Year: 2010

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Lethbridge Politics

guest post: lethbridge election 2010

Winds of Change?

By  Jenn Prosser

Municipal elections wrap up Monday the 18th, and for a moment I would like to request your attention down south.

The 2010 Lethbridge municipal election has proven one thing above all else: people are demanding progress in local government. People are starting to feel the widening space between themselves and locally elected representatives, and finding it is difficult to connect to people when they don’t have a relationship. This has come out loudly from forum attendees and comments from citizens, online and elsewhere. People are more actively engaged in this election than they have been in council proceedings in the years leading to this election. Already advance voting has seen 2 565 people come out, a doubling of advance voters from last year.

There are 30 aldermanic candidates, and 6 mayoral candidates to vote for. The mayoralty race is not contested by an incumbent, while there are 6 of the 8 previous aldermen running again.

While Lethbridge traditionally re-elects its incumbents, this election looks like it might be an upset. There are a number of people running who have ran in the past couple elections unsuccessfully, and there are three candidates who had sat on council previously that are looking to be elected again. It is also entirely possible that Lethbridge will elect its first female mayor this year. Public perception points to Cheryl Meheden as being the front runner, though her two main competitors are not too far behind. In the Aldermanic race, it is doubtful gender parity will be reached on council as the number of men running far outweigh the number of women, and the front runners for the 8 spots are predominately male.

The “sexy” issue in the 2010 Lethbridge election is communication. Incumbent aldermen are being painted as out of touch with the changing needs of the city, and their defensive positions and responses are doing little to prove their good intentions. The government made a bad investment (Asset Backed Commercial Paper – a stock invested in by many municipalities) and the answer has been better communication.

Communication is a sticking point in all local elections. Successful city council candidates require strong and broad social circles. There is a cross section of people who support you, and their demands are too often conflicting and specific. Without good communication channels, it is easy to remove yourself from the community at large while expending efforts to satisfy responsibilities, at the obvious expense of electoral viability.

Why would Lethbridge any different? The small city of Lethbridge offers a unique example of why communication is so critical. In many ways, it is small town-like in its municipal affairs, mixed with city-learned expectations. Public opinion of taxation; and a diversity of social issues are found to be in line with the national median, despite the reputation of being disengaged and conservative. However, social circles can be narrow, and socially defined.

Despite the high level of community engagement and advancement within post-secondary driven institutions, and non-profit organizations; council has not capitalized on new communication methods, or technology to increase their transparency. Lethbridge city council has yet to even start broadcasting council meetings, nor do they use any type of media effectively.

There is a problem geographically as an overwhelming number of the 8 alderman are from one area in the city. Lethbridge is dived into three general areas: Westside, Southside, and Northside. In the 2010 municipal election, there are 10 aldermanic candidates who reside on the Southside, 15 who reside on the Westside, and 5 who call Northside home.

The Westside is a fairly new, but is the largest growing in population size. It also tends to be heavily populated by students, easily 6%-7% of the total student population in Lethbridge. It is also important to know that the west side is physically removed from the rest of the city, and connected through two bridges.

The Southside has the majority of businesses, and services. It also has significant high density housing, has a mix of high and low income housing, with lots of home ownership.
The Northside is 30% industrial but also has high density neighborhoods, more diversity in housing needs and styles, and a significant though small business core.

The distance and the divergent needs of Lethbridge’s geographic area are creating different demands for Lethbridge’s city council, demands that many are saying current council hasn’t met. This election process has seen a manifestation of those demands through citizen feedback and interest generated forums and surveys.

Communication isn’t the only issue, but it is an active one. Other issues encompass taxation, tax assessment process, relationship with administration, physical infrastructure, and a ward system.

Citizen interest has been made visible by forum attendance, candidates running, volunteers campaign, and on line engagement. Lethbridgeaccountability.ca has seen a consistent high level of access and has received positive feedback from viewers. This will make for interesting Election Day, as public opinion is divided among so many candidates, and re-election is far from certain for incumbents.

Lethbridge low down:
 Population: 86,659
Post-secondary institutions: Lethbridge College, University of Lethbridge
Council: 8 seats, at-large-elected, considered part time, expected to fulfill 30 hours weekly
Mayor: Full time
Large administration
Founded through coal mining, and whiskey trading
Rising technology and neuroscience research centers
Windiest city in western Canada (source: primarily anecdotal personal experience)

Jenn Prosser is a political junkie who has worked with the Alberta and Lethbridge municipal governments for a number of causes including women’s issues, post-secondary education and low-income housing. Currently, she is the content editor for a local community paper, The Journal. She authors the blog electlethbridge.wordpress.com and co-runs lethbridgeaccountability.ca. When not compiling survey information, or following candidates around with a camera and note pad, she knits and watches West Wing.

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Alberta Politics

fort worth city councilman joel burns tells gay teens “it gets better.”

I thought that it was pretty brave for this municipal politician from Fort Worth, Texas to publicly share his story. Actually, it was pretty brave for any politician.

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Alberta Politics

the hyperbole of alberta’s pc party.

While perusing through the latest issue of PC People Magazine, I quickly noticed a very obvious theme. It really amazed me that nearly every article in the 13-page membership magazine was framed to dispute a position taken by the Wildrose Alliance. Anyone who believes that the PCs are not concerned about their bleeding support in the polls should take a read of this newsletter.

One article, and one quote in particular, caught my eye. Editor Brenton Harding takes a stab at explaining why many American-style (code: scary Wildrose Alliance) election practices are not good for Albertans.

Another concept being promoted in some quarters is the idea of term limits. These laws restrict the number of times an office holder can seek re-election.

On the surface this may seem like noble enough sentiment until you take a closer look. Voters pick their favoured candidate and the individual with the greatest support becomes the community’s representative.

For all intents and purposes, term limits bar voters from selecting the candidate of their choice.

Voters whose favoured candidate is prohibited from seeking re-election are disadvantaged as much as voters whose candidate is barred by the whims of an Ayatollah or a general.

Perhaps it was hyperbole taken a little too far, because I am sure that most American’s do not feel like a term-limited Presidential electoral system is similar to the whims of a dangerous theocrat or military dictator.

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Edmonton Politics

edmonton election 2010: battle over the public school board reveals a nervous old guard.

A heated battle has been brewing over Edmonton’s Public School Board.  Although it was re-ignited by communities angry that their Public School Board Trustees were not responsive to their concerns about the closure of neighborhood schools earlier this year, this battle is not new. In many ways, it is a conflict between the “old guard” and a newly involved group of community members who believe that the school board should be more than a bureaucracy of education administrators. Experience is good, but for too long the board has been dominated by retired administrators and civil servants who refuse to see themselves act as leaders in our City.

Two elections ago, this battle raged between the old guard made up of long-time incumbent Trustees and members of the now-defunct provincial parent advocacy group APPEAL (Albertans Promoting Public Education and Learning). In that election, APPEAL did not run a slate of candidates, but many of their members decided to step up from years as education advocates to stand as Trustee candidates in their communities.

The day before election day in 2004, the Edmonton Journal published an op-ed from Leif Stolee, longtime educator and administrator of Edmonton public schools, who effectively claimed that unless you are an educator, former administrator or have served on the public school board for at least three or four terms, you are not competent to serve as a trustee. It is likely that this op-ed side-swiped many of the new challengers and helped boost many of the old guard incumbents over the top in closely contested races for Edmonton Public School Board.

Fast forward to 2010 and the same dynamic is in play as the old guard and their supporters are still trying to hang on to their positions. Are they running scared this time?

In Ward G, incumbent Trustee George Rice has refused to debate challenger Sarah Hoffman, who has been running an aggressive campaign against him. In Ward B, I am told that Trustee Ken Shipka has also refused to debate his opponents. Mr. Shipka has been an invisible Trustee after he was forced to apologize after calling aboriginal people “nocturnal” in 2008.

One of the more heated battles is in Ward F, which has drawn three candidates to replace five-term Trustee Don Fleming. This week, candidate Bev Sawyer chastized the media for focusing on the rift between the School Board and the larger community. In addition. Mrs. Sawyer (a retired Principal and administrator) used her best online Principal voice to scold fellow candidate Michael Janz for… being too young?

Mrs. Sawyer appears to have taken an issue with comments that Mr. Janz made during interviews with CBC last week:

“The reason we’re seeing more younger candidates, fewer of the retired administrators, and more community advocates is because there is this growing realization that decisions made at the school board level will effect all Edmontonians” – Michael Janz.

Mrs. Sawyer apologized after being caught having not done her homework when she posted the bizarre attack on her website accusing Mr. Janz of having attended a private school. In reality, Mr. Janz attended public schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

As the old guard and their supporters desperately try to keep their hold on Edmonton’s Public School Board, they are missing a larger point. Legislation expected to be introduced by Education Minister Dave Hancock in the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature may further curtail the administrative powers of School Boards, potentially even replacing them with partially-appointed Boards.

When the time comes when School Boards are challenged to stand up and prove their relevance, who will be best fit to do this – an old guard who have allowed the role of Trustees to wither into glorified administrators or a new group of people who understand why School Trustees need to be relevant and responsible to the whole community?

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Edmonton Politics

edmonton election 2010: surveys say.

Having been involved in a few election campaigns, I am fully aware of the influx of surveys and questionnaires that end up landing in a candidate’s email inbox over the course of the campaign. They can sometimes be annoyingly time consuming to respond to, but they are sometime an easy way to distill where candidate’s stand on specific issues. Sometimes they also reveal some gems. A question asked in the Edmonton Public Library’s questionnaire posed one of these gem questions to candidates standing in Edmonton’s municipal election:

What character from fiction do you most relate to/is most like you?

Jamie Post – Ward 1: Hard to say, at the moment I’d have to go with Dr. Watson.
Scott Robb – Ward 4: I generally don’t read fiction, but I usually relate to the conflicted hero type.
Thomas Roberts – Ward 6: Can not think of any that is close to me– would love being a combination of Captain Jack Sparrow and Sherlock Holmes, and avoid Dorian Grey(what little I know of the charactor)/Falstaff.
Scott McKeen – Ward 7: OK, that’s tough. I’ll pick Frodo from the Lord of the Rings. A reluctant hero who faces his constant fear to reach journey’s end.
Grant Pullishy – Ward 7: Stephen King- I love thrillers.
Lori Jeffery-Heaney – Ward 8: Hmm, hard to answer – I am more of a non-fiction reader.
Hana Razga – Ward 8: Margaret Laurence Stone Angel’s Hagar Shipley – in about 30 years.
Councillor Don Iveson – Ward 10: James T. Kirk
Al Slemko – Ward 10: Marko Ramius – Red October movie
Shane Bergdahl – Ward 11: That is difficult to say. Frodo from the Hobit and Lord of the Rings comes to mind. A normal person (of sorts) tasked with doing great things.
Roberto Maglalang – Ward 11: Tom Sawyer.
Chinwe Okelu – Ward 11: None.
Brent Schaffrick – Ward 11: Some days, Dilbert, most days I seem to walk a different path then characters in books.
Daryl Bonar – Mayor: I think Rocky Balboa. He perservered with brute force and ignorance as well as a never say quit attitude. He didn’t have all the natural talent and had to overcome many obstacles but his work ethic carried him. I try my best to emulate these traits.
Dan Dromarsky – Mayor: My favorite fictional character is James Bond but how we relate or are alike is also fiction.
Dave Dowling – Mayor: Frodo.
Stephen Mandel – Mayor: I don’t know that he’s like me but the Gene Hackman character as the coach in Hoosiers.

You can also read questionnaire responses from the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton, the Canadian Cancer Society, Cycle Edmonton, and the Realtors Association of Edmonton. If you have links to any other surveys and questionnaires, feel free to post a link in the comment section below.

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Edmonton Politics

edmonton election 2010: deciding my vote in ward 6 & ward f.

There are now two weeks until Edmontonians have the opportunity to elect their Mayor, City Councillors, and School Board Trustees (either Public or Catholic). The polls will be open from 9:00am to 8:00pm on Monday, October 18. If you will not be able to vote on Election Day, you can take advantage of advanced voting until October 16 (open 11:30am to 5:00pm from Monday to Friday and from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday).

If you have yet to decide who will get your vote, there are many online resources available to help you make an informed decision. You can also watch video recordings of the City of Edmonton all-candidates forums that have already been held and those that will be held this week.

Being a responsible citizen, I have been thinking a lot about the ballot choices I will make on election day.

Edmonton Public School Board Ward F

My vote for Public School Board Trustee was the easiest to decide. I will be voting for Ward F candidate Michael Janz. I have known Michael for a few years and know that if elected he will be a strong advocate for community involvement in the future of our public schools.

For too long, our Public School Board has acted as a pasture for retired school principals and school board administrators and because of this it has withered into insignificance among the general public. I know that Michael understands this and believe that if elected as a Trustee, he will work to increase the relevance of our Public School Board beyond teachers, parents, and children.

Marking an X beside Michael Janz was an easy decision for me, but do not let me stop you from reading more about Joanna Rozmus and Bev Sawyer.

City Council Ward 6

I am having a difficult time deciding what to do with my City Council ballot. I am feeling extremely underwhelmed about the candidates in the downtown Ward 6. I thought that tuning-in online to last week’s all-candidates forum might help me with my decision, instead it just increased my indecision.

Incumbent Councillor Jane Batty is a nice person and as a Councillor she appears invisible on the issues. I pay attention to municipal politics and still have little idea what Councillor Batty has achieved during her three terms on City Council. I have also seen little existence of her campaign in this ward and have only spotted her election signs in front of her campaign office on Jasper Avenue and 122nd Street.

Ward 6 challenger Bryan Kapitza’s ideas speak to me on paper, but that is not enough. After meeting the man in-person, I have serious questions about whether he has the personality to forge meaningful working relationships with other Councillors (which is essential if you want to achieve anything on City Council).

Cris Basualdo appears to be running a campaign focused on the neighbourhoods of McCauley and Central McDougall (these two neighbourhoods are the only ones mentioned on her website).

The other candidates all blend together. Wildrose Alliance caucus staffer James Johnson entered the contest late and has been running a fairly cookie-cutter conservative campaign. I honestly have very little to write about the other challengers, Carla Frost, Lee Permann, Adil Pirbhai, and Thomas Roberts.

Considering the challenges and opportunities facing our downtown core neighbourhoods, it is pretty disappointing that this Ward was not able to attract a more dynamic group of candidates. With the election only nine days away, the candidates in Ward 6 will need to do something pretty spectacular in order to convince me not to spoil the Councillor section of my ballot.

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Alberta Politics

homelessness in edmonton.

Earlier this week, I hit the streets of Edmonton donning a bright yellow and orange reflective vest. I could have easily been mistaken for a parking inspector, but I handed out no tickets. I spent most of the day on Tuesday volunteering for Edmonton’s biennial Homeless Count.

Coordinated by Homeward Trust, the count is a city-wide enumeration done by over 300 volunteers every two years. In 2008, the Homeless Count counted 3,079 people as homeless in Edmonton, which was up from 2,618 people counted in 2006. The results of the count provide numbers to help determine trends in the homeless population and does an important job of raising public awareness about homelessness in our City.

As I spent my morning talking with people at the Strathcona Bottle Depot, it dawned on me what a bizarre gathering spot it was. On one hand, I spoke with some homeless people cashing in after a night of bottle collecting, many of them very friendly and up front about their addictions or mental health issues. Coming from a very different situation, I spoke with people who arrived in mini-vans or sports cars, and obviously did have a permanent residence to stay at. As a volunteer, we asked everyone who we enchanted if they had a permanent residence to stay at that night. Not surprisingly, this generated some confused looks.

Over the past year, I have become more aware of homelessness and housing issues in our City. I have particularly become interested in how federal and provincial government policies from the 1990s have contributed to the rise of homelessness in our cities, particularly when it comes to the number of homeless people facing mental health issues. It has been positive to see that after years of having to rely on band-aids and stop-gaps, many social agencies have become the beneficiaries of renewed interest in housing issues by the municipal, provincial, and federal governments. Alberta’s two largest cities have taken different paths in dealing with the challenge of homelessness, but have already accomplished a lot through their 10 year plans (Calgary, Edmonton).

It is difficult to believe that any government-supported initiative of this magnitude will last a decade, but even if it does not survive past the next provincial election, the 10 year plans have already had a positive impact. According to Homeward Trust, since April 2009, 900 people have found housing through the housing first program; 85% remain successfully housed, meaning they have either graduated or are still in the 12 month program.

After volunteering at Homeless Connect earlier this year, I felt like I gained a valuable experience. Even though I live in a downtown neighbourhood, I had until that point never engaged in a real conversation with a homeless person. Once I cast aside all the stigmas and unconscious anxieties that I was carrying, volunteering for Homeless Connect quickly became a rewarding experience and one of the reasons why I did not hesitate to sign up for the Homeless Count.

Homeward Trust will be holding another Homeless Connect event on October 17, 2010 and are looking for volunteers.

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Alberta Politics

the wildrose’s new hired gun.

The Wildrose Alliance is bolstering their staff in preparation for the next provincial election.

Recent hire William McBeath left his position as Director of Operations for Minister Diane Finley in Ottawa to become the Director of Candidate Operations and Party Communications for the Wildrose Alliance. Although he spent some time in Ottawa, political watchers will remember Mr. McBeath from his time as Alberta Regional Organizer for the Conservative Party of Canada, as researcher for former Edmonton City Councillor Mike Nickel, and as an organizer for Ted Morton‘s PC leadership campaign in 2006. Mr. McBeath joins long-time Conservative Party organizer Vitor Marciano, who was hired as the Wildrose Executive Director in March 2010.

The Wildrose Alliance has also attracted the support of two former Conservative Members of Parliament. Retired Edmonton-St. Albert MP John Williams and Westlock-St. Paul MP David Chatters are supporting Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock Wildrose nomination candidate Link Byfield in his campaign against PC MLA Speaker Ken Kowalski.

“The issue is not the MLA; it is the party and the government. The government has been around too long.” – Former Conservative MP John Williams

The Wildrosers will be holding a contested nomination meeting in the Liberal-stronghold of Edmonton-Riverview. Candidates John Corie and Chris Ozdoba will duke it out on October 21 for the chance to hold their party’s flag in the constituency represented by MLA Kevin Taft since 2001 (who is not seeking re-election).

The Liberals have yet to announce a nomination date in Riverview, but rumours are circulating that retiring Public School Board Trustee Don Fleming is interested in seeking the Liberal nomination. Before Dr. Taft, the Riverview constituency was represented by current City Councillor Linda Sloan from 1997 to 2001.

The Wildrosers have a head start in candidate nominations, but are not the only party holding nomination meetings.

The Liberal Party nominated former MLA Weslyn Mather in Edmonton-Mill Woods last weekend and will be holding a nomination meeting in Edmonton-McClung on October 23. Former MLA Mo Elsalhy is expected to be acclaimed at the nomination meeting.

The NDP have a contested nomination meeting in Grande Prairie-Wapiti scheduled for next week. Contestants Paula Anderson and John Friesen are probably participating in the first contested candidate nomination for the Grande Prairie NDP in recent memory.

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Alberta Politics

alberta party annual general meeting & road to policy 2010.


I have travelled across a lot of Canada and while I have experienced some amazing scenery, in my mind little compares with a Fall drive down the Queen Elizabeth II Highway through central Alberta. The colours of the leaves are changing, the farmers are harvesting their crops, and a new season is just around the corner. This was the drive I took this weekend on my way to Red Deer to observe the Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Party.

Around fifty members of the Alberta Party crowded a meeting room at the Holiday Inn to participate in their party’s Annual General Meeting. It was a typical hotel conference room, but the crowd was different. Where most traditional partisans could easily be characterized by their greying hair or balding heads, this crowd was much more generationally diverse than I have seen at other political meetings.

I arrived at noon and was told that I had missed a series of small fireworks set off by some of the old guard of the Alberta Party. The Alberta Party was formed in the 1980s and existed as a Reform Party-esq fringe party until earlier this year when a new group of mainly rural Party members joined forces with the largely urban Renew Alberta group. I was told that some of these older party members felt that the influx of new members and new constitutional changes were changing the party too quickly. After a thorough debate, all the constitutional changes and motions were approved.

Not being able to piggyback on the resources of federal political cousins or traditional party establishments, members of the new Alberta Party have focused on building their party and policy infrastructure through hundreds of “Big Listen” meetings held across the province. The ideas and feedback generated through these living-room and coffee meetings were used in Saturday afternoon’s Road to Policy session to determine the general areas of discussion that will be proposed at the Alberta Party’s Policy Convention in November.

It was my observation that ideas generated from the Big Listens that were discussed this weekend were not extreme or ideological driven. The ideas were moderate and likely reflective of the views of most Albertans. It felt that one of the biggest differences between this party and the traditional establishment parties is not necessarily policy, but the tone of discussions that are shaping that party.

While some political leaders talk about doing politics differently, the Alberta Party is actually doing politics differently. What I witnessed this weekend did not feel like a political party event, it felt like a real collaborative process.

Some criticism levelled at the Alberta Party since they launched their Big Listen campaign has been that they do nothing but listen. A few months ago, I might have been more sympathetic to these criticisms, but I now understand the process that the party is following. Laying a strong foundation of organization and ideas is not something that can be created overnight and it is critical for the survival of a new political party.

One of the big news items of the day was the announcement by Leader Edwin Erickson that he will resign from his position at the November Policy Convention. At that convention an interim leader will be appointed and an open leadership contest will begin.

The thing that impresses me the most about the new Alberta Party is the group of credible and politically savvy people who have joined its ranks over the past ten months.

New Party President Chris Labossiere was previously involved with the Edmonton-Whitemud Progressive Conservatives and played a key role in Dave Hancock‘s re-election campaign in 2008. Vice-President Chima Nkemderim is the campaign director for Naheed Nenshi‘s Calgary Mayoral campaign and managed MLA Kent Hehr‘s 2008 campaign in Calgary-Buffalo. Their Board of Directors includes former Education Minister David King and Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Sue Huff. At the end of the day, the newly elected Alberta Party Board of Directors consisted of 11 women and 14 men from across the province.

Some people have asked me “why I bother writing about the Alberta Party” and why I do not focus on helping get the established opposition parties elected. The truth is I have a difficult time not getting frustrated when writing about the sorry state of Alberta’s traditional establishment opposition parties.

To me, the characteristics that differentiate what I experienced this weekend from what I have experienced at other political meetings is the optimism of the people in the room. The people I spoke with at the AGM are not driven with a singular desire to destroy the PCs or gain power, but are driven with an optimism to change the culture of politics in this province.

The Alberta Party has proven to me that they can attract competent people and actually understand the meaning of practicing politics differently. Their big challenge will be to translate this into support outside their already politically active communities and into the next provincial election.

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Grande Prairie Politics Guest Post

guest post: grande prairie election 2010.

By Jerry MacDonald

Grande Prairie: the flowers of democracy (campaign signs) are in full bloom in this northern city of just over 50,000. Grande Prairie is in for a relatively interesting civic election this year. There are five (5) candidates for the Mayor’s chair, and 14 candidates for the eight seats on council. The City of Grande Prairie has no wards, so all positions are elected “at large”. For this reason, the position of mayor does not have the unique influence it has in a city with a ward system, where only the mayor’s mandate is city-wide. In Grande Prairie, the mayor is just another vote on city council. On the other hand, the adjacent County of Grande Prairie No. 1 is going to have a very uninteresting election, as six of its nine divisions (including that of the current reeve, Everett McDonald) have been acclaimed.

The issues? Well, of course, Grande Prairie isn’t Edmonton. For one thing, we only have one airport :-); and it’s within city limits. More seriously, foremost among the issues would have to be the cost of living, such as city taxes; quality of life; and relations with the province, including the effectiveness of city lobbying for the province to meet its responsibilities.

The way I see it, there are two kinds of voters, and two kinds of municipal politicians, in this city (and most other smaller cities as well, I expect). There are those whose view of the city’s role is limited to paving the streets and paying for fire fighters, cops, etc. Then there are others who feel that a city must provide services and resources to increase the quality of life for its residents, especially if it is going to attract qualified professionals to teach in the schools and at the college, to work in the health care system, and generally to support the local economy. The first group wants taxes and spending held and even reduced; the second feels that revenue must be generated, and dollars expended, for the city to provide those resources and services. Here in the City of Grande Prairie, one of the complicating factors is that much of the most lucrative tax base is actually from industrial assessments outside its borders, in the County (full disclosure time: this writer has just moved into the County from the city, with the side benefit of lower property taxes than I would pay for the same home in the city), while much of the demand for services is located within city limits.

Mayor
 Dwight Logan (incumbent)
⁃ former teacher; born in Edmonton, raised in GP; educated in GP and at the U of A (BA History & English, 1969; teaching certificate, 1970)
⁃ long-time fixture on Grande Prairie city council, having served three terms as alderman and two previous terms as mayor (1986-1992)
⁃ stood as Liberal candidate in the provincial constituency of Grande Prairie-Wapiti in 1993
⁃ along with family, former owner of soon-to-be demolished York Hotel

Ald. Gladys Blackmore
⁃ born in Beaverlodge (west of GP), where she completed high school
⁃ listed as having attended arts programmes at U of A & Athabasca Univ. (not clear whether she earned a degree)
⁃ current President & Executive Director, United Way of Grande Prairie & Region
⁃ alderman since 2001

Ald. Bill Given
⁃ self-employed marketing & communications consultant
⁃ born & raised in GP, attended Medicine Hat College (visual communications)
⁃ first elected to city council in 2001 (youngest ever in GP history), has served three consecutive terms on council
⁃ stood as federal Independent candidate for riding of Peace River in Jan 2006 (finished 2nd behind Conservative Chris Warkentin, with 20.3% of the vote, and ahead of 3rd-place Susan Thompson of the NDP)

Nasim Khan
 ⁃ among some of the planks on his platform are a passenger rail link between GP and Edmonton (actually not a bad idea, but I don’t think it will ever happen) and elevating the status of GP Regional College to a university
⁃ no website, but has a Facebook page (I haven’t joined, so I don’t have much more information on him, such as a bio)

Dale Robertson
 ⁃ I cannot find any information on this unknown candidate

If I were allowed to vote in this election, Given would have my vote for Mayor. Logan has just been around too long, and as for Blackmore … well, some months ago, my youngest daughter (then 19) was taking a course at the college, and had to attend a city council meeting for an assignment. She asked me to come along so she’d know what was going on. During the meeting, I was well-placed to see the computer screens of several of the aldermen, including Blackmore’s. She spent the entire evening playing solitaire! Now, maybe she is quite good at mental multi-tasking, and gave the matters being considered by council her full attention, but as a taxpayer, I was offended (my daughter was appalled). I was paying this woman $28,000 a year to play solitaire? I could play it myself for free.

Councillor
 Note: City Council recently passed a motion to rename its members from ‘Alderman’ to ‘Councillor’, to take effect after this year’s elections
 IMHO, the most interesting feature of this year’s elections for city council is who is not running: two first-term aldermen have announced that they will not be running again: local businessman Yad Minhas (Minhas Bros. trucking), the first South Asian to be elected to GP city council; and GPRC English Instructor and author (and prominent local NDP activist and sometime candidate) Dr. Elroy Deimert, who has also announced his retirement from GPRC, intending to focus on his writing
⁃ incumbents that are running again are engineer and businessman Dan Wong , retired school superintendent Lorne Radbourne , businessman Alex Gustafson, and perennial alderman (& perpetual smokestack) Helen Rice (BTW, she voted against the motion to change ‘alderman’ to ‘councillor’), who has sat on council since a 1979 by-election; Rice is a former radio talk-show host and mall manager, and is now manager of the Downtown Association and a member of the board of directors of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association
⁃ some of the other candidates include John Croken, who was previously on council but was voted off in 2007; Kevin McLean, a 3rd-time candidate (he ran in ’04 & ’07) who had his in-your-face election signs out six months ago (and thereby lost this citizen’s vote even before I knew I would be moving out of the city); and Justin Munroe , a businessman who owns both Pizza Hut locations in the city

County of Grande Prairie No. 1
 Out in the county, one potential issue arose too late to have an influence on this year’s campaign, and that is the decision by county council to terminate its fire service agreement with the city at the end of next year, and create its own composite (mixed volunteer and professional) fire service, effective Jan 2012, for the rural Grande Prairie area. This is of particular import for those residents (myself included) who live very close tho the city limits and within a scant 3-5 minutes from a city fire hall, and wonder about the response times and quality of service from a composite service. But the decision was announced a scant week and a half before Nomination Day, and so had little or no effect on whether potential council candidates stepped forward.

Jerry MacDonald has been a Registered Nurse for 25 years and was educated in Halifax. Moved to Fort Vermilion, Alberta in 1985, and to Grande Prairie in 1988. Former UNA activist and local president at QEII Hospital (2003-2006). NDP candidate in 2004 provincial election (Grande Prairie-Wapiti); also worked on several other campaigns at both provincial and federal levels. Married to Nancy; three adult children. BSc in Nursing, post-RN (U of A 2010).

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Alberta Politics

na’vi stelmach.

Too much ink has already been spent on James Cameron‘s visit to Alberta, but I could not let the day end without mentioning the front cover of today’s Edmonton Sun. “Hilariously nonsensical” is how a good friend of mine described it. A very apt description.

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Alberta Politics

genia leskiw posts anti-wildrose rant on her mla website.

It has been fascinating to observe how Alberta’s long-governing Progressive Conservatives have reacted to the challenge created by the Wildrose Alliance‘s rise in the polls. In most circumstances, the PCs appear to have kept a level head and tacted their policies to the centre to compete with Danielle Smith’s party’s more right-wing conservative policies, but there are exceptions.

Even though she was elected with 75% of the vote in 2008, Bonnyville-Cold Lake PC MLA Genia Leskiw appears to be feeling the pressure of the Wildrose within her own constituency. Ms. Smith recently toured the area and former PC MLA and current Bonnyville Mayor Ernie Isley is now supporting the Wildrosers. On her website, Ms. Leskiw recently published a long rant on her website about the dangers of the Wildrose Alliance in which she invokes union-busting, George W. Bush, and the fear of southern Alberta domination.

Be wary of the Wild Rose Alliance!

Very often the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.  When one looks deeper at the quality of grass that actually exists there, the extra greenness is usually an illusion.  Politics is no different, as many Conservatives look at the Wildrose Alliance.  Another old saying fits this situation is “Beware of a wolf in sheep’s clothing!”

All this attention to this new party is a result of their leader.  A former broadcaster, she is articulate, and a master of the quick soundbite that the media eats up.  As a result she has given her party much more publicity than it deserves.  Her normalcy masks some of the lunacy of the platform of her upstart party.  Her biggest challenge will be to try and hide some of the ridiculous promises in her party platform before critical Albertans see them for what they are.  The party’s strength is in its timing.  During harsh economic times, when tough decisions are being made, it is much easier to be a critic than a builder.  We are in such a time now.

The platform of the party follows a shotgun approach to political planning.  Promise everything to everybody, and hope no-one actually reads the whole platform.  Some of their promises, like ending all homelessness in Alberta during their first term in office are naively simplistic.  Some are dangerous, like striking down parts of our Human Rights and Multicultural Act that prevent discrimination.  Other policies of the party are openly contradictory.  They promise the oil companies they will slash our royalty system, other sectors they will slash taxes that affect input costs, yet promise Albertans they will keep a balanced budget.

Putting an end to public education by using ‘Alberta Opportunity Scholarships’ instead of per pupil student grants to public schools will set off alarm bells for those concerned about the future of public education.  They promise standardized annual testing of students and teacher quality.  This comes straight from George Bush’s American plans for school improvement.  We all know how well that worked.  During a time of labour peace, when all teachers are in a long term contract, this party wants to pick a fight and limit teacher’s labour rights.  The only MLA in the party speaks of limiting teacher’s right to strike to weekends and holidays.  A well thought out platform indeed.  They also intend to punish teachers if their students do not perform to Wildrose standards.  Pity the poor teacher of disadvantaged kids.  It is critical that teachers everywhere have a close look at this platform before they remove the controversial parts until after they are elected!  Most of the sane parts of their platform merely reflect what the current government is doing in education, such as enhancing online educational initiatives for students, or funding arts, music, and physical education.  I analyze education first, because that was my career for thirty six years, and I know it well.  I challenge every constituent in Bonnyville-Cold Lake to zero in on the area you are most familiar with, and read their platform carefully and critically.  The problem with an all encompassing platform is that it may seem reasonable in areas you are unfamiliar with, but alarm bells should go off when you analyze your area of specialization.  Beware of this party!

Teachers aren’t the only group they want to pick a fight with though.  The Wildrose aim is to strip unions of any influence they currently have by setting up a situation that would ‘allow individual workers the choice to determine their membership in labour organizations’.  It is difficult to imagine a union jobsite with workers who choose not to be union members!

Read the platform with a wary eye.  Remember that this is a Calgary based, southern Alberta party.  We can’t be certain if promises to ‘Develop and implement an on and off-stream fresh water storage plan.’ is code for inter-basin transfers of water from northern Alberta to southern Alberta.  Scientists have told us this would be environmentally catastrophic.  But we shouldn’t let science get in the way of sugar beet irrigation.  Maybe Cold Lake water should be shipped to southern Alberta farms before Bonnyville.

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Alberta Politics

alberta politics notes 9/27/2010

James Cameron & the Avatarsands.
 Premier Ed Stelmach is facing criticism for acting like a “starstruck teenager” after receiving an invitation to take film director James Cameron on a tour of Alberta’s oil sands. While I doubt that the Ed “Hollywood” Stelmach label will stick, the Premier’s response does show how eager the PCs have become in taking any opportunity to challenge the international criticism of Alberta’s energy beach. (Will fish be on the lunch menu?)

Brian Mason’s “Just trust me” tour.
 NDP MLA Brian Mason made two announcements this week in his and MLA Rachel Notley‘s “Earning your trust” tour across Alberta. In Calgary Edmonton last week, the NDP leader announced a fiscal plan, pledging that an NDP government would balance Alberta’s budget in one year. The NDP leader also announced support for the construction of a post-secondary institution in the Town of Hinton. The NDP are not going to form government or gain wide-spread support in Alberta anytime soon but I have to give that party’s two MLAs credit for being the only party on their side of the political spectrum to be making policy announcements.

Envision Bonnyville/Edson/etc.
Ethical questions have been raised since it was made public that the lobby group opposing the redevelopment of Edmonton’s City Centre Airport lands were asking for financial contributions from northern Alberta municipalities to help fund its campaign. According to news reports, Envision Edmonton asked a number of municipalities for funds, including the Town of Edson, which turned down their request for $10,000 in public funds. The Town of Bonnyville initially said yes, but needs to ratify the decision once again since the lobby group’s plebiscite petition was ruled invalid. (Kudos to Paula Simons who wrote an excellent column on this subject).

Envision Wildrose
There is an important political question about how much the Wildrose Alliance, which has endorsed the Envision Edmonton lobby group, is using this issue to promote their own political agenda. Bonnyville Mayor Ernie Isley told the Bonnyville Nouvelle in a recent interview that ‘his goal in life is to do everything possible in the next two years to elect a Wildrose government next election.’ ‘everything possible.’

Legislature Staffers standing in the municipal election.
Two political staffers at the Alberta Legislature are trying to make the jump to municipal politics this fall. NDP Caucus Research Director Sarah Hoffman is challenging Edmonton Public School Board Trustee George Rice in Ward G. Wildrose Caucus staffer James Johnson is running against City Councillor Jane Batty in Edmonton’s downtown Ward 6. Calgary-Buffalo Liberal MLA Kent Hehr dropped out of the Calgary Mayoral contest last week.

Next Provincial Election.
I have started a list of candidate nominated to stand in the next provincial election (I have also created a link to the list in the bar above). By my count, the Wildrosers have nominated 9 candidates, the NDP 2, and the Liberals will nominate their first candidate on October 2. I will try to keep the list up to date, so please email daveberta.ca@gmail.com if there are additions to the list.

Read more in the Alberta Politics Notes archive.

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Edmonton Politics

dan backs’ burning desire for a political comeback.

A shed fire in Mill Woods has destroyed hundreds of lawn signs being stored for Ward 4 City Council candidate and former MLA Dan Backs. Edmonton Fire and Rescue (EFR) estimated that the shed went up in flames around 10:00 pm on Thursday, September 23.

From the Edmonton Sun (published at 4:28pm on Friday, September 24):

The fire is not considered suspicious — investigators think a discarded cigarette may be to blame.

“There is no evidence found to conclude this was arson,” said EFR spokesman Corwin Odland. “Smoking materials were found around the shed so it’s possible it was accidently set by a cigarette.”

Without much information available to him at the time, Mr. Backs posted a news release on his website at 1:00am on Friday, September 24 titled “Probable Arson Destroys Campaign Signs.” The news release pre-empted and contradicted the EFR spokesperson by claiming that the fire was probably intentionally set and that the case had been referred to Police arson investigators:

In consultation with the Edmonton Fire Department, Dan Backs was informed that this matter has been referred to Edmonton Police Department arson investigators.

There was no source of ignition, electrical or otherwise, and according to discussions with fire department representatives, it had to have been set.

Mr. Backs’ news release then eludes to a previous media report to suggest (without evidence) that his opponent, Councillor Ed Gibbons or his supporters, may have been connected to the fire:

This comes after Dan’s main opponent, incumbent Councillor Ed Gibbons lamented in the Edmonton Journal on September 22, that Dan Backs’ sign campaign was an indication that his campaign was in trouble. ‘I’m not sure that we will ever prove who actually did this’, said Backs. ‘That shed has stood for seventeen years – and my friend has lived in that house for thirty-four years, and there has never been any trouble. This destruction of my signs suddenly places my campaign at a great disadvantage, especially as we were planning to transfer many of them to my new campaign headquarters on Friday.

Since the EFR spokesperson announced that the fire is not considered suspicious, no update has been posted on Mr. Backs’ website correcting his claims of arson or apologizing for his suggestion that Councillor Gibbons’ could be connected to the fire.

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Edmonton Politics

edmonton election 2010: first mayoral debate.

Anytime I walk into an election candidates forum I almost immediately think of this great scene from Season 3 of the West Wing. Maybe I am a dreamer, but I hope that one day I will witness a debater who reaches the level of President Josiah Bartlett.

I was not sure what to expect when I ventured into the packed auditorium at Harry Ainlay High School on Edmonton’s south side. Walking the halls of the giant high school, I remembered the last time I had been in that building was for a Ward 5 (now Ward 9 and 10) all-candidates forum in 2007. I remember that auditorium three years ago being packed with skeptics of then-Councillor Mike Nickel and supporters of first-time challenger Don Iveson.

Last night, I entered the auditorium two minutes before the candidates took to the podium and I wedged myself into a seat in the back row next (which ended up being right next to City Clerk Alayne Sinclair and elections staff, who were overseeing the event and updating the @EdmontonClerk twitter account).

While last night was nothing comparable to the Bartlett-Ritchie debate in the video about, it was a raucous evening. Over the course of the evening, the boisterous crowd jeered, cheered, and heckled the candidates when different issues various pet issues mentioned (the City Centre Airport, the Art Gallery of Alberta, and… David Suzuki and climate change).

First time candidate Dan Dromarsky was the most likable among the candidates. While answering each question, Mr. Dromarsky beamed with genuine concern for Edmonton and demonstrated that he had also done his homework when it came to a lot of the issues. His performance last night made me wish that he would have decided to run for City Council, instead of a Mayoral position that he has no chance of being elected.

Although he did not have a huge impact on the debate, Daryl Bonar has positioned himself as the most aggressive alternative to Mayor Stephen Mandel. His “fight back” campaign and actual platform positions presented a contrast to the other challengers who appeared unprepared for their candidacies.

The most entertaining candidate of the evening turned out to be Bob Ligertwood, who used every opportunity to decry the Internet and Facebook (even stating at one point that the Oil City Roadhouse should be shut down so that the Police could monitor computers at the public libraries). Candidate Andrew Lineker touched on some fair points about the transition of EPCOR to Capital Power, and Dave Dowling was remarkably subdued in light of his previous runs for Mayor.

David Dorward seemed like a nice man who would probably be a great financial adviser, but his focus on repeating platitudes and grasping for political points left me wondering if had the leadership skills or vision to lead an entire City. His campaign has the backing of Envision Edmonton lobby group and the support of their wealthy financial backers, which puts him in a financial advantage over the other challengers. Mr. Dorward has only made one policy announcement (on seniors taxes yesterday) and his campaign has yet to show that he has the policy depth to be a successful Mayor.

It is unfortunate that his campaign feels like it was thrown together at the last hour. Had Mr. Dorward began preparing his bid earlier in the summer, rather than a week before the election period started, the Edmontonians in the room last night probably would have seen a more vigorous debate centered around ideas and vision, rather than platitudes and talking points.

Two-term Mayor Stephen Mandel was the most confident and answered questions with a confidence that none of the other candidates had. He fumbled a few questions, but gave the impression that of the three serious candidates (himself, Mr. Bonar, and Mr. Dorward), he was the only one who actually understood how governance works.

I voted for Mayor Mandel in 2004 and 2007, and I generally believe that he has done a good job over the past six years. I also support City Council’s decision to close the City Centre Airport over a phased period of time and redevelop the lands.

On some other issues, I have been less impressed with the Mayor. I am not comfortable with his cozy relationship with the Katz Group in light of their request for City funding of a downtown arena and I am skeptical about the City’s bid to host the 2017 World Expo. As a young Edmontonian, I also feel that the City should be more aggressive in promoting the construction of family-orinented densification and infill in the urban core, something that none of the candidates spoke about last night.

Most of Mayor Mandel’s challengers demonstrated a fairly evident lack of understanding of how our democratic process and representative democracy functions. Mr. Dorward’s supporters in the crowd jeered at the Mayor and the challengers charged that it was undemocratic for City Council to have rejected a plebiscite on the City Centre Airport redevelopment. None of the challengers thought to mention that the petition was ruled invalid under provincial law. If a candidate cannot demonstrate that they understand how a clearly laid out petition process works, then it is difficult for me to imagine them tackling the macro-level important issues facing the City.

Edmontonians deserved a better debate last night and Mayor Mandel deserved a more serious challenge in this election. Unless the challengers undergo a miraculous change between now and October 18, we may have to wait to see what October 2013 has to offer us.

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