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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Alberta Politics

all in the family.

I’m not a big fan of career politicians and I’m even less a fan of political dynasties… our neighbours to the south may have the Kennedy, Clinton, and Bush dynasties (among others), but a closer look at the candidates in the 2008 Alberta election will reveal close family ties closer to home.

Here are nine candidates running in the 2008 Alberta Election stuck with the unfortunate political gene…

Athabasca-Redwater Tory candidate Jeff Johnson is the son of retiring Tory MLA LeRoy Johnson (1997-2008).

Athabasca-Redwater Alberta Liberal candidate Bill Bonko is the son of, well Edmonton-Decore Alberta Liberal MLA Bill Bonko.

Calgary-Egmont Wildrose Alliance candidate Barry Chase is the father of Calgary-Fort Wildrose Alliance candidate Travis Chase (no relation to Calgary-Varsity Alberta Liberal MLA Harry Chase).

Calgary-Foothills Tory MLA Len Webber’s father, Neil Webber, was the Tory MLA for Calgary-Bow from 1975 to 1989.

Calgary-Shaw Tory MLA Cindy Ady’s father-in-law, Jack Ady, was the Tory MLA for Cardston-Chief Mountain from 1993-1997.

Cardston-Taber-Warner Wildrose Alliance MLA & leader Paul Hinman‘s grandfather was Edgar Hinman, Alberta Social Credit MLA and Treasurer from 1955-1964.

Edmonton-Strathcona NDP candidate Rachel Notley‘s father was Grant Notley, NDP leader and MLA for Fairview-Spirit River (1971-1982)

Peace River Tory MLA Frank Oberle‘s father, Frank Oberle, was the MP for Prince George-Peace River from 1973 to 1993.

Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert Tory MLA Doug Horner’s grandfather Ralph Horner, was a Senator for Saskatchewan, his father, Dr. Hugh Horner was a federal Member of Parliament under John Diefenbaker and then Alberta’s agriculture minister and deputy premier in the 1970s, and his uncles Jack Horner, Albert Horner and Norval Horner were federal MPs.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election

upcoming election forums.

The University of Alberta Students’ Union will be holding two all-candidates forums next week.

Edmonton-Strathcona All-Candidate Forum
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
6:00 p.m.
Myer Horowitz Theatre (2nd Floor, SUB)
*RSVP on Facebook

Edmonton-Riverview All-Candidate Forum
Monday, February 25, 2008
6:00 p.m.
Dinwoodie Lounge (2nd Floor, SUB)
*RSVP on Facebook

Check out the list of 2008 Alberta election nominated candidates.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Alberta Politics

taking aim at the ‘scud stud.’

Last week, Calgary-Currie PC candidate Arthur Kent had some kind words for Tory leader Ed Stelmach. Today, National Post writer Don Martin aimed some less than kind words at the ‘stud scud.’

‘Scud stud’ a dud in Alberta election

Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008

OTTAWA -He was the Satellite Dish and the Desert Fox before they christened him with the nickname that stuck: The Scud Stud.

But Alberta Conservatives have bestowed problem candidate Arthur Kent with a less flattering designation as he noisily blusters his way through their ailing election campaign: The Dud Scud.

Kent is taking on Alberta Liberal MLA Dave Taylor.

Also, Calgary-Fish Creek Alberta Liberal candidate Laura Shutiak has started a campaign blog.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Edmonton-Calder

alberta election 2008: edmonton-calder.

Edmonton-Calder is the Poland of Alberta’s political map – it has moved around, disappeared and reappeared in different forms and names, and tends to swing between political powers.

Calder was held by Tory Tom Chambers from 1971 until 1986 when Christine Mjolsness caught a ride on the anti-Don Getty wave and was elected for the New Democrats. Calder was held by the Mjolsness until it disappeared in 1993 when it was split into Edmonton-Mayfield and Edmonton-Roper. Both Mayfield and Roper elected Alberta Liberal MLAs in 1993 – Lance White and Sine Chadi (Mjolsness was defeated by Chadi in Roper). In 1997, Edmonton-Mayfield’s name was changed and Calder reappeared on the map as Lance White held the seat against Tory Lynn Faulder and former Edmonton-Kingsway ND MLA Alex McEachern.

In 2001, White faced off against Tory Brent Rathgeber and ND Christine Burdett. In a three way race, Rathgeber unseated White. In 2004, Rathgeber found himself in another three way race between ND David Eggen and Alberta Liberal Brad Smith. Having started campaigning early, the fruit of Eggen’s campaigning paid off as he narrowly knocked off Rathgeber.

Eggen is now running for a second-term against two main challengers, Alberta Liberal Jim Kane and Tory Doug Elniski. Kane is a company officer for CN in Edmonton and has experience in management and union grievance resolution. Taking a page from Eggen’s book, Kane began door knocking and campaigning in Calder early. Elniski’s background includes work in safety management, human resource management, construction, adult education, and business consulting. On a purely anecdotal note, Elniski may also be the tallest candidate I’ve ever seen.

Between 2004 and the 2006 Census, Calder grew by 15.46%, bringing over 3,500 new people to this north west Edmonton constituency.

Even though Eggen is easily the most effective member of the four-man NDP caucus, his re-election isn’t assured. Over the past decade, Calder has become a notorious swing riding and holds strong bases of support for all three main parties. If this were a different constituency, I might say that Eggen would have it in the bag, but with the Liberals, Tories, and NDP all having all held Calder during the past ten years (and three elections), you can bet that Eggen, Kane, and Elniski will be working extra hard to win over voters in this constituency.

2008 Edmonton-Calder Candidates

Alberta Liberal – Jim Kane
ND – Dave Eggen*
PC – Doug Elniski
Green – Mike Brown

Edmonton-Calder Past Election Results

2004
David Eggen, ND – 4,067
x Brent Rathgeber, PC – 3,730
Brad Smith, Lib – 2,985
Vicki Kramer, AA – 513
Voter Turnout: 49%

2001
Brent Rathgeber, PC – 5,128
x Lance White, Lib – 4,654
Christine Burdett, ND – 2,432
Voter Turnout: 51.7%

1997
x Lance White, Lib – 4,802
Lynn Faulder, PC – 3,860
Alex McEachern, ND – 3,250
Voter Turnout: 53.4%

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Conflict-of-Interest Legislation Elections Alberta

34% of returning officers have a known association with the tories.

The Edmonton Journal is reporting this morning that approximately 28 returning officers running the show in Alberta’s 2008 election are affiliated with the Progressive Conservative Party. As others have pointed out:

That means that approx. 34% of returning officers have a known association with the Tories. For this proportion to be just by chance (that is, the returning officer population represents an accurate reflection of the population at large) there would have to be approx. 1.1 million current or former PC party members in Alberta. The PCs are popular, but not that popular.

Alberta’s Chief Returning Officer Lorne Gibson has made a number of recommendations to Tory Justice Minister Ron Stevens on how to revamp Alberta’s election process. One of these recommendations, which obviously wasn’t adopted, included:

2. Prohibition against political activity

Returning officers are currently prohibited from engaging in political activity in support of a political party or candidate, and from making a contribution under the Elections Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. There is no similar restriction on parrisan activity at the constituency association level.

All election officers, and particularly Returning Officers, must be completely non-partisan in fact and perception. The prohibition on political activity should include a restriction on constituency association level participation.

Since the Election Clerk may be called upon to replace the Returning Officer in the case of absence or inability to act, and because of the high profile of that position, the same prohibitions should apply.

Recommendations:
a. Expand the list of prohibited activities for Returning Officer to include participation at the constituency association level.
b. Extend the prohibition against political activity to include Election Clerks.

Is it too much to ask that “all election officers, and particularly Returning Officers, must be completely non-partisan in fact and perception?” Judging Ed Stelmach‘s response to the allegations, maybe it is after 37-years of Tory governments.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Calgary-Buffalo

alberta election 2008: calgary-buffalo.

In 1986, lawyer and Rhodes Scholar Sheldon Chumir swept into Calgary-Buffalo to become the first Alberta Liberal MLA elected in Calgary since 1967. Chumir was re-elected in 1989 and following his untimely death in 1992, a by-election was held that elected Alberta Liberal Gary Dickson (Dickson faced off against Tory candidate Rod Love). Dickson was re-elected in tight races in 1993 and 1997. In 2001, Dickson retired from politics and is now Information & Privacy Commissioner for the Province of Saskatchewan.

In 2001, police officer Harvey Cenaiko picked up Buffalo for the Tories by defeating Liberal Brian Edy. In 2004, Cenaiko was re-elected after a challenge from Calgary lawyer Terry Taylor (the son of former Alberta Liberal Leader Nick Taylor). With Cenaiko retiring (even though his re-election website is still up and running…), Buffalo is a constituency to watch. If the Alberta Liberals are going to pick up new seats in this city, Buffalo will be on top of that list and hoping to make that a reality is Calgary lawyer Kent Hehr, who is leading the Alberta Liberal charge against Tory candidate Sean Chu.

Kent Hehr may have one of the most interesting backgrounds of any candidate in this election. In 1991, while he was a student at Mount Royal College and playing on the college hockey team, he was a victim of a drive-by shooting that left him quadriplegic – something that obviously hasn’t held him back as he has been named one of the 20 most compelling Calgarians to watch in 2008 by the Calgary Herald and one of the Top 40 under 40 by Calgary Inc. Magazine.

Chu joined the Calgary Police Officer in 1992 after having immigrated to Calgary from Taiwan in 1985 and attending Mount Royal College.

Buffalo is a dense downtown Calgary constituency and has seen enormous growth since the last election. Between 2004 and 2006, the population of Buffalo grew by 21.33% – bringing over 5,200 new voters to the constituency. The over 70% renting population has contributed voter turnout in Buffalo, which had one of the lowest turnouts in the 2004 election. Taking into account Calgary’s apparent dissatisfaction with Ed Stelmach‘ s premiership, I’m giving Kent Hehr the edge in Buffalo, but it still could be close.

Calgary-Buffalo Candidates

Alberta Liberal – Kent Hehr
Green – Steven Rickets
ND – Robert Lawrence
PC – Sean Chu

Calgary-Buffalo Past Election Results

2004
x Harvey Cenaiko, PC – 3,365
Terry Taylor, Lib – 2,815
Grant Neufeld, Grn – 670
Cliff Hesby, NDP – 457
Elizabeth Fielding, SC – 73
Carl Schwartz, AP – 56
Voter Turnout: 31.5%

2001
Harvey Cenaiko, PC – 5,582
Brian Edy, Lib – 4,135
Neil McKinnon, NDP – 473
Dave Schwartz, SC – 113
Voter Turnout: 41.7%

1997
x Gary Dickson, Lib – 4,310
Terri-Lynn Bradford, PC – 4,115
Neil McKinnon, NDP – 547
Raymond Neilson, SC – 300
Ralph Holt, NLP – 115
Turnout: 40.9%

(Enlightened Savage also has a good profile on Calgary-Buffalo)

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Alberta Politics Calgary-Montrose

calgary-montrose conflict-of-interest?

The curse on the Stelmach Tories house in Calgary-Montrose continues as it has been uncovered that the local Returning Officer has PC Party ties…

The Conservative government appointed Lynn Warkentin in December to be the returning officer in the northeast riding.

Her husband, Frank, is the chair of the Progressive Conservative party’s nomination committee in Calgary-Montrose — a connection, the two opposition leaders say, that warrants the removal of Warkentin from her post.

“There’s very close ties between the local returning officer and the PC association [in Calgary-Montrose],” said Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft.

“It’s wrong. There should not be ties between returning officers and any political party.”

Last year, Alberta’s Chief Returning Officer Lorne Gibson made a number of recommendations to Tory Justice Minister Ron Stevens on how to revamp Alberta’s election process. One of these recommendations, which obviously weren’t adopted, included:

2. Prohibition against political activity

Returning officers are currently prohibited from engaging in political activity in support of a political party or candidate, and from making a contribution under the Elections Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. There is no similar restriction on parrisan activity at the constituency association level.

All election officers, and particularly Returning Officers, must be completely non-partisan in fact and perception. The prohibition on political activity should include a restriction on constituency association level participation.

Since the Election Clerk may be called upon to replace the Returning Officer in the case of absence or inability to act, and because of the high profile of that position, the same prohibitions should apply.

Recommendations:
a. Expand the list of prohibited activities for Returning Officer to include participation at the constituency association level.
b. Extend the prohibition against political activity to include Election Clerks.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Edmonton-Meadowlark

alberta election 2008: edmonton-meadowlark.

One of the most hotly contested races in this election is taking place in the west-end Edmonton constituency of Edmonton-Meadowlark…

After electing Alberta Liberal MLAs Grant Mitchell and Karen Leibovici from 1986 to 2001, Edmonton-Meadowlark was once known as a reliably Liberal voting constituency. In 2001, Meadowlark moved into the ‘swing constituency’ category when Leibovici was unexpectedly defeated by former High School Principal turned Progressive Conservative candidate Bob Maskell. In 2004, after spending four years lingering in the Tory backbenches Maskell was defeated by Alberta Liberal Maurice Tougas (by a slim margin of 193 votes – the third closest race in the province). Tougas surprised political watchers when it was revealed that his campaign only spent $5,367, compared to Maskell’s $46,457 – meaning that Tougas’ campaign spent $1.21 per vote compared to Maskell’s $10.95 per vote. You’d have to try pretty hard to find a clearer example that money isn’t always everything in politics than the 2004 Edmonton-Meadowlark race.

With Tougas not seeking re-election, Meadowlark is again a battleground with both the Alberta Liberals and PCs lining up strong candidates at the O-Meadowlark Corral (yeah, I went there…).

This time, the Alberta Liberals are running Debbie Cavaliere. Cavaliere is a familiar local name having been elected Chair and Trustee of the Edmonton Catholic School District from 2001 until 2007. The Tories are challenging Cavaliere with Dr. Raj Sherman, an Emergency Room doctor and former President for the Emergency Physicians of Alberta at the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). Both Cavaliere and Sherman are strong candidates with solid professional backgrounds, but it is their former political backgrounds that add an even more interesting flavour to this race. Just over a year ago, Sherman was knee deep in the Federal Liberal Leadership campaign of Gerard Kennedy during race that elected Stéphane Dion. Cavaliere originally ran for the PC nomination against Sherman, but later left the race and opted to instead run for the Alberta Liberal nomination against lawyer Bruce King (don’t worry if you’re a little confused about both of them, so am I…). It will be interesting to see how (or if) these candidates former political allegiances play in the minds of Meadowlark voters.

Both Cavaliere’s and Sherman’s teams will be campaigning hard in Meadowlark, but if the Tories pick up any constituencies in Edmonton, Meadowlark will be near the top on the list (as I told Sherman last fall, if the Tories win Meadowlark, he’ll “make a great official opposition health critic.“).

Other candidates include second-time Green challenger Amanda Doyle, Wildrose Alliance candidate (and owner of the World Trade Center Memorial Tribute site) Richard Guyon, and New Democrat Pascal Ryffel.

Because of the sheer amount of growth since the last election, population shift is an unusually important factor in races like Meadowlark. Between the 2004 Election and the 2006 Census, Edmonton-Meadowlark grew by 14.69% bringing over 3,500 new residents to the constituency.

2008 Edmonton-Meadowlark Candidates

Alberta Liberal – Debbie Cavaliere
Green – Amanda Doyle
ND – Pascal Ryffel
PC – Raj Sherman
Wildrose Alliance – Richard Guyon

Edmonton-Meadowlark Past Election Results

2004
Maurice Tougas, Lib – 4,435
x Bob Maskell, PC – 4,242
Lance Burns, NDP – 1,306
Aaron Campbell, AA – 446
Amanda Doyle, Grn – 243
Peggy Morton, Ind – 76
Voter Turnout: 45.3%

2001
Bob Maskell, PC – 6,108
x Karen Leibovici, Lib – 5,674
Mike Hudema, NDP – 636
Peggy Morton, Ind – 144
Voter Turnout: 56%

1997
x Karen Leibovici, Lib – 6,047
Laurie Pushor, PC – 4,672
Terry McNally, NDP – 831
Aaron Hinman, SC – 435
Geoff Toane, NLP – 55
Voter Turnout: 56%

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election

lawn signs and debate.

This morning, a week into the 2008 Alberta Election campaign, I saw my first PC lawn sign – belonging to David Doward in Edmonton-Gold Bar. Doward is running against Alberta Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald (who has about a 10 times more lawn signs out in Gold Bar). In 2004, Hugh MacDonald was re-elected with the second largest margin of victory in the province and earned 62% of the vote.

The date of the Leaders Debate will be at 6:30pm on Thursday, February 21, 2008 and will include Tory leader Ed Stelmach, Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft, Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman, and New Democrat Brian Mason.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Change that works for Tory Insiders Conflict-of-Interest Legislation Ed Stelmach Ralph Klein

more on change that works for tory insiders.

As I wrote earlier this week, only hours before the March 3 election was called Tory leader Ed Stelmach and his cabinet changed the date that Alberta’s new conflict-of-interest legislation take effect. This change means that the tougher conflict-of-interest rules don’t apply to retiring or defeated Tory cabinet ministers and MLAs.

A quick look back in time shows that when former Tory leader Ralph Klein implemented new conflict-of-interest rules he did so over three months before the 1993 election, instead of waiting until after the election. I didn’t think that this is what Ed Stelmach meant when he started trying to distance himself from Klein…

The timing of the change raises some important questions:

Which cabinet ministers supported this decision? Did retiring cabinet ministers Lyle Oberg and Greg Melchin participate or influence this decision?

Which cabinet ministers believed that their fellow Tories shouldn’t been held to account under the new rules?

Does 37-years in power give you the right to decide that your friends are above the rules?

These are only some of the questions that Albertans shouldn’t hesitate to ask their Progressive Conservative candidates, MLAs, and cabinet ministers. Albertans deserve to know the answers.
Albertans deserve better from their elected representatives. Albertans deserve better from their government.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Blogs

get rich or die trying.

A new Alberta political blog has popped up.

Say a big hello to Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Alberta NDP Alberta Politics

alberta ndp. on your side?

Okay, let’s take a close look at the Alberta NDP this morning…

September 21, 2007: NDP MLA Ray Martin writes to Alberta unions to shake them down for a minimum of $5,000 to fund another NDP election campaign.

Fall 2007: NDP leader Brian Mason writes in his Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA newsletter that he supports eliminating corporate and union donations to political parties.

Furthermore, NDP leader Brian Mason said in Calgary yesterday that “Liberals and Conservatives accepted $1.5 million from big oil and other large corporations in 2006, and almost $1.6 million in 2005.” The statement is not just misleading, but wrong.

According to Elections Alberta breakdowns, the Alberta Liberals received roughly $273,000 from all corporate sources in 2005, and $336,000 in 2006. When you actually look at the numbers, lumping the Alberta Liberals together with the Progressive Conservative fundraising totals is disingenuous.

Mason also stated the NDP received $18,000 from unions in 2006. While this is correct, the NDP received over $100,000 in donations from union sources in 2004, an election year.

One wonders how much the NDP raised in 2007, when NDP MLA Ray Martin demanded his $5,000 shakedown…

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election edspedia.ca Laura Shutiak Tim Stock-Bateman

youtubing around alberta’s election.

As promised, here’s the weekly round of Alberta election 2008 videos that caught my eye…

The good folks at edspedia.ca have brought us this lovely video…

This next one is from Laura Shutiak, Alberta Liberal candidate in Calgary-Fish Creek with her top 10 reasons to vote for Laura Shutiak in Calgary-Fish Creek (#5 is my favorite). Shutiak is taking on former Tory cabinet minister Heather Forsyth.

From the campaign of Tim Stock-Bateman, ND candidate in Calgary-Varsity.

If you come across some good Alberta political videos, send a link to daveberta.ca@gmail.com.

Click here to check out more YouTube videos.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election

stelmach’s nep.

Good grief. I wonder if anyone actually knows what the NEP really was anymore. Of course, it doesn’t really matter.

Alan Dunn, an outspoken member of Strathcona County council, compares the new regional board to the infamous NEP, the Trudeau government’s national energy program that caused an uproar in Alberta in 1980.

“This is a kind of mini-NEP that is being imposed on the surrounding areas for the benefit of Edmonton,” said Dunn.

This said, I’m not sure Ed Stelmach knows what it was either.

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2007 Canadian Blog Awards

scoring a hat-trick for alberta.

daveberta.ca best political blog
daveberta.ca best progressive blogdaveberta.ca best blogosphere citizen

The votes have been counted and we have won in three categories of the 2007 Canadian Blog Awards.

daveberta.ca has been voted Canada’s BEST PROGRESSIVE BLOG, BEST BLOGOSPHERE CITIZEN, and as of last night – Canada’s BEST POLITICAL BLOG. It’s a remarkable achievement we can all be proud of.

Tonight, we know one thing for sure — our time has come, our movement is real, and change is coming.

At this moment in history, the stakes are too high and the challenges too great to play the same game with the same players and expect a different result.

This time must be different.

There will be those who say it cannot be done. But we know what we have seen and what we believe — that when ordinary people come together we can still do extraordinary things.

Yes, we can.

Thank you so much,

Dave

Here are the rankings for the four categories in which daveberta.ca was nominated:

BEST BLOG
1. Yarn Harlot
2. Raymi the Minx
3. Mike’s Bloggity Blob Blob
4. daveberta.ca
5. Small Dead Animals

BEST POLITICAL BLOG
1. daveberta.ca
2. Calgary Grit
3. Small Dead Animals
4. Uncorrected Proofs
5. Angry in the Great White North

BEST PROGRESSIVE BLOG
1. daveberta.ca
2. Calgary Grit
3. We Move To Canada
4. Uncorrected Proofs
5 .Stageleft: Life On The [Lower] Left Side

BEST BLOGOSPHERE CITIZEN
1. Dave Cournoyer of daveberta.ca
2. Kevin Grandia of DeSmogBlog
3. Dave Hingsburger from Chewing the Fat
4. Angella of Dutch Blitz
5. Julie Wilson of Seen Reading

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