Which mayor is not going to spend any of my tax dollers wastefully and will actually apply common sense to decisions in city hall... never mind...
There's that term again.
First, "common sense" isn't all that common. Second, "common sense" doesn't apply to a lot of the more politically contentious issues. Sure, there's some quick and easy decision type stuff that comes through City Council, but bigger issues are often not so black and white. If all it took was so-called "common sense" to run the City, it could all be done by a computer.
^ Yes, 'common sense' is one of those badly overused terms in politics. In Ontario former Premier Mike Harris put forward the 'Common Sense Revolution' - In the end, very little of what he did was common sense. In fact, he probably set back the province a decade.
If the best solutions were simply common sense, that would mean anyone could just effectively run the city based on their own basic understanding of things. What we should hope from our mayor is well reasoned solutions to issues based on clear understanding of best practice and outcomes, not guided by some ideological bent or instinct. Not common sense, but uncommonly intelligent sense.
Last edited by Bunk; 06-30-2010 at 07:55 AM.
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I voted Kassam. All big cities need a slick mayor with a shady past who may or may not be corrupt. Calgary is a big city.
To be a truly "World Class" city we need to follow in the footsteps of places like Chicago with the Daley legacy. Embrace the corruption and greed, then we'll know we've made it!
The alleged corruption scandal at city hall shows we are on the right path!
I will probably vote McIvor and join 'Burn This City' in his fan club. Should this have been 9 years ago after a decade of Al Duer and a huge backlog of infrastructure projects, I would be voting Nenshi. However we're exiting a period where a lot of infrastructure has been built and in the midst of the crazyness of growth, cost control took a back seat for promptness. The problems in the audit office highlight that. It's now time to rethink how the city is run and how much money it takes to run it. We can get back to vision building after the city relearns how to properly budget and execute.
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I will probably vote McIvor and join 'Burn This City' in his fan club. Should this have been 9 years ago after a decade of Al Duer and a huge backlog of infrastructure projects, I would be voting Nenshi. However we're exiting a period where a lot of infrastructure has been built and in the midst of the crazyness of growth, cost control took a back seat for promptness. The problems in the audit office highlight that. It's now time to rethink how the city is run and how much money it takes to run it. We can get back to vision building after the city relearns how to properly budget and execute.
Fair enough, but is McIver truly the person capable of reining in costs? Does he know how to do it? Do his actions as an Alderman in the past 9 years actually indicate an ability to reform the system? In fact, his actions may indicate the opposite.
While he was wasting council time compaining about 2 lanes being closed on a sunday for a festival and hassling chinatown for every line item of its $500,000 centenary celebration, he also was working hand-in-hand with suburban developers during Plan-It to reduce minimum densities to levels below what current subdivisions are being planned at. He successfully shepherded an amendment to the municipal development plan that dropped recommended required densities from 70 down to 60 people/jobs per hectare (with zero public consultation at the last minute by the way). One single move that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions, if not a couple of billion in the cost of servicing new growth on the fringe of the city over the next several decades. At the same time, he was also one of the only alderman that wanted to continue with the expo 2017 bid despite it being a guaranteed $1 billion money loser.
A couple Nenshi herald editorials articulate this well:
Despite McIver being effective at trumping himself up as a strong fiscal conservative by chest thumping during budget deliberations, on the whole his approach is costing us more in the end. If we want cost control and lower taxes, Nenshi's probably a much better bet in reality.
Last edited by Bunk; 06-30-2010 at 09:40 AM.
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Thanks for putting up the poll... Other than Kent Hehr who played College hockey with the Mount Royal Cougars, I'm the only candidate with any formal hockey background. I was Coach of the Year in the CJHL back in 1990. Coached the NW Stampeders back then. I was also President of Canmore Minor Hockey Association. I started coaching when I was 13. I was also the first Coach & General Manager of the Airdrie Xtreme. Operated a hockey school where I booked and worked with Jarome Iginla & Chris Pronger. Also coached and played in Europe, both during my time in the PPCLI & after my military career.
I'm not suggesting that having a 30 plus year connection to hockey makes me a better candidate, just some trivia for the board...
And my opinion on polls/predictions...? http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...edictions.html
BTW, anyone can contact me at anytime on election issues or general civic concerns.
See http://www.paulinate.com/ for contact info and insights into my position.
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I voted Hehr, because I like his politics and his attitude towards getting s*** done (and I went to law school with him). But if the wind seems to be blowing in a way that I could vote Nenshi to make sure McIver didn't get in, I'd go that route too. I respect Naheed, I just don't know him or his politics as well as Kent's.
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I am actually embarrassed to admit I have paid zero attention to the mayoral race. Considering our history, it is likely that this will be our mayor for the next decade or more so I probably should be, but for the first time in a long time I really have more important things to worry about than which idiot is sitting behind a desk at city hall making the same choices as any of the other idiots would have.
I think I might have passed the point of no return on cynicism.
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"Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."
I am actually embarrassed to admit I have paid zero attention to the mayoral race. Considering our history, it is likely that this will be our mayor for the next decade or more so I probably should be, but for the first time in a long time I really have more important things to worry about than which idiot is sitting behind a desk at city hall making the same choices as any of the other idiots would have.
I think I might have passed the point of no return on cynicism.
That is a bit cynical. But look at the past two mayors - they couldn't have been much different. Duerr was a don't rock the boat timid sort of consensus builder that didn't seem to get a lot done. Bronconnier was a builder, with a much more aggressive leadership style.
The thing is the muncipal government is that which is closest to the people. It probably effects your day-to-day life the most of all the levels of government. I think it's worth paying attention.
Majority are voting against MacIver, but split between Nenshi and Hehr. I wonder what CP's demographics look like - ie, are we looking at a younger vote or a broad spectrum.
In this election, I'm looking less for candidates delivering solutions and more for people wanting to delve into the problems and build a solution. I do not believe anyone can simply have a solution ready for any of the problems Calgary faces right now - anyone promising such a thing is highly suspicious to me.
So I'm leaning toward Nenshi, though I think Hehr would easily be a better political choice. The two of them working together would be ideal IMO.
I refuse to look at MacIver simply because he is on the council and has been active in municipal politics for too long. The longer someone stays in politics, the more favours they owe people.
The thing is the muncipal government is that which is closest to the people. It probably effects your day-to-day life the most of all the levels of government. I think it's worth paying attention.
I agree 100%, which is why it was embarrassing to say. Normally I am much more involved in this kind of thing. Maybe this thread will give me the incentive to find out about the candidates.
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"Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."
