Calgary Civic Election Poll #2: Who do you support for Mayor?

[GGG]

I don't get the obsession with having political or management experience in order to be Mayor.

The only experience that would really make a difference would be City Planning or being a high level VP of a large company. Other than Nenshi no one really has this. In my opinion being an Alderman gives you little to no good experience at being mayor. Look at what the Alderman motions actually look like. It is all lets have a study to look at this issue. Lets get the city administration to write a report. Really all an Alderman does is vote on issues and ideas that the administration comes up with. Essentially the majority of the Alderman are just lapdogs for the administration.
Is that really what we want in a Mayor?

So what experience does a news reader bring. Well they have good experiecnce at the most important part of being Mayor. Setting the mood of Calgarians, essentially the media does this in the way they report on stories. One of the most effective things that Bronco did (even though I disagree with the way he did it) was wage war against the province to get more money for cities. His campaign cost Stelmach seats and therefore got results. He did this by setting the mood of Calgarians.

So other than Nenshi (who basically can't win) who else is dripping in qualifications. When I am electing a figure head and a spokesperson I want one that is well spoken and can sway opinion.

Now I am currently undecided and am in an anyone but Rick camp but I don't think that Higgins experience compares unfavourably with anyone else other than Nenshi.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Rod Love probably hasn't had much to do since meal ticket Ralphie retired. Back to the well.

[algernon]

I'll vote for Higgins if she has a sound platform.
I served her a cappuccino (Au Lait?) when I was 19 or so...
She was hot.
Hot mayor for the win!.
Do you like dudes? ... nothing wrong with that...

[jammies]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=138461849519944#!/group.php?gid=138461849519944&v=info

You can't argue with Facebook - it won't listen!

[Reggie Dunlop]

She smells like Tuna.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by GGG

Nenshi (who basically can't win)

Why can't he win?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Let's face it, most of the rest of the candidates for mayor aren't exactly lookers. Most are bald(ing) middle-aged guys with glasses and various stages of potbellies. Alnoor looks like Gargamel from the Smurfs and McIver has a pronounced nervous tic. Yet somehow Barb Higgins' looks are very relevant to her legitimacy as a mayoral candidate to some people?

Funny you should mention that, from Nenshi's personal twitter feed yesterday:

Nenshi. Expanding horizontally since 1993.

http://twitter.com/nenshi

I like a candidate that can make fun of himself!

[Bunk]

Candidates like Nenshi certainly have an up hill battle, but it's not impossible for them to win.

The entrance of Barb Higgins, in my view, makes it simultaneously more difficult for people like Nenshi to win, but also easier.

It's easier, because with only McIver in, the name recognition factor was held only by McIver, giving him an automatic big lead. Higgins now splits up that support substantially, bringing 3rd and 4th place candidates much closer to the plurality needed to win. It brings the races closer to them and potentially a third candidate could sneak in and win the race with 25-30% of the overall vote.

On the other hand, when it was only McIver, someone like Nenshi could position themselves as the Anti-McIver - try and make it a him-vs-me race, and build recognition as the logical alternative. With Higgins in, many people now see her as that alternative candidate - and on her own carries tremendous appeal for those that wouldn't necessarily support McIver and may have previously backed a Hehr, Nenshi or Hawkesworth.

Good blog post from calgarypolitics.com on the subject.
http://calgarypolitics.com/2010/07/2...run-for-mayor/

[Slava]

^I think it's the second option there. People in the ABM side of things know her name and that is enough. I think it's really hard for the others unless they can distinguish themselves.

Going back a bit the reason Nenshi can't win is because of polls like Metro. I know that is a small sample size, but the thing is that unless you're paying strict attention no one knows who the guy is. The vote splitting has to get pretty severe before a point is reached where he can come up between others.

Higgins coming in is not good at all for this now "second tier". People want to vote for a perceived winner, or someone with a chance. Unfortunately (if you share my view) that race is now between Higgins and McIver. That isn't to say that all is lost and there is no chance for a third candidate to battle with these two, but it's not going to be easy for them to make that ground up.

[mykalberta]

I still think voter apathy plays well for Nenshi. When only 30% of the people vote getting your people out is important. I dont see anyone going out to vote for Higgins who already wouldnt have voted. I do see that for Nenshi though.

Another thing that plays against Higgins is this isnt the 80's or 90's. Local news viewership has been declining for alot of years and maybe I havent lived here long enough but she doesnt seem to have the cache' of say a Ron Burgandy in San Diego.

[Slava]

^ that is true, but I'm of the opinion that even if 100% of the population turns out the results are very similar. Every political party thinks that the 70% that didn't vote would've voted for them! I figure that the results of the general election can be transposed over to the rest of the population that didn't vote. If McIver wins the majority of those who vote you can virtually rest assured he would do the same amongst non-voters unless the results are really close.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I still think voter apathy plays well for Nenshi. When only 30% of the people vote getting your people out is important. I dont see anyone going out to vote for Higgins who already wouldnt have voted. I do see that for Nenshi though.

Another thing that plays against Higgins is this isnt the 80's or 90's. Local news viewership has been declining for alot of years and maybe I havent lived here long enough but she doesnt seem to have the cache' of say a Ron Burgandy in San Diego.

The thing is that the people who watch local news (ie, the older generation) are probably more likely to go out and vote then the ones who don't (ie, the young ones more likely to vote for someone like Nenshi).

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Slava

^ that is true, but I'm of the opinion that even if 100% of the population turns out the results are very similar. Every political party thinks that the 70% that didn't vote would've voted for them! I figure that the results of the general election can be transposed over to the rest of the population that didn't vote. If McIver wins the majority of those who vote you can virtually rest assured he would do the same amongst non-voters unless the results are really close.

I think that might be true for higgins or say mcivor but Nenshi would never win if 100% of the people voted. He can win if only 30% vote and only if he can get ~30%ish of that vote.

So long as he can keep his likely liberal leanings off the radar in this campaign and keep it only to the issues I think he can win. If people start seeing platform ideas like "a more dense Calgary" as a liberal idea rather than a "smart for Calgary idea" that is when I think he starts to lose.

The other issue that I am not sure which way it will fly is his North East centric dialog. If he can get the NE voters out in force (which I think he needs the ethnic vote in Calgary to be over 50% at least in his favor to win), but if he cant then he needs to tone down the NE speak imo. No one outside of the NE cares that Marlborough mall is a dump or that the traffic along 32 street is insane at rush hour because of the CTrain.

Also I think he should hire an image consultant. I dont think the spare tire jolly go lucky big guy routine works to his advantage in the long run.

I think if the people running Higgins are smart, they will brand her as the female conservative opposite of mciver.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

The other issue that I am not sure which way it will fly is his North East centric dialog. If he can get the NE voters out in force (which I think he needs the ethnic vote in Calgary to be over 50% at least in his favor to win), but if he cant then he needs to tone down the NE speak imo. No one outside of the NE cares that Marlborough mall is a dump or that the traffic along 32 street is insane at rush hour because of the CTrain.

Is that your way of saying he won't win because he's brown?

Btw, I agree that he could use a bit of a sprucing up in the visuals department. Not that leaders need to be buttoned down ( I mean just look at Ralph), but it probably eases the conservative voter's mind when the candidate is a little more square and clean cut. His photos at the moment come across a little goofy.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Is that your way of saying he won't win because he's brown?

Btw, I agree that he could use a bit of a sprucing up in the visuals department. Not that leaders need to be buttoned down ( I mean just look at Ralph), but it probably eases the conservative voter's mind when the candidate is a little more square and clean cut. His photos at the moment come across a little goofy.

I think being non white actually helps him in this race since there are no other serious non white candidates - but it only helps him if he can rally that vote. I dont think he needs to lose weight - although that and a hair cut wouldnt hurt, but I do think he needs more bite to him. Eventually he is going to have to say the following either indirectly or directly about certain opponents.

Hehr - (the most difficult but one he has to do because they will split votes) He will have to call him an opportunistic politician for not giving up his seat and still running. Also he is going to have to diffuse Hehr #1 advantage which is crime and say basically we dont think crime is that big of a problem in Calgary - it will take serious balls to tell a guy who is in a wheelchair because of crime that crime isnt that bad in the city.

Higgins - second toughest to attack because she is a woman and the populist candidate. He will eventually have to call her out and attack her because he doesnt think sitting in a chair reading the news off a teleprompter while wearing makeup and power suits means you have qualifications to be mayor of Calgary.

McIvor - He will basically have to call him out and say no one wants to live in a city where this guy is the mayor - he isnt fit to be mayor of balzac let alone Calgary. He will also have to have a thick enough skin to attack McIvor on his voting record while at the same time deflecting attacks that he has no experience.

[kermitology]

I think this is a fantastic article:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Na...297/story.html

Tired of seeing productive farmland turned into cookie cutter housing developments? Find a candidate who backs transit-oriented development, brownfield redevelopment, compact design and a progressive secondary suites policy in-line with other major cities.

Concerned with chemicals being sprayed on public spaces? Find a candidate who will introduce a pesticide bylaw similar to the ones in all other major Canadian cities.

Love biking, but wish we had a better on-street bicycle network? Ask the candidates how often they bike to work and what they'd do to make cycling a more plausible option for commuters.

Frequently travel out of town for business and frustrated that you can't catch the C-Train to the airport? Find out if any candidates would support an LRT extension to the airport like Vancouver's Canada Line, soon to be celebrating its first anniversary.

Live in an apartment or townhouse, and upset that the city doesn't offer you curbside recycling? Ask if there are any candidates who have a plan to get all Calgarians participating in curbside recycling. And while you're at it, see how candidates feel about curbside organics (yard and kitchen waste) pick up for centralized composting.

Surely most Calgarians have a laundry list of priorities they'd like to see council attend to.

Those priorities won't be attended to if we vote for candidates based on who buys the most billboard space, gets the most on-camera time or has the most recognizable name. And they certainly won't be attended to if we don't get out and vote.

Voter turnout is notoriously low at 33 per cent in the 2007 municipal election and 18 per cent in 2004. The last time the mayor's seat was open (2001), voter participation improved marginally at 38 per cent, but it's still an abysmal reflection of our apathy.

There's no excuse not to get informed and cast a vote. It's easier than ever to get engaged with politics, especially at the civic level.

[Table 5]

Yep, I think that's basically what a few of us have been saying. Just before we are called sexist haters who want her dead.

Vote for the candidate who you think will improve your life, not the one who's name you know.

[Ozy_Flame]

While I intend to vote for Nenshi, as a former City employee, I like Higgins idea to empower City employees with their own collaborative solutions to city issues as opposed to using a top-down direction format. I think public-facing services such as 3-1-1, CSC, Calgary Transit and Recreation will benefit greatly from self-directed management styles. I don't recall ever feeling "connected" enough with the Aldermen and Mayor to feel motivated to follow their approach, especially when the expert opinion on the different lines-of-business lie within City business unit themselves.

Also, I once saw Barb Higgins at a pub with a girlfriend, and all the loser 40-something single dudes were hitting on her like crazy. She gave my brother and I a look that said "help!!" but she ended up leaving on her own accord. Despite that, she was a very good looking woman in real life, and definitely has a business sense about her with a commanding presence.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Hehr - (the most difficult but one he has to do because they will split votes) He will have to call him an opportunistic politician for not giving up his seat and still running. Also he is going to have to diffuse Hehr #1 advantage which is crime and say basically we dont think crime is that big of a problem in Calgary - it will take serious balls to tell a guy who is in a wheelchair because of crime that crime isnt that bad in the city.

I think crime prevention is one of those things you never want to dismiss outright. At the very least you just ignore it when it's not in people's minds. But if Nenshi goes out and says that crime isnt that big of a problem, and then a week later you have some gangshooting, he'll be seen and attacked as being soft on crime. People might not always worry about their safety, but they want to make sure it's being taken care of.

[Muta]

I would never vote for Barb Higgins.

Simply put, she is unqualified to run an organization like the City of Calgary. Under what experience does she have? Reading in this thread that she knows city issues well is laughable. So do I. I watch the news, and I watch Barb Higgins. Therefore, I know what she knows.

This, however, doesn't make me qualified to run for mayor.

Higgins has no business clout, experience or know-how. She does have name value, atleast, and some decent ideas. Nenshi, atleast, has a background that understands the root issues that this city needs to address more than Higgins does.

Someone is going to have to explain to me again why giving your vote to Barb Higgins is a wise decision. Nenshi is far more engaged in the issues that really matter. He's an open-minded thinker, and would actually have the balls (no pun intended) to implement social projects and other projects that this city needs.

Bringing Calgary into the next tier of world-class cities is something that a person like Nenshi sees; whether he follows through remains to be proven. But the point is, alteast he has the vision. Higgins and McIver wouldn't know how what to do if that vision slapped them across the face and peed in their corn flakes.