April 23 2012: Alberta Provincial Election

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Anyone have suggestions for the best online results?

The Herald (and Journal) looks to have a pretty cool looking interactive map.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/politics/index.html
Have to see how good it actually works.

Elections Alberta has a site too, but I've found the media tends to get it quicker from the individual campaigns than EA.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So just out of curiousity, how close does the vote need to be to trigger a recount?

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Knalus

Exactly. We had a really good thing going here for the longest time. We really live in a great place. There's a good reason for that. The change needed was a clearing away of the corruption and entitlement, not widespread and wholesale change for change sake.

What so 4 years from now the new part starts being as corrupt? We're talking about two sides of the same coin.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The question I have is wouldn't a Wild Rose victory be more of a vote against change?

Now you're getting it.

The PC did change. In some ways they went left (spending, entitlement, etc) In others they went, for lack of a better term, socially conservative. (Setting drink prices, limiting VLTS, regulating who could/couldn't sell smokes, etc,)

They've lost sight of what Albertans want, they think being more intrusive is a good thing. They have no room for individual freedom or responsibility.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Say thanks to a minority government (coupled with the recession), expect more of that if we had proportional representation. Now that Harper has a majority notice the difference? the tough decisions are being made because there isn't the threat of another election every week. Cretien, hero of the left, would never have balanced the books without a majority. I'd rather deal with a government I don't like for 4 years of stability than 4 years of yipping like little dogs.

Pre-recession spending / GST cut wasn't because the opposition (who were very much spineless at the time) forced Harper's hand. He put us on the path to structural deficit because of balanced budget ideology (i.e. big surpluses in economic booms are the result of excessive taxation, rather than an appropriate means of saving for recessions).

The opposition did force the stimulus package in the recession, but that's where it's appropriate to increase spending and doesn't put you into structural deficit.

Now that Harper has a majority, he really hasn't gotten any better. Omni-bus crime bill is post-majority, for example. Increasing OAS age to 67 but maintaining payments to high income seniors ($70-100K) is post-majority. Sure they're planning to reduce spending a bit in the coming years, but given where they're starting from that's not saying much.

Harper the sound fiscal manager has been nothing more than spin.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

What so 4 years from now the new part starts being as corrupt? We're talking about two sides of the same coin.

4, 8, 12 who knows. Generally it takes the public 2 or more election cycles to figure out the best before date has passed.

A government that is responsive to it's citizens will last. Like him or not Klein was a good example of this. He made tough decisions when needed and got voted in with bigger majorities.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Jacks

She's changing in the wrong way, they are moving away from their Conservative principles and drifting left. Evidence, Liberals are openly backing the PC's and Conservatives have moved in a big way to Wildrose. The PC's have become arrogant and corrupt and have spent everything in sight. 5 consecutive deficit budgets is unacceptable in this province.

There are a few things I disagree with in this point.

1. I don't see the connection between increased spending and corruption.

2. There was a deficit due to a global recession resulting in decreased revenues from taxes and royalty revenues from energy sources. To say that is unacceptable is ignorant of the economic climate and merely looking at one aspect of the budget/economy in order to determine the responsibility of the budgeting. I know since the days of Ralph Klein it was always, debt is awful, can't have any debt blah, blah, blah... but the world isn't that simple, sometimes debt is necessary and spending can help stimulate the economy as well as get projects done when the cost of material and labour is cheaper than in a hot market, even though there is more revenue coming in...

Are the inefficiencies in government spending, there sure are and those should be dealt with, but I have little confidence in the Wild Rose Party to do that with Health Care Plans including shipping people out of province.

[Jacks]

Cutting the GST may not have been the best fiscal policy but it was promised, he was elected on it and it passed through a multi party vote.

Originally Posted by SebC

Now that Harper has a majority, he really hasn't gotten any better. Omni-bus crime bill is post-majority, for example. Increasing OAS age to 67 but maintaining payments to high income seniors ($70-100K) is post-majority. Sure they're planning to reduce spending a bit in the coming years, but given where they're starting from that's not saying much.

They'll be reducing spending a lot.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

On a side note I find it amusing that McIver loses the Mayoral race in Calgary and runs as a PC MLA, same with David Dorward up in Edmonton.

I view it as massive cynicism on the part of McIver. I think he expects to win on name recognition alone.

So here are my choices:

PC: McIver: Best known as "Dr. No" for opposing everything in Calgary's extremely dysfunctional city councils.

Liberal: MacPhee: Career Liberal Party placeholder candidate.

NDP: Vergara: "I used to be a union flunkie, tee hee!"

Wildrose: Anderson: High ranking manager in both O&G and software/tech companies. BSc in chemistry and physics.

Take away the party names, and I'm still voting Anderson.

[metallicat]

I wasn't, and am still not, content with my vote.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Now you're getting it.

The PC did change. In some ways they went left (spending, entitlement, etc) In others they went, for lack of a better term, socially conservative. (Setting drink prices, limiting VLTS, regulating who could/couldn't sell smokes, etc,)

They've lost sight of what Albertans want, they think being more intrusive is a good thing. They have no room for individual freedom or responsibility.

That's the most amusing part of this. Wildrose apparently has a scary hidden social agenda. The PC's meanwhile, make their scary social agenda plain. They want to change how you behave and punish you for sinning.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So just out of curiousity, how close does the vote need to be to trigger a recount?

I want to say less than 1% difference.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

1. I don't see the connection between increased spending and corruption.

Didn't say there was one.

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

2. There was a deficit due to a global recession resulting in decreased revenues from taxes and royalty revenues from energy sources.

Coupled with Stelmach's failed royalty policy, and out of control spending. I'm not saying that you can never run a deficit but 5 straight years with the kind of money this province has is not excusable. Who's to say that we are even going to see a balanced budget next year with Redford? she flip flops constantly and is promising billions more in spending.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I view it as massive cynicism on the part of McIver. I think he expects to win on name recognition alone.

So here are my choices:

PC: McIver: Best known as "Dr. No" for opposing everything in Calgary's extremely dysfunctional city councils.

Liberal: MacPhee: Career Liberal Party placeholder candidate.

NDP: Vergara: "I used to be a union flunkie, tee hee!"

Wildrose: Anderson: High ranking manager in both O&G and software/tech companies. BSc in chemistry and physics.

Take away the party names, and I'm still voting Anderson.

In a vacuum I'd probably vote for Anderson too.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Jacks

[The federal Conservatives will] be reducing spending a lot.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/...ry-radicalism/

The $5-billion to be cut out of departmental budgets, it boasts, is “less than 2.0 per cent” of program spending. To be sure, adjust for inflation and population growth, take into account previously announced savings, and this implies a 12% reduction in real spending per capita by fiscal 2017.

But a 12% reduction from what? From the all-time, never-before-seen, not-even-close record the Tories set in 2010, when they jacked up spending by $37-billion in a single year. Be under no illusion about this: the five years of “austerity” on which we are now embarked will be, after inflation, adjusting for population growth, the five biggest spending years in the history of the country — other than the last three.

All that the Tories are proposing to do is to roll back some of the increased spending that they themselves introduced. The public service from which the Tories pledge to trim 19,000 employees is the same one to which they added more than 30,000.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So just out of curiousity, how close does the vote need to be to trigger a recount?

Counting tonight is the unofficial count. Within 7 days (I believe) they conduct the official count. Generally seen as confirming the unofficial count.

In the case of a tie it automatically triggers a judicial recount.

Candidates can also appeal the official results and trigger a recount. For the life of me I can't remember what the number is.

I do know in 2008, when Paul Hinman lost Cardston-Taber-Warner, the he asked for and got a recount. It didn't change outcome lost by 39 votes.

[J pold]

Is anyone else having trouble with the "Where to vote?" page on elections Alberta? It doesn't seem to recognize my address.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by J pold

Is anyone else having trouble with the "Where to vote?" page on elections Alberta? It doesn't seem to recognize my address.

I had that. I couldn't just type in the city, I had to hit 'Select' after and repick the word 'Edmonton'.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by J pold

Is anyone else having trouble with the "Where to vote?" page on elections Alberta? It doesn't seem to recognize my address.

Call your DRO office

http://wtv.elections.ab.ca/wtReturningOfficers.cfm

[MarchHare]

Just got back from voting. The lines weren't nearly as bad as I feared. I was in and out in about three minutes.