2013 Calgary Municipal Election Thread

[Fusebox]

Originally Posted by Kavvy

I think you brought up some interesting points, however, the big blue circle discussion needs to die.

It is my understanding no one is annoyed that we have a 1% capital project cost which goes to art, people are just annoyed at the fact we have an expensive, ugly, badly located piece of art (yes art is subjective, but it's ugly) we as tax payers paid for.

If that is the case, I was told that this type of art is selected by a committee, of which Nenshi doesn't control, so it really isn't in his scope. Let the circle discussion die please!

Someone with more understanding of civic processes can't confirm if the above is true I am sure.

A simple solution to that is to have any and all money spent on art projects be voted on by council, that way we have a body of people that are accountable to the voting, taxpaying public.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Fusebox

A simple solution to that is to have any and all money spent on art projects be voted on by council, that way we have a body of people that are accountable to the voting, taxpaying public.

That sounds like a recipe for disaster. I quickly see the 1% ballooning to a much higher price than that when we're paying our entire council to bicker & moan about each & every piece.

I posted this link in the Blue Circle thread but it's worth revisiting:
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreatio...ect=/publicart

The program as a whole seems to be producing good results over all and in my opinion is money well spent. It's unfair to derail the whole program (or make an election issue out of it) because of one bad piece.

[Fusebox]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

That sounds like a recipe for disaster. I quickly see the 1% ballooning to a much higher price than that when we're paying our entire council to bicker & moan about each & every piece.

I post this link in the Blue Circle thread but it's worth revisiting:
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreatio...ect=/publicart

The program as a whole seems to be producing good results over all and in my opinion is money well spent. It's unfair to derail the whole program (or make an election issue out of it) because of one bad piece.

I would welcome the opportunity to see anyone on council try to defend having voted for spending 470k of taxpayer's money on this blue ring of death.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Fusebox

A simple solution to that is to have any and all money spent on art projects be voted on by council, that way we have a body of people that are accountable to the voting, taxpaying public.

Ugh, get ready to see more bronze horses and cowboys if that's the case. Art should never be put up to a vote unless you want the most banal and uninspiring work ever.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Fusebox

A simple solution to that is to have any and all money spent on art projects be voted on by council, that way we have a body of people that are accountable to the voting, taxpaying public.

Council should set policy (and revisit if necessary), not curate individual pieces of art.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Ugh, get ready to see more bronze horses and cowboys if that's the case. Art should never be put up to a vote unless you want the most banal and uninspiring work ever.

Introducing a new public art piece that has ben given approval by everyone. We really feel it embodies the passion, culture and uniqueness of the city of Calgary. We call it "Don't take any chances and keep it cheap and the fiscal conservatives won't pester us".

[Flash Walken]

I would argue that if one of your main issues with nenshi is public art installations, then he is one of, if not the, best mayors in recent memory.

That isn't to diminish the opinion that changes could be made to policy regarding arts funding, but, it is akin to not liking a politician for their respective taste in wardrobe. It is not, in my mind, a substantive issue.

Full disclosure: I am not a nenshi sycophant and did not vote for him.

[SebC]

I wonder if it would be better to have public art seperate from infrastructure projects. It could be a revenue/cost-neutral change, but still create flexibility in how we spend the money.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Fusebox

I would welcome the opportunity to see anyone on council try to defend having voted for spending 470k of taxpayer's money on this blue ring of death.

Well they've already done that, by approving 1% of infrastructure spending towards public art.

Look, the "blue ring" is ugly, I'm not defending the piece in anyway, all I'm saying is that it's short sighted to pick a single piece from a collection and determine the entire collection a failure or waste of money.

Is it fair to reasses the program based on a bad piece? Absolutely. But we still need to asses the program as a whole and determine what the shortcomings are instead of using a single piece as a hot button issue.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by SebC

I wonder if it would be better to have public art seperate from infrastructure projects. It could be a revenue/cost-neutral change, but still create flexibility in how we spend the money.

I wish this would happen, We dont need art on roads other than some imprints into the overpasses (which are surprisingly more costly then you would think). So the any left over money after beautification things for railings, and retaining walls should be dumped into an art fund to fund bigger impact projects not tied to the original capital projects.

[Tyler]

Welp, the Sun is not endorsing Nenshi for this election. I guess that means he's the right person to vote for.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Welp, the Sun is not endorsing Nenshi for this election. I guess that means he's the right person to vote for.

Are they endorsing one of the fringe candidates or no one at all?

[1stLand]

The Sun acknowledged in one of their articles today that 3 years ago they Endorsed Nenshi for Mayor. They probably actually helped get him elected due to their widespread readership (like it or not).

I guess this "Fringe Right Wing" news publication turned progressive 3 days ago for 1 day.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by 1stLand

The Sun acknowledged in one of their articles today that 3 years ago they Endorsed Nenshi for Mayor. They probably actually helped get him elected due to their widespread readership (like it or not).

I guess this "Fringe Right Wing" news publication turned progressive 3 days ago for 1 day.

Please tell me that was their quote and not yours.....

[MrMastodonFarm]

ha! The Sun is at their best this morning. The banner they're using for the Nenshi article today is just perfect Sun

[Table 5]

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen one normal-faced photo of the mayor in the Sun OR the Herald during his entire term.

[Bunk]

The Sun's blind rage is amusing. It's almost like reading an Onion article parodying a right wing tabloid.

[Mr.Coffee]

The Sun is one step below Star magazine.

[Pagal4321]

I could have sworn that article was written for the Onion.

[Cuz]

Does anyone have any good recommendations for where to find info for ward 2 candidates?

I already know I won't be voting for Joe Maglioca (sp). I took a quick peak at his website and for someone who is running for the third time, he doesn't have a very polished platform. His asinine commuter train idea is a real detractor as well and to top it off, after returning from a walk at Nose Hill Park yesterday, my wife and I found all of the vehicles in our condo complex plastered with his campaign literature. A campaign team doing this on private property reflects really poorly on the candidate.