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Originally Posted by timun
Um, wat? Farkas brings it up more than anyone so that he can position himself as the "I don't play identity politics like some 'woke' librul" candidate far more than Nenshi or anyone else on council actually gives a toss about it.
You know they went down this year, right? The City has eliminated about 600 jobs in the last two years. There are fewer people working for the City now than at the beginning of Nenshi's second term as mayor, even though population has grown by about 20% since.
What does Farkas propose cutting to balance said budget, if they continue to cut taxes? If Farkas really gives a crap about taxes how come he has consistently voted against any cuts to police, fire, transit and roads, even though these make up over 80% of the City budget? He says he'd take it from "public art and bike lanes"; do you know how much money the City actually spends on public art and bike lanes? A pittance compared to police, fire, roads and transit...
I'll give him that, he is very conscientious about reaching out to and being receptive to feedback from constituents. He's a populist; doesn't mean he's 'good'.
You know why Nenshi seems arrogant and condescending, like he's "the smartest person in the room"? Because with respect to the rest of city council, he is. If you've ever been to a council meeting you'd see it.
Not to say I would vote for Nenshi—I was incensed that he gave CSEC tons of money for the new arena and pushed so hard for the Olympics, when he positioned himself as the candidate that wouldn't be a pushover to these influences—but Farkas is a boob. A vapid Manning-Centre-trained populist with no concrete policy ideas, just a bunch of hot air about cutting taxes.
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I get it. And for this reason I might not want farkas leading a provincial party in a majority government. But as the mayor, he gets one vote, so how many bad ideas are really going to get done?
But Farkas as mayor sends a message to city hall and the other councilors that Calgarian's want to see real savings and are voting to prioritize efficiency. Farkas changes the mandate from Nenshi.
I love the way the city seems to run from the outside. City employees are great to deal with, efficient and effective. I'm not a hater.
But I can't help but know that with Nenshi at the helm, there wont be same urgency to find further efficiencies and cuts. I've been told by a few people in the know that there is a lot of bloat at city hall and we could be saving a lot more by having someone push for greater cost cutting.
I think a second improvement with Farkas will be more consultation with community associations and citizens. Nenshi doesn't like to consult. And some will contend, he knows best, so why should he? But I don't think that's true because often times there are no absolutely correct answers. Instead, the correct answer is subjective, depends on the preferences of citizens and if you're not willing to gauge that...it's not really optimal.