Video Interview With 2010 Calgary Mayoral Candidate Ric McIver

  I had the opportunity to sit down with Ric McIver this morning for a quick blog interview.  I was surprised that we were actually able to connect, given the fact that the election is less than 3 days away!  Ric had some interesting responses on the importance of the first 60 days in office, what separates him from the other candidates and his views on some major city issues, including the SW Ring Road, airport tunnel and recreation facilities in Calgary.

 Here is the video....



I apologize for the shaky hand, but I do not pretend to be a professional at all! 

I am impressed that Ric made some time for my blog and for CalgaryPolitics.com given how hectic his schedule must be right now. I know that all of the candidates are looking forward to the vote on Monday!


Also, if you do not have any plans on election night feel free to join CalgaryPolitics.com for our election party!

http://calgarypolitics.com/2010/10/13/the-only-election-night-party-you-should-even-think-of-attending/

My Thoughts On The VoteCalgary.ca Mayoralty Forum

 I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the VoteCalgary.ca Mayoralty Forum held today at Stampede Park, along with fellow CalgaryPolitics.com blogger DJ Kelly.  The forum was attended by a packed house made up of representatives from Calgary's building and development industry and it was a well run affair.

 The eight mayoralty candidates in attendance were:  Ric McIver, Joe Connelly, Jon Lord, Barb Higgins, Craig Burrows, Naheed Nenshi, Wayne Stewart and Bob Hawkesworth.  Perennial candidate ( and party crasher) Oscar Fech was also in attendance and while he tried to squeeze in on the forum, he was not part of the proceedings. ( Moderator Ken King explained that these eight candidates were invited as they completed a pre-forum questionnaire.)

 While the forum was well run and went by rather quickly, there really was no "earth shattering" quotes.  Most of the candidates stuck to their positions and the central theme centered around such buzzwords as "getting it right", "creating a level playing field", "streamlining the approval process" and "supporting consumers choice in having the options to purchase a single family, detached dwelling".  There seemed to be a lot of generic answers given and all candidates tended to stay on script.

  There were a few good lines at the forum, including the following:

1) Burrows tried to trip Barb Higgins up by asking her to give a specific answer where council can work with the development industry in solving some inner city growth. Barb used a potential development in Manchester as an example, and fared well with the unexpected shot.

2) Jon Lord asked Naheed Nenshi if he was mayor, does he believe that the inner city homes in Kensington and Cliff Bungalow should be replaced with high rise towers?  Nenshi jokingly responded "wouldn't it be nice if I said yes!" to a roaring laughter.  He then explained his position and took away any points that Jon Lord was trying to steal.

3) Barb Higgins took a shot at McIver when she said that with 25 years experience as a journalist, she knows what questions need to be asked, and then took a shot at McIver by asking him why he never asked the "tough questions" when he was on the audit committee?  Ric candidly responded by stating that he is not "applying to run a TV station, but that he is running for Mayor of Calgary and that he has been asking tough questions for over nine years on council! 

I had a great time at the forum and was glad that I was invited to attend.  I was amazed at the speed in which DK Kelly was doing his live tweeting from the event, as the answers were fast and furious.

Here is a classic shot of a media scrum following the event.  Ric McIver is on the right....poor Bob Hawkesworth is on the left.

Barb Higgings For Mayor? Communications Failure! ( aka...Tea Over Twitter)

 Ever since TV Anchor Barb Higgins entered the race for mayor I have lost track of how many times I have heard people say, " She is a great communicator"!  While I am sure she was very popular with many Calgarian's for her skills as a news presenter, I am not sure that being able to read a teleprompter and change the pitch of your voice when instructed qualifies anyone as a "great communicator"?  I was having a brief discussion on Twitter last night about Ms. Higgins lack of actual communication, at least on Twitter, and thought I would share my thoughts.

 Twitter is a pretty unique communications medium.  It allows you the ability to interact with other people on a real time basis, on pretty much any topic you can imagine.  Some candidates in the upcoming Calgary Municipal Election use Twitter quite well, often engaging potential voters in policy discussions and debate.  Other candidates feel that they should use Twitter as a 140 Character Press Release, letting everyone know where they will be and what they had for dinner.  Barb Higgins, the "great communicator" falls into the latter category.  Here is a sample of her Twitter page...

 As you can see, the "great communicator" only follows two people on twitter, yet of the 692 people following her, she does not see the need to interact with them.  It looks like Barb has taken the SOCIAL, out of SOCIAL MEDIA!!

 I am not sure why the "great communicator" does not want to interact with Calgarian's on Twitter, but perhaps some of the following ideas apply?

• Barb does not want to waste time talking with the "dirty, common Twittering Calgarian's". Unless we belong to the Mount Royal/Rideau Park Elite, of course?  Tea over Twitter? 

• Barb still has not got a grasp on the issues facing Calgarian's and what is really going in this city once you leave Signal Hill.  ( Is that City Hall?  I recognize it from the teleprompter view....)

• Barb is not sure of what to do, as there is no Teleprompter app for Twitter. 

• Barb's handlers do not want her to discuss any issues with the public at all and hope to ride her good name recognition into the election night sunset.  ( Barb? I know her...no, no, not from Twitter. From the TV!)

• After repeating that she has both "Respect for Money" and "A Social Heart", there are too many characters left in the 140 maximum for her to complete a tweet on twitter.  What to say....what to say?

• Rod Love told her... "Ralph Didn't need no stinking internets....we didn't even have an internets back in 1980.  We had an old motor home and dimes for the payphone. "

 And it is not a generational issue either.  Paul Hughes and Ric McIver are over the 25-44 age range, and seem to understand twitter and use it well.  Not as well as some of the younger candidates, (Nenshi is a pro at Twitter) but I give the older candidates kudos for trying! 

With two followers ( one being Calgarydemocracy.ca, which is an excellent site headed by fellow CalgaryPolitics.com blogger Grant Nuefeld) and no interaction with the Calgary voters, I give Barb "the great communicator" a failing grade.



** Update**  Here is a link to my post about my follow up coffee with Barb Higgins... http://www.calgaryrants.com/2010/08/coffee-with-calgary-mayoral-candidate.html

Shane Keating Enters Calgary Ward 12 Alderman Race

   With the anticipated announcement that current Ward 12 Alderman Ric McIver will be running for mayor, the race to replace Ric's seat will be one of the most interesting races to watch in the October 2010 Calgary civic election.  There have been a few rumours about who will or will not run in Ward 12, but one gentleman has officially made his intentions known!

 I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into Shane Keating at a fundraiser yesterday and he handed me a business card that stated " Shane Keating, Aspiring To Be Your Alderman"!  I actually sit with Shane on a local volunteer board ( South East Calgary Recreation Society- http://www.secrs.ca/ ) and had no idea that he was even considering this move.  While I do not know Shane well, I must say that he is a really friendly, hardworking man.

 Shane has launched a  campaign website at http://www.shanekeating.ca/ which outlines his community involvement and past work. 

 I fully expect that more names will be coming forward publicly once Ric McIver announces that he will be running for Mayor! As a resident of Ward 12, I am excited about this race and cannot wait to see who else throws their hat in the ring!  I can confirm that he will likely be the only "Shane" on the ballot......

Shane

Also, be sure to head over to http://www.calgarypolitics.com/, Best Political Team in the Blogosphere ™ for constant Calgary 2010 Updates!

Friday Fun: Ric McIver and The Duke Save Calgary!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

  With all of this nasty snow ( And yes, I would love to blame Bronco for this weather at this time...) I thought we can use a little laugh! 

 Watch Ric and "The Duke" give our Lefty friends a good old fashioned snowball lesson!

Stay Warm.

Shane

Bronco's Running Scared!

  Give it up Dave!  Our Mayor, Dave Bronconnier just refuses to let the campaign fundraising issue go.  He brought this issue up last February and continues to push it in advance of the 2010 Calgary Municipal Election.  If you really think about it, it is not hard to see why!   His last challenger, Alnoor ( I will fund this campaign myself) Kassam caused Dave to spend a larger chunk of his campaign war chest than he hoped for, in order to compete in 2007.  Alnoor was never a serious threat, unlike the uphill battle the mayor is facing in 2010. 

 If Alderman Ric McIver decides to run for Mayor, he will win in a landslide.  So, if you are an unpopular, lame duck Mayor on his way out the door, what do you do?  Limit your challengers ability to raise funds.  I do not necessarily disagree with the "new" rules they are proposing, but I think that it is unfair to impose them on an existing group.  Like I said before, "Why Now Bronco"?...  if he is  so keen on the new rules, why should he be able to use the $300K+ that he already has stored in his mattress?  Why not just donate it to charity now and just run on the money you raise going forward.  Not likely?  You better believe it....

 Personally, I do not think Bronco is going to run again, regardless of what he has said publicly.  I believe that he announced his "intention" to run again to stop the flow of funds from his arch-rival, Ric McIver.  Bronco is a lame duck mayor and knows that if he announced he would not seek re-election, he would not be able to try and push through his socialist policies on the citizens of Calgary in 2009/10.   I can foresee a "change of heart" come August, when he will announce that he wants to spend "more time with his family" and not run for Mayor.

 If he does run again, the $5000 cap is not a big deal to him.  Take a look at his campaign contribution disclosure from 2007 here.  Most of the donations are under $5,000, save  a few giant donations from some of Calgary's largest construction/development companies.  It is truly an interesting ( and telling) read. 

Either way...I am just hoping that Ric McIver announces his intention to run.  I have a new pair of runners for door knocking and a piggy bank full of coins to donate.  Don't worry, it will be under $5,000 though!

Only $25Million for this Peace bridge...are you sure? ( and some alternate names?)

Ummm....ahem. YUCK!

After so much speculation and hoopla over the unveiling of the $25MM pedestrian bridge, I must admit I was quite disappointed with the final design. I was expecting this big, iconic bridge that would add something spectacular to the tourist postcard photos of downtown Calgary. This design is actually quite silly in my opinion.

Technically I am sure it is quite revolutionary, as the typical pillars and steel girders are purposely missing, but who really cares at the end of the day. It is so low to the ground, it looks like someone hauled a large log and laid it across the river. Yikes....

I am surprised that the architect did not put a cowboy hat on top of it, you know, to give it that Calgary Feel because it sure does not match with anything else in this city.

The Name...

I was really pissed when I found out that some council members threw up the NAME smokescreen to hide the biggest mistake of their political careers. Calling this the PEACE BRIDGE is fine, but the optics and reasoning are political in nature only. Who is going to come out and speak against our counties Armed Forces? This got me thinking...I wonder if any other names where thrown around? Here are my thoughts on some they should have potentially considered:

• "Don't throw rocks at small, cute kittens" Bridge? ( Because everybody loves kittens!)
• "FRIDAY" Bridge? ( Again...everyone loves Friday's!)
• "Druh Farrell's direct route out of council" bridge.
• "What a bloody waste of Money" Bridge.
• " We do not need to cut property taxes" Bridge.
• " The Piece of Shat" bridge.... ( Shortened to just the PEACE BRIDGE.)
• "Remember when Bronconnier was Mayor?" Bridge.
• "This would never happen if Ric McIver was mayor" Bridge.
• "I am sure the Wildrose Alliance will blame Premier Stelmach for this bridge" Bridge.
• "The Dollar Store Candy Cane" Bridge.

Any others?

Calgary City Council Report Card receives a passing grade.

Yesterday a coalition of business lobbyists released their mid-term report card on Calgary City Council. The report was based specifically on business related issued and rated the City Councillors and the Mayor on their performance. Seeing that half of council received a FAILING GRADE, those with losing marks cried foul with the report. ( Naturally...)

I was pleased (and not surprised at all) to see that my Alderman, Ric McIver received the highest grade! A++. Ric has always been a voice for lower taxes and creating a friendlier business environment in Calgary. I am sure that this A+ ranking is driving Bronco crazy! Also, it appears that "D" student Gord Lowe took a shot at Ric yesterday by stating "If you never propose, you only oppose, you get a higher mark." Perhaps this is in reference to Ric's
Dr. No nickname?

At the bottom of the scale, Sugarplum & Fairies Alderman Druh Farrell received a justifiable F grade. If this report card was based on $25 Million pedestrian bridges or closing down Memorial Drive on Sunday's , I am sure she would receive an A+. ( I have heard rumours that she is considering a run for mayor...can you imagine that?)

I know the detractors ( ie. supporters of those who failed this report) will say that this report is biased or unfair, but each and every Alderman was tested the same way. I am sure Bronco, Pincott and Hawksworth will ask the Liberal/NDP establishment to commission their own fairy tale report soon. Trust me gentlemen, it looks like you will need any good press you can create heading into the next election!

Ric McIver for Mayor in 2010? Lets hope so...

Who will be Calgary's Mayor in 2010?

With 18 months to go until the next Calgary municipal election, I am pondering who will be making a run at Dave Bronconnier's mayoral seat? Here are my quick thoughts on some potential challengers...

1) Ric McIver... Common sense alderman. Popular. Organized. Loves the media (and they love him....his soundbites are a breath of fresh air.) A recent fundraiser he held is said to have had over 350 guests. Ric is my 1st choice for mayor, without a doubt.

Odds to Run? 2-1

2) Dianne Colley-Urquhart... Dianne would be an excellent choice should Ric Mciver not make a run at mayor. She is the other "common-sense" alderman and represents her ward well. Timing may be a big factor here, as she will not likely have much success with a split vote against both McIver and Bronconnier.

I cannot see how much further Dianne can go in City politics after 2010. She has probably better suited at a run for MLA, which she would win in a landslide.

Perhaps with the (rumored) pending "retirement" of Ron ( Federal Judge post awaits?) Stevens, she may look at the PC nomination for Calgary Glenmore. Just my thoughts?


Odds? 10-1

3) Al Koenig... Former Police association president. Could not win an alderman seat in 2007. Has a grand total of 4 signatures on an online poll supporting him to run for mayor in 2010. (Not scientific mind you, but pretty funny.)

Odds? Not good.

4) Alnoor Kassam... HMMM... Spent a fortune of his OWN money (close to $1MM) to run against Bronco in 2007. Lesson learned? I hope so.... But seeing that his website is still up and running, you never know!

Odds? 1 Million to 1.. ( no pun intended! )

Here is hoping some fellow bloggers run....

5) The Enlightened Savage... Maybe then we will see the 'mask" come off and find out his/her true identity? The E.S has some sound ideas and is not scared to rock the boat!

6) Jeremy Zhao ... 19 year old U of C Student runs...gets a respectable 8,000 votes. Awesome!

Anyways... it will be interesting to see who starts making noise over the next few months. As long as we get rid of Calgaryrants good friend, Bronco Dave, I will be a happy man!

More Sugarplums from Ald. Druh Farrell

Confirming my theory that nothing that comes out of City Hall shocks me these days, I was not surprised to hear about Calgary Ald. Druh Farrell's recent "Sugarplum" idea. With what must be a lack of other priorities in her ward, this genius Alderman has decided to push ahead with a plan to shut down part of Memorial Drive on Sunday's this August, turning it into a Promenade.

For those who do live in Calgary, Memorial Drive is an East-West road that goes right through the City Centre, connecting people to Crowchild Trail and Deerfoot Trail. Farrell boasts that this is a "Great Idea" and wonders who would oppose such a wonderful thing? Well, a poll on QR77 yesterday showed that the majority of Calgarians do not support this idea.

Thankfully, our common sense Ald. Ric McIver has been outspoken on his opposition to this idea. But wait... Ald. Farrell confirmed that she does not need to take the proposal before City Council to get this type of closure approved. He vowed to try and pass a motion later this month to stop this nonsense.

Why would anyone oppose this idea? Here is my reasoning...

1) How can one Alderman decide to close a main road that is used by ALL Calgarians?

2) Why should anyone have to replan their traffic route to appease Druh's sugarplum ideas. Why doesn't she move her planned "Rollerblade and Mountain Bike love-in" onto a local side street in her Ward? This would avoid the potential inconvenience to the REST of the City.

3) Safety Concerns.... How will this area be policed? Will the city have to assign specific officers to monitor the area during the shut down? I would think so. What about the access to the rest of the road for Ambulance and/or Police vehicles trying to get through? Will she simply yell "CAR" and everyone will move to the side of the road like street hockey players?

4) Business concerns... Why would she want to restrict traffic to the shops in Kensington? Sunday's are likely slow as it is...why hamper potential customers from visiting the establishments in her own ward?

4) Please, Please Ald. Farrell...come up with something original. This idea is being copied from other cities, ( eg. Ottawa) Why not come up with a unique idea? You already got your $25MM designer bridge approved...just let it go already!

Hopefully Mayor, oops..I mean Ald. McIver will show City Council that this idea needs to be put to bed for good. If not, where will it end?

More Tax Logic from Calgary City Hall!

Calgary City Council will be debating the issue of implementing a yet another TAX on Calgarian's today. Supporters of this new Real Estate Tax include our wonderful, forward thinking Mayor, Dave ( Let's Tax 'Em) Bronconnier. This new tax, if approved, will apply a 1% levy of the sale of all homes in the City of Calgary along with a levy on the land development industry on new and redeveloped properties.

Look at the math.... On a sale of a $400,000 home, the tax would equal $4,000!!! Add on the realtor fees of approximately $7000 and the average homeowner is taking a massive hit. The timing of this tax proposal could not be worse. Calgary home prices have fallen 10-20% from their peak in July 2007. Anyone that bought their 1st home in 2007 likely now owes MORE than their home is worth. Imagine if a family was forced to sell their home following a job loss in this market and had to pay this additional tax?

The home builders in Calgary are suffering badly due to this downturn. Ask any Tradesperson how busy they are right now? Take a look around the new neighborhoods and see how many empty lots are sitting there vacant! Yet the City thinks its wise to look at adding an additional tax on this industry?

Mayor Bronconnier's idea is to use this additional tax money to address the shortage of affordable housing in this city. While the "Red Tory" in me agrees that there is a severe shortage of affordable housing in Calgary and that something must be done, this tax proposal is not the right way to go about it. Rather than TAX TAX TAX...why doesn't our Mayor show some creativity and leadership and look for some alternate ideas?

• Given Bronconnier's lack of vision, perhaps Calgary can follow Edmonton's lead on this issue.
• I would also support tax BREAKS to landlords that properly convert basement suites.
• Why doesn't the City use funds from its profitable operations ( EG. Calgary Parking Authority) to fund affordable housing?

Any other ideas??? I applaud Alderman Ric McIver once again for opposing this tax proposal and will watch to see how this progresses but council will likely shelve this idea until the fall. In the meantime, I hope that this tax proposal will die a quick death and that Council will step up and come up with some creative alternatives.

Alberta Municipal Auditor General Position Welcomed

I was pleased to read this morning that my MLA, Art Johnston ( Calgary Hays-PC) is introducing a private members bill that would look at creating an Alberta Municipal Auditor General position. While I am sure that our fine mayor, Dave Bronconnier will not like to be held accountable to anyone but himself, I think this position has some great potential.

The City of Calgary spends hundreds of millions of Tax Payers dollars and I think that this position will ensure that all citizens are receiving value for their money. The Municipal Auditor General will keep an eye on spending and ensure that tax dollars are spent efficiently and effectively. I also see that Calgary Alderman Ric Mciver is in favour of this proposal, and is also calling for the City to make its own auditor independent.

Nova Scotia recently introduced legislation that creates an independent auditor general to oversee municipal spending in smaller municipalities and requires Halifax to establish its own separate auditor general office. This example illustrates that other provinces are increasing independent oversight of municipal spending and I think that they are a step in the right direction.

I will be watching to see how the bill progresses and what it entails completely. I am sure there will be some heated opposition to this bill as the rural/smaller centre MLA's will not like this idea.

Calgary Campaign Finance Reform...Why Now Mayor Bronconnier?

In a story that just keeps popping up over and over since the 2007 Civic Election, Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier has once again brought up campaign financing reform issues in the news. Some may remember that this was a big issue following the last election and it seemed that most of the Alderman, and especially the Mayor were going to make this a priority. We are now at the midway point of the term and still....nothing has changed.

Remember Alnoor Kassam's attempt to "buy" the mayors seat in the last election? He spent $1MM dollars of his OWN money ( as he had little to no fundraising or donations ) and was able to match Bronconnier's sizable war chest. I am sure that this gave Dave a bit of a scare, as he likely figured that he had enough donations to run away with the election. With the 2010 election just around the corner, I think that Bronco wants to re-open this debate as a means to limit his potential opponents ( ie. RIC MCIVER) ability to fund raise under the same rules he was able to. Bronco already has over $300,000 in a campaign surplus fund that will be waiting for him in 2010.

Bronconnier has re-opened the debate and wants to add some new changes for Mayoral candidates including donation limits. I wonder if the mayor would have been open to these changes in previous campaigns, when he received some very generous donations...? (check them out here. ) I like the $19K donation from BFI ( a garbage removal company)...and the $18K donation from Intergul Cidex, a home builder. While I understand that fundraising is a necessity in politics, these are massive donations! Wow...and no tax receipt for these either.

With the mayor lacking in leadership and creative ideas, perhaps Bronconnier should look to Ald. Ric McIver's ideas on this. I applaud Alderman McIver for taking it a step further and calling out the Mayor to add some real teeth to his nice soundbite.

The Better Calgary Campaign has outlined some great ideas for Campaign Finance Reform, as follows:

1. Limits on contributions. The amount is up for debate, but $1,000 or $1,500 per donor is a good start.

2. Limits on spending. Fifty cents per resident is fair and reasonable. It allows for an effective campaign to be run, without getting into a money war.

3. Campaign surpluses given to the city, or donated to charity. Yes, if they are donated, the candidate will get a major tax receipt, but it's better than allowing them to simply keep the money.

4. Immediate disclosure of donations -- within five business days of the donation, they should be posted on the candidate's website.

5. Donations only in election years. Otherwise, incumbents can have three unfettered years of fundraising, leading to the question of whether donors are supporting a future election or rewarding current performance.

6. There should be a real estate registry highlighting all of a candidate's holdings.

This seems pretty realistic to me? While some items can be tweaked, the ideas are generally sound.

If the Mayor wants to be really "Transparent" and fair...perhaps he will do the following:

1) Follow Ald. Ric McIver's leadership and work to gets this issue dealt with.

2) Donate your $300,000 surplus to charity NOW. And start fundraising under the NEW Rules, in advance of the 2010 election.

Sorry Bronco, you cannot have it both ways.