Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Is Calgary Ward 14 Alderman Candidate CandMong Getting Desperate? Mystery Of The Missing Signs!

 Desperate times call for desperate measures?  In what appears to be a standard campaign tactic, Peter Demong's campaign manager Craig Chandler has once again woven himself into the spotlight, which may be causing a distraction for Mr. Demong's campaign heading into the final two weeks of the Ward 14 election.  Due to the way that Chandler has integrated himself into this campaign, ( which it is sometimes hard for the public to tell who the actual candidate is) I have decided to affectionately refer to this uni-candidate as ChandMong.  ( Seeing that Chandler sometimes gets my sense of humour, I hope to avoid a govern yourself accordingly letter. )


 In what I can only describe as a desperate attempt to garner some media attention, Ward 14 alderman candidate Peter Demong did a strange interview on CBC radio yesterday.  In this interview, Mr. Demong claimed that close to 400 of his campaign lawn signs have "mysteriously" disappeared from both public and private property in the area.  His campaign manager also sent out an email to the other candidates which was shared to the media outlet, in which he attacks competitor Richard Dur's age and "immaturity", leading some to belive that they where potentially hinting that Dur's campaign was behind the sign removals.

 At first glance, the story looks like it has potential to be a serious accusation.  If you look closer though, I feel that it really is a silly attempt to gain some much needed attention for the Demong team.  Richard's response on the CBC, in which he classifies the statement as a "diversionary tactic" and "desperate attempt by Craig Chandler to revive a dying campaign", may be spot on.  Chandler also tried a similar tactic last fall, in a last ditch effort to try and deliver some sympathy ( and votes) to his last candidate, Mark Dyrholm, during the Wildrose Alliance leadership campaign last fall.

I want to be clear that I think that anyone that removes or damages a candidates campaign sign is disgusting and there is absolutely no room for that type of politics in my world.  These candidates spend a lot of money and time in ordering and placing these signs, and I really find it frustrating to imagine this vandalism/theft happening.  That said, I am having a hard time imaging how ChandMong's claim that 400 signs are missing and an even harder time imagining that it was another candidate that did it.
Logistically, how is it possible for any group to stalk through the night and remove 400 signs from private and public property without warranting a police call? Perhaps ChandMong's opponents hired a few stealth ninjas and leprechauns to pull off this dastardly deed!  So if the signs went missing....( and now ruling out the ninjas) what could the reason possible be for these signs to disappear? 

 Here are some of my thoughts on what happened....

1) Perhaps some of Craig Chandler's recent comments attacking Calgary Southeast MP, the Hon. Jason Kenney have turned some of Chandmong's potential supporters away, casing them to remove their signs in protest?

 Last week, Chandler posted the following tweet..... ( which was promptly removed, but see a copy of it below.) " I find it interesting that Jason Kenney is once again picking a fight with me. It might be time to take him out in a nomination. "


 
The fact that Chandler would attack one of the hardest working, most respected and popular politicians in Canada is shocking.  It is even stranger given the fact that ChandMong position themselves as the Conservative Candidate in ward 14.  Perhaps these attacks on Jason Kenney have caused some supporters to pull their signs in protest of Chandler's questionable comments?

 2)  Perhaps many homeowners removed the ChandMong signs from their lawns, as they were placed there in error?

 I have spoken to a few of my friends that live in the ward and many have noticed that their neighbors had Demong signs placed on their property without their knowledge, which were promptly removed by the homeowner.  The fact that ChandMong seem to have strategically locked up ever corner house with a  sign seems rather odd ( or statistically magical?) to me, but perhaps some of the ChandMong team had the wrong addresses or placed them on private property incorrectly?  Craig has offered to show me the sign database that they have, which I have not yet seen though. I would assume error would be the cause of misplaced signs, rather than willful incorrect placement.

3) Perhaps most of the information from Criag's Calgary Egmont and/or Mark Dyrholm nomination database is out of date?  Maybe the past supporters have moved and no longer want signs on their lawn?


  On another note, I had also heard some disturbing news from a resident of Ward 14 about some potential questionable membership list use by the ChandMong campaign.  I was told of a call from the Demong office trying to drum up support of the resident.  When they asked where they got their name/address, the volunteer claimed that they got it from a Wildrose Alliance membership list.  When told that it was illegal to do so, they backtracked and said that the resident must have completed a Demong survey or met them at the door, to which the resident claims never happened.   I wonder how the Wildrose would respond to such a claim as I can imagine that they would prefer that their private membership list is not being used for unauthorized purposes.  If this tactic is being used ( and I would hope that it is not) this just reeks of desperation.

 I do believe that the voters of Ward 14 will see through these tactics and not be influenced by these actions.  This is going to be a really interesting race to watch and I hope that it stays clean the rest of the way.

Shane





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18 comments:

  1. You've got it right Shane! I woke to a Demong sign in my front yard and vaguely recalled speaking to him and him asking about a sign and I was pleasantly non-committal (something like, "maybe...let's see when the time comes"). So...that accounts for at least one of the "stolen" signs! I feel bad doing that but I hadn't yet done my homework on all candidates. Now I know Dur is backed by Wild Rose Party and Demong is with Craig Chandler. That's just a little TOO far right for me! KAO seems more in line with my beliefs...

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  2. Mr. Demong came to the doors in April and asked if you would 1) vote for him 2) host a lawn sign. Since that time numerous other candidates in 14 have surfaced and perhaps those who said yes & yes changed their mind and it could even be plausible that some said yes just to shut the door and get back to dinner not at all thinking that 5 months later a lawn sign would show up. What did they think would happen? Someone would install blinking lights around it? This is a certainly a indication of where people's minds are at with respects to Peter Demong. I'd be concerned if I was Chandler.

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  3. Shane.

    You have said quite a bit of slanderous things here.

    It will be interesting indeed to see how this plays out.

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  4. As someone who say the inglorious e-mail, I was amazed at how suspiciously specific the total number of signs neatly broken down by area would be.

    The Chandmonger campaign must have to much time on their hands if they can count in such precise detail about how many exact signs have gone missing.

    Residents aren't always going to tell you when a sign goes missing, some won't bother others don't notice, and I also get a guffaw thinking about the untold man hours they must spend checking up on each and every lawn sign every day to maintain such precision.

    Months after Dyrholm got so utterly rejected I still saw Chandlers useless Thank you Mr. Stelmach signs unpicked up littering street corners. Clearly HolmoChand was so precisely aware of each and every one of their signs and how many they put out.

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  5. Wildrose party is lurking round behind the scenes in Ward 9 as well so it wouldn't surprise me.

    Wildrose volunteers are quietly supporting Nixon's campaign, organized right from the top (Danielle Smith) even though Nixon supports some crazy ideas like extra taxes - a $20 fee to fund community associations. Hardly a conservative idea?

    Makes me wonder why the wildrose party is poking their nose in some of these races. Don't they have their own election campaign to be working on?

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  6. For those who think that the WAP is 'lurking' in the shadows of these campaigns, you are incorrect. Members of the WAP simply volunteering and working on some campaigns independently of their WAP duties. These are the same types of people who volunteer on campaigns whenever they can, so it's no coincidence that some volunteers are involved here too. The WAP machinery has actually not helped any candidates apart from those individual volunteers that chose to help without any WAP nudging.

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  7. Odd? Paul Hinman actually did a demon dialer using the Wildrose Alliance Party list to endorse Richard Dur and no cries about that?

    Oh I know you will just claim that it was a different list, yeah that's it.

    Pathetic.

    Those who support Dur are sooooo worried that all they can do is manufacture lies and turn a blind eye to the abuses in that camp.

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  8. You know what is sad about this whole ordeal is that the folks running in Ward 14 are quality people. In fact this is Linda Fox-Mellway's fault for ignoring our Ward so badly that it has come down to knock em' dead campaigns. I also think it is very sad that the Wildrose Alliance Party is trying desperately to impregnate their own into Council. No different than Mr. Chandler and the PGIB. It is also sad that Richard Dur is more entangled with trying to use municipal politics to leap frog to Provincial. He really doesn't want to be the Alderman but another puppet carefully crafted by Daniel Smith and Paul Hinman. Wrong? maybe not so but irritating! If WAP keeps this up, they won't get elected here in AB, next run.

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  9. Seen as how many of these anonymous commenters are going after candidates formerly associated with the Wildrose Alliance, perhaps it would be a good time to point out some of the other aldermanic candidates and their other political affiliations, hmm?

    James Maxim, Ward 11 - Constitueny Assistant to Liberal MLA Darshan Kang. Supposedly campaigned for alderman on provincial taxpayer's dime. (uh oh! it's those Liberals trying to impregnate city council with their own again!)

    Diane Colley-Urquahrt, Ward 13 - Past President of Calgary-Glenmore PC Association and defeated Calgary-Glenmore PC byelection candidate (uh oh! it's Stelmach trying to keep his influence on city council with his own pet alderman!)

    Andrew Rodych, Ward 13 - Liberal activist and volunteer. Rumour is he got a voter's list from the AB Liberal party to help him get started (uh oh! it's those Liberals again!)

    Sean Chu, Ward 4 - Defeated PC candidate in Calgary-Buffalo and member of Premier's Calgary Advisory Council. (do I need to say it?)

    For good measure, I should also point out Mayoral candidate Bonnie Devine, aka Bonnie Collins, straight from the high command of the Alberta Communist Party (http://www.communistparty-alberta.ca/). Damn commie's! This campaign is probably being organized straight down from the top - none other than Vladimir Lenin is behind this one! Or maybe Castro. Who knows these days?

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  10. I have nothing personal against DUR or DEMONG, but it looks like KAO is doing this on his own. He seems to be the best choice for Ward 14. He did very well at the Mid-Sun forum, and looks like he has put in the work and research.

    My support is for KAO!

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  11. Silly Chandler.

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  12. Shane is predictable.

    He hates Chandler so much that whatever campaign is on, Shane will take the other side.

    That is funny, a little childish like the kid he supports in Ward 14, but, funny.

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  13. Got Kao? Got narcissism? Got Twitter? Got no chance?

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  14. Thanks for the comments everyone. Anon 11:06, I must say that I do not have any ill will towards Craig Chandler at all. I am sorry if that is not what you want to hear, but it is true. In the past, Chandler has understood my sarcasim and humour and commented publically that he gets it! I think he is a great organzier, but just because I do not support his candidates, you should not assume that it is a personal attack on Craig. email me if you want to chat. Thanks,

    Shane

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  15. http://www.calgarybeacon.com/2010/10/fox-mellway-has-gotta-go-in-ward-14/

    Interesting.

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  16. I think Chandmong should try running in some rinky dink town where they could fool some of the people some of the time.

    As for the comment by the Calgary Beacon.... Who ever reads Markham's website, it's no wonder it is so out of date, he is still posting stuff that happened over a year ago! Is he that desperate for news.

    He sure hasn't done his research is he thinks Linda Fox-Mellway hasn't done anything for Ward 14. He is saying this because she wouldn't pay to have a post about her in his feeble website!

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  17. Alderman Fox-Mellway needs to go. In the more than 10 years I have lived in Calgary she has personally never returened a single call. Also, we need to elect an Alderman that has receieves better than an F rating by coalitions representing Calgary Taxpayers.


    http://coalitionfortaxfairness.wordpress.com/

    Calgary – June 15, 2009: Today, a new coalition of organizations representing Calgary taxpayers have joined forces to grade the Mayor and Aldermen on how well each have done in defending the interests of taxpayers.

    The Coalition for Property Tax Fairness has released its first Calgary Municipal Report Card based on four criteria: Taxpayer-friendly voting record, office budget management, initiative in policy making, as well as proactive stakeholder engagement and responsiveness.

    The grades reinforce the Coalition’s desire to improve fiscal accountability and transparency at city hall. The majority of Council received a grade of less than C+, reflecting a need for our elected officials to refocus their efforts on the best interests of all taxpayers.

    Alderman Report Card - Total Score

    Grade
    McIver 95.6 A+
    Chabot 87.9 A
    Colley-Urquhart 76.5 B+
    Connelly 68.3 B
    Stevenson 65.4 B
    Jones 49.7 C
    Hodges 40.9 C-
    Hawkesworth 35.6 D+
    Mar 35.1 D+
    Lowe 28.7 D
    Ceci 27.6 D
    Bronconnier 26.7 D
    Pincott 23.8 D-
    Fox-Mellway 19.7 F
    Farrell 19.6 F

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  18. Shawn Kao for ward 14 this year. We have to get Peter out of here. He is just a pushy pushy person. Doesn't sit well with me. You can just see greed in his beady little eyes. We are not going to let Peter Demong use us like he uses his wife.

    Mr. Demong put a sign on n our lawn without even asking us. That's how desperate he got towards the end. At least the rest of you had a chance. My soon husband his sign to the the trash bin.

    Shawn Kao you got my families vote.

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