Nenshi announces he will not run in 2021; mayoral tenure will end at 11 years

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by Muta

I hope he leads the Alberta Party! Would be a great fit IMO.

Hope not! that's where I have voted previously and I won't be doing that with him at the lead. Glad he's gone.

[Makarov]

I still remember the night he was first elected. I was a huge Nenshi fanboy but he was such a longshot candidate (especially against a popular, well-financed, well-connected former news anchor candidate). That was the night that really made me fall in love with the Calgary that I had grown up in and gave me real hope for the future of Calgary. A lot of that hope has been realized (and even surpassed). Some of it hasn't. But all in all, Nenshi has served the City of Calgary very, very well.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by ah123

He should run for the Federal Conservatives

That's actually a pretty interesting idea. The Tories need to win the GTA suburbs to have a chance at governing, and he would be a very attractive conservative candidate there, imo. The leadership would be more attainable for him as well. If he wants to be Prime Minister that might be a better path to go down.

[pepper24]

Good news for Calgary taxpayers!

[TheScorpion]

Good news for taxpayers often means bad news for much-needed social programs that benefit the less fortunate and privileged.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by pepper24

Good news for Calgary taxpayers!

How much less is my 2022 taxes?

[Bonded]

Gross, Farkas is likely going to win.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Good news for taxpayers often means bad news for much-needed social programs that benefit the less fortunate and privileged.

Not so much at the city though. Your property taxes were going to subsidizing sprawl development, unnecessary traffic light spending, endless red tape... and pension costs.

Go read the city's financial statements, this isn't some feel good charity.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Not so much at the city though. Your property taxes were going to subsidizing sprawl development, unnecessary traffic light spending, endless red tape... and pension costs.

Go read the city's financial statements, this isn't some feel good charity.

It's a good thing we got famous Developer Bedfellow Nenshi on his way out then!

No one loved sprawl more than him.

[jayswin]

Yeah, that was the most bizarre statement I've ever seen attached to Nenshi. Our next mayor will likely be the one to get Bronconnier's pocket filled vision back on track.

[chemgear]

His patently false lie about a "1000% rate of return" for his Olympic selljob to Calgarians will always stick out to me.

It was disappointing to see something like that come from him. Either a bald faced lie or a fundamental lack of understanding of what a rate of return is - really soured me on his tenure thereafter.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Gross, Farkas is likely going to win.

He’s super polarizing, and Nenshi has a loyal base.

If JG can energize people and leverage a Nenshi endorsement then I can see her pulling it off.

I can see a chance the same vote comes out again if it looks like Farkas is going to win. Like in 2010 when fear of Barb and Ric caused people to act.

[Sylvanfan]

It's a smart move to get out now. The next few years are going to require a lot of hard and unpopular choices for all levels of government, and probably some one and done governments at all levels. I don't know if he'd be popular enough in Edmonton to win enough seats. You can win an election without any support in Edmonton in this province if you can get the rural vote like the UCP did. But I don't think you can win with support in Calgary and only Calgary.

[looooob]

My mom taught him in Junior High. the story goes she came home early in the year and told my dad 'Canada's future prime minister is in my class' ...now she may not have been right, but even if not she came reasonably close, and she still might be. if so I hope she's around to see it

[metallicat]

Him and Iveson in Edmonton need to join the NDP provincially. One of them can eventually take over as leader.

[curves2000]

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't a very large fan of Nenshi, I never really got the hype. To a lot of Calgarians, their rise and fall with Nenshi is also tied to the rise and fall of the city's overall fortunes. You don't go from being crowned "World's Best Mayor" to someone who barely beat a brutally boring and ineffective candidate in Bill Smith in a short term.

That all being said, I do think his performance in times of crisis and his communication style during those times was great. The 2013 Floods, Covid and even in some interviews I saw with national media and how it relates to the energy sector. I will never forget an interview he did and the line he used once regarding Keystone XL. " We can't have a 3 meter wide pipeline from Alberta be the global posterboy for dismantling the energy industry" Or something along those lines.

I also think his initial position and requests from the Flames ownership group regarding the arena was fair, a lot was still given away in the end from taxpayers.

This article in Maclean's Magazine I think did a nice job explaining some of the pluses and minuses of his term. https://www.macleans.ca/politics/nah...back-to-earth/

The next mayor and council do have their hands full, it's one of the reasons why a lot of people are not sticking around. Very very tough decisions are going to have to be made and they will be very unpopular to a lot of people and to citizens. There's a segment of the population here who think's Calgary's situation is a beachside vacation when in reality we are very very sick in hospital with a lot of aliments and require multiple interventions across the board to bring us back to life and get our mojo back.

Either way best of luck but the time for change has come.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by metallicat

Him and Iveson in Edmonton need to join the NDP provincially. One of them can eventually take over as leader.

Are either of those guys real NDP types though. I personally think Iverson has botched a lot of things in Edmonton...this new Valley Line LRT is a complete disaster of a Construction project... but he still doesn't strike me as far enough left to be NDP. I always had the impression that Nenshi was more Liberal than NDP and I think Nenshi was more left leaning then Iverson.

If anything I could see a new party forming with one or both of them and probably a few Alberta party types. The UCP likely has next to no support from anyone under 50 who's not rooted in Christianity...and the less educated likes of people like me who are not rich, but have enjoyed an overall decent life by being in Alberta want nothing to do with NDP governments and long for the days of Peter Lougheed.

[Manhattanboy]

He has his shortcomings that’s for sure. Dismissive if you don’t agree with him or share his vision. Stubborn. Childishly pouts when he doesn’t get his way. Condescending. Egomaniac. Always has to portray himself as smartest in the room.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Are either of those guys real NDP types though. I personally think Iverson has botched a lot of things in Edmonton...this new Valley Line LRT is a complete disaster of a Construction project... but he still doesn't strike me as far enough left to be NDP. I always had the impression that Nenshi was more Liberal than NDP and I think Nenshi was more left leaning then Iverson.

What in particular do you think Iveson has botched in Edmonton? What has happened to the Valley Line project that is cause for concern? Are you sure you don't mean the Metro Line to NAIT and the signaling issue? He's been a friend and supporter of progressive rights, passionate about securing funding and curbing homelessness, and worked with a reasonably fair municipal taxing scheme during his tenure. He listened to community groups, small businesses and residents as needed. He also wasn't a slouch in front of the camera.

Calgary and Edmonton would do well to champion their rights together against a hostile government to urban municipalities. I found Iveson and Nenshi to be great bulwarks of their respective cities with balanced tone - not succumbing to pressure from the hard-right, nor giving in to heavy spending programs without cogent reasons for doing so or without Council support. Those two will be hard to replace.

[Huntingwhale]

I'll never forget going to the U of C's 50th birthday party a couple years ago and hanging with Nenshi in the invitee section. He's friends with my Mom so he came up and chatted with us for a bit. As he was in our group he was constantly stuffing popcorn in his mouth. And each time some popcorn fell on his shirt, his assistance was right there like a monkey picking it he never missed a beat. After he left us we were all like 'was everyone watching that'. Good times.

Didn't always agree with everything he did but the body of his work was a lot more positive than negative and he always had my vote. Some big shoes to fill when he leaves.