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Mr. Mayor, Mr. Popular: Naheed Nenshi's first year in office

"Confident." "Fearless." "Geeky." Friends say he hasn't changed, but one year after his stunning election victory, Naheed Nenshi is still trying to bring change to the city

By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald October 16, 2011

Run the names of urban visionary Jane Jacobs and Calgary's mayor into Google, and marvel at all the articles and web pages that show up, Walter Hossli told a cross-Canada gathering of non-profit leaders earlier this month.

Then try that with other big-city mayors. Canadians should vote for civic leaders based on such web-searches, the Calgary poverty-fighter said as he introduced Nenshi to the stage for a keynote address.

[...]

"He's the same fun, geeky, charismatic guy who's a force of nature," said Brian Singh, a friend and strategist on Nenshi's comefrom-behind mayoral victory, one year ago Tuesday.

Leadership was a longtime dream of his, and he endlessly thought and talked about civic planning and politics, so his win was "sort of 10 years working on the overnight success," said Sharon McIntyre, a fellow marketing professor alongside Nenshi at Mount Royal University's business school.

"He didn't have to switch on or off any parts of his personality."

[...]

The honeymoon period hasn't ended, pollster Jamie Duncan said.

"That's a very hard level to maintain," he said.

"Will it drop? Perhaps. Is it likely to? Perhaps. How far and how quickly is in his control."

"Today Calgary is a different place than it was yesterday. It's a better place," Nenshi declared the night he got elected. "And not because of me, but because of you."

A year on, he feels that's rubbed off on Calgarians, from the people who stop and talk to him as he walks Stephen Avenue, to those doing more local volunteering.

[...]

There may be gripes but, after the bitter clashes of Bronconnier and former alderman Ric McIver, there's widespread agreement that Nenshi is presiding over a more collegial era on council.

Nenshi seems to hold most sway with five newcomers elected alongside him. They broke with him 4-1 on the contentious tunnel plan, compared to the 3-6 vote among those who have sat on council longer.

It's in the other half of the mayor's job - promoting the city, here and away - where Nenshi has even fewer detractors and more adulation. He's gotten more national and international press so far than Bronconnier got in nine years, and it's gone well beyond him being Canada's first Muslim mayor of a major city and into the vanguard of Calgary's aspiring new image as a progressive, big-ideas, big-opportunity metropolis.

[...]

Bronconnier came in at a time Calgary craved infrastructure. Nenshi, who gets to open both the west LRT and Peace Bridge next year, seems determined to boldly trod the floorboards of the stage past councils built.

"He's able to tap into and tie into people's emotions. despite that he's a bit of a policy wonk," McIntyre said. "He relates at a very human level, and it's not for show. He just enjoys his city."

After Year 1, the city is enjoying him right back.

Link to the rest of the article

Also a video interview with Herald columnists here:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Mayor+N...756/story.html