Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleK
Dumb question....
Preface to dumb question: I moved to Calgary in 2008.
Who was the last 'good' mayor? Or has there been one?
|
What makes a good mayor?
People talk up Duerr a lot even though nothing got built (but taxes didn't rise), putting the city into a major infrastructure deficit heading into over a decade of boom times.
Bronco spent and spent to the point people got tired of him, but we got some major projects done.
Klein is Klein. Had a tough decade for the city but also had the focus of the Olympics to work with. Was popular enough to be a card-carrying Liberal to become a beloved PC premier.
Nenshi had to balance keeping up with infrastructure spending while not quite being as wild-west with it as Bronco was. Was probably the right mayor to have take over for the East Village transformation. People whine about spending on stuff like bike lanes ($7M) and the Peace Bridge ($25M...also not Nenshi's) and other capital projects on the city's increasing operational spending leading to property tax increases, so it's really hard to judge.
Bronco and Nenshi aren't as beloved as Duerr and Klein, but they also had to deal with a period of ridiculous growth and almost two decades of relative inaction in the city to make up for.
So if you're a 'low taxes and give me some roads to drive to work' Duerr and Klein are your guys. If 'let's turn this mid-size city into a big city' is what floats your boat, Nenshi and Bronco are your guys.