into the inner city in the spring of 2010 (McCauley, Parkdale and Eastwood) were particularly divisive for the board and the city. People and organizations that had never taken a position on closures addressed the board in an historic six and half hour marathon Board meeting on April 13, 2010.

At the end of the evening a majority of the board had approved all five closure recommendations. I opposed those recommendations. In the weeks that followed I was increasingly convinced that the city had reached a saturation point with closures.

Early in my 2010 campaign for re-election I called for a moratorium on closures. Fairly quickly, school closures became a municipal election issue. Mayor Stephen Mandel, standing between both the public and Catholic board chairs, in the summer of 2010, called for new solutions. Trustee candidates began to openly discuss closures and commit to a moratorium, if elected. On November 30th, 2010, following a record turnover on the board that saw six new trustees elected, the board approved a two year moratorium on school closures.

In addition to a respite for communities facing possible closures, the board was also determined to undertake an exhaustive analysis of closures in order to build support for communities and lessen the likelihood of closure. A moratorium committee presented a report on school viability and closures, and a series of public meetings was held over the next year to discuss the findings of this report. This board response was unprecedented. Never before had the issue of school closures been so thoroughly and publicly analyzed. On Jan. 31, 2012, a series of recommendations, submitted by the committee, were approved by the board. As a member of that committee, I believe we gathered all possible information on closures, brought our best intelligence to the table, transparently engaged our public, and made recommendations that will create better supports for schools. I believe the public would support this work.

Lack of joint planning between the city and the district, sprawl created by the City of Edmonton’s growth strategies and inadequate, often arbitrary funding from the province all create enormous pressure on the district to close schools. In the winter of 2010, I successfully introduced a motion to begin tri-level discussions with the city and province on school closures and related issues. At first meeting of these three levels of government a senior minister described the initiative as “overdue and a new model of urban planning.”

The board moratorium committee, in Jan. 2012, recommended both the Catholic and public boards meet annually with the city and province to discuss joint planning. Following the mayor’s Community Sustainability Task Force, the Elevate report, released in Feb. 2012, made its top recommendation to “bring together the four jurisdictions (federal, provincial, municipal, school boards) to create innovative partnerships….to assemble a new urban agenda.”

So is anything really different? I would say yes, there are encouraging changes. It is reasonable to expect that three levels of government will be involved in future urban planning.

Schools will be closed in the future. How can this be done respecting the needs and views of communities? In an Andrea Sands article in the Edmonton Journal on January 13th, 2013, Edmonton Public’s Director of Planning, Dr. Lorne Parker spoke at length about the replacement school model. I very much like this model. The idea would see a number of schools (say 3 or 4) in close proximity to each other be closed, and, in return, a new school built to serve communities experiencing closure in the area. It would require gov’t commitment to fund a new school in return for closures. It would require authentic public consultation. Many groupings of schools in the district that would qualify for this approach.

Finally, I think this board’s extraordinary response to community concerns over school closures has reaffirmed, in a very public manner, the importance of community in any school closure decision. I am hopeful that we will never see again, as we did in 2010, a school closure discussion that does not mention the word community once.

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Dave Colburn is a three-term school trustee and former chairman of the Edmonton Public School Board who lives in Edmonton’s Bellevue neighborhood, one block from Bellevue School, which was closed in 2003. He is stepping down from the board. This is his debut blog post. You can read more at davecolburn.ca

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Alberta Politics

Leaked photos: Kerry Diotte’s mayoral campaign outed?

Kerry Diotte Edmonton Mayor
Kerry Diotte photos

Has Councillor Kerry Diotte‘s Mayoral ambitions been outed? Famous Edmonton-based photographer Con Boland posted these portraits of Councillor Diotte on his Facebook page today.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has yet to announce whether he will seek a fourth term in office.

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