Quote:
Originally Posted by cheevers
I am not a huge fan of Gondek, but this feels like a "the devil you know" situation. Imagine what backwards hick the TBA will run and our idiot Premier will endorse when given the opportunity.
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TBA already ran their sh-te candidates and got shut down rather nicely (aside from McLean, more on that in a moment).
I personally would rather roll the dice on who replaces Gondek than stay with her. The whole "devil you know" thing is a good part of why the federal Conservatives can't win an election, aside from choosing bad candidates (or choosing okay ones and then whipping them until they are garbage). Given Calgary's weak mayor system, I'd happily swap out Gondek for a 10lb bag of potatoes with googly eyes on them at this point.
What does really worry me about Gondek's performance and keeping her around is that it's easy for people like Dan McLean to use her constant missteps as favourable contrast -- ammunition for him being considered a 'reasonable' voice on council. McLean even being dubbed part of the 'Sane Six' is evidence enough that Gondek's woeful performance is elevating he who should be considered the second worst person on council after Sean Chu (who is also part of the same 'Sane Six' which should tell you how bad the problem is).
To herself, Gondek is a net-negative, but I think her ability to say the wrong thing and focus on the wrong priorities ends up giving a boost to the people on council who have zero business being there. And I hate to say it, but I think if there's anyone who feels particularly positive about their chances to get back into council, McLean might just be it, and he has the mayor and councillors like Walcott and Penner to thank for it.