The race for mayor: Poll #3 Late Sept

[Wooster]

New mayoral poll a few weeks out from election.

I've left out the real fringe candidates for this one.

Where does your support lie?

discuss.

[Wooster]

Oh crap, forgot Wayne Stewart. But since he got exactly zero votes in the last poll, I suppose it won`t make a difference.

[Aegis]

Looks like Nenshi has a commanding lead!

[mooky]

Another vote for Nenshi. I just went to his campaign headquarters today and donated $50. Got me a bumper magnet and button to represent!

[McPaul]

For the undecided, why nenshi?

[Policy Wonk]

Unfortunately still Ric McIver, why did the moose drop-out?

[floobie]

Nenshi.

The rest of the candidates just seem... flaccid to me. Typical politicians. Like that Futurama episode with two identical clones running for president: John Jackson and Jack Johnson.

"It's time for someone who has the courage to stand up and say, I'm against those things that everybody hates!"

"Now, I respect my opponent. I think he's a good man, but quite frankly, I agree with everything he just said!"

[Koolfire]

Originally Posted by McPaul

For the undecided, why nenshi?

For me it's:
He's an outsider to city hall. No favours to be return and frankly has a clean slate.
He's taught Political Science at Mount Royal. Know our system, but more importantly know other cities/countries systems.
He's got plans. I can vote for the guy that makes promises that he can't keep because he doesn't know how or I can vote for the guy who as a plan to make it happen. I'll take the guy with the plan.

[jeffwhit]

Originally Posted by McPaul

For the undecided, why nenshi?

He he very well educated, he specializes in Non-Profit management, and a city is a non-profit corporation. Every time someone (for instance Joe Connelly) bring up running the city like a business, I wonder what that is even supposed to mean. If you take the analogy all the way, a point of a business is maximize revenue/profit. In a city the main source of revenue is tax payers. Does that mean he's going to squeeze every last dollar out of us? Of course that's not what he means, but that's how stupid the statement is.

Mainly though, he is the only candidate with an actual, fully realized platform. not a list of values, cliches or platitudes. He has actually explained the why and how of every issue in his platform. Certainly I agree with him most of the time. In his last podcast he brought up the quality sidewalks in the Beltline, and I thought of two things A) that is actually an issue I care about and B) can you even imagine Higgins or McIver even walking around the Beltline, never mind being concerned with its pedestrian infrastructure? Nenshi seems to have a very deep understanding of the issues facing Calgary, and when he said that Calgary has to stop being the shining city on the hill for the people of Regina, and actually realize its potential, he had me right there.

[The Chemist]

Nenshi's got my vote because a) I really liked his ideas when he was writing a column in the Herald and b) he's the only guy with a fully fleshed out platform.

I wouldn't vote for McIver in a million years (what has he really accomplished in 9 years on council? Nothing, really, except saying 'No' a lot and blinking a lot) and Higgins just looks like empty platitudes.

It's really been pissing me off recently that the only guy who deserves to win isn't even being considered a real contender, let alone being the frontrunner.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

It's really been pissing me off recently that the only guy who deserves to win isn't even being considered a real contender, let alone being the frontrunner.

He is absolutely being taken seriously. He can't be the frontrunner (yet) because McIver's supporters have been absolutely unwavering. The question is how many of them show up on election day and how close is this going to be.

Look for Nenshi to leapfrog Higgins, who has completely stalled.

[suburb]

Has there been a public poll since the one that put Nenshi at just over 8%? I'm wondering if there has been movement on the undecided folks, who were the largest group in that poll. I'm also wondering what proportion of Kent Hehr's folks responded to his comment that he'd been impressed by Nenshi more than anyone.

[mersar]

Nope, no public polls since. I'd expect to see one released early this week though, probably tomorrow.

[Jack Doe]

I just ordered a Nenshi sign online for my mom. Two weeks ago she didn't even know who he was until I pointed her in his direction. She has researched him and likes what he has to say. I think I've brought a couple of votes his way by making people aware of who he is and what he stands for, which is kinda odd since I'm supporting Hawkesworth (Yaa, I'm the other vote for Bob).

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Jack Doe

I just ordered a Nenshi sign online for my mom. Two weeks ago she didn't even know who he was until I pointed her in his direction. She has researched him and likes what he has to say. I think I've brought a couple of votes his way by making people aware of who he is and what he stands for, which is kinda odd since I'm supporting Hawkesworth (Yaa, I'm other vote for Bob).

I went and pickup my my Nenshi sign and car magnet today. I've always been voter. but this is the first time I've ever displayed a campaign sign

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Ramsayfarian

I went and pickup my my Nenshi sign and car magnet today. I've always been voter. but this is the first time I've ever displayed a campaign sign

Did the same yesterday (no sign yet, they haven't received the latest shipment of window signs, but I did get a bunch of buttons and a car magnet).

Voting for Nenshi because:

1. Solid Policy (the most important). The guy knows his stuff. He knows how public administrations work. He knows what the role of council is and what the role of administration is. He knows what the problem with the peace bridge was and how to fix it, as with the auditor. He even understands things like tax reform (which he probably won't bring up), which I would be completely surprised if Higgins or McIver understood what the implications of property taxes vs. income tax transfers from the province would be.

2. Outsider. Mostly as compared to McIver. A lot of people on council dislike McIver because he is very obstructionist. A mayor is a consensus- (or at least a majority-) builder. McIver is nothing of the sort. Based on how Nenshi talks about issues, he seems to be very honest and approachable, and is very capable at understanding other people's perspectives, including the development industry. He is someone who can build workable solutions. Others seem to want to create a controversy, rather than build a solution.

3. Straightforward. His stance on the police budget, the SW ring road and the airport tunnel show that he is not afraid to engage in contentious issues, offer justifications for his stance and doesn't skirt around the issue. To even say that the SW ring road isn't the solution takes incredible political courage, which other candidates talk about, but which no one has done.

4. Character. I only use this word b/c I can't think of the adjective right now. It was the way he handled the vandalism issue of his HQ. He didn't make it into a media event. He didn't try and capitalize on it and play victim to score media points. He brushed it off, simply saying things like that happen, and moved on. That takes character.

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by jeffwhit

He he very well educated, he specializes in Non-Profit management, and a city is a non-profit corporation. Every time someone (for instance Joe Connelly) bring up running the city like a business, I wonder what that is even supposed to mean. If you take the analogy all the way, a point of a business is maximize revenue/profit. In a city the main source of revenue is tax payers. Does that mean he's going to squeeze every last dollar out of us? Of course that's not what he means, but that's how stupid the statement is.

Mainly though, he is the only candidate with an actual, fully realized platform. not a list of values, cliches or platitudes. He has actually explained the why and how of every issue in his platform. Certainly I agree with him most of the time. In his last podcast he brought up the quality sidewalks in the Beltline, and I thought of two things A) that is actually an issue I care about and B) can you even imagine Higgins or McIver even walking around the Beltline, never mind being concerned with its pedestrian infrastructure? Nenshi seems to have a very deep understanding of the issues facing Calgary, and when he said that Calgary has to stop being the shining city on the hill for the people of Regina, and actually realize its potential, he had me right there.

FYI: Barb lives in the Beltline. I think she is open to a lot of different ideas and is respectful of the choices of the diversity of choices Calgarians with respect to transportation. The following quote gives you a sense of how she feels about pedestrian\cycling infrastructure:

And this brings me to the Peace Bridge, and to the tunnel. I have talked about both projects
publicly a number of times – but I will talk about them again. The Peace Bridge... not a bad
idea but a very bad implementation ... the architecture contract was not tendered ... the
price tag was too high and some even question the location. This goes back to accountability,
transparency and responsibility and it goes back to setting priorities.

[jeffwhit]

Originally Posted by Radley77

FYI: Barb lives in the Beltline. I think she is open to a lot of different ideas and is respectful of the choices of the diversity of choices Calgarians with respect to transportation. The following quote gives you a sense of how she feels about pedestrian\cycling infrastructure:

I stand corrected on my statement about Higgins and the Beltline, but I stand by my statement that she has not put forward any thoughtful ideas regarding pedestrian/cycling infrastructure. This statement is just repetition of what the more reasonable bridge critics have been saying for a year.

[Radley77]

I'm leaning towards Higgins. I don't watch TV, so did not know of Barb Higgins until she announced her candidacy. I have been following the other two main contenders for the last 3 years.

I like that Barb is respectful of diversity in an incredibly broad sense. From geography, to ethnicity, to occupation, and income.

Other potential candidates were eliminated due to lack of diversity with respect to transportation option (McIver), and Nenshi with lack of a priority and policies surrounding crime and safety.

I am being risk adverse at this point. Should a compelling argument be made by Ric to expand his ideas on transportation issues, or Nenshi on safety and police, I probably would reconsider one of these candidates. I am expecting Nenshi to release a Better Idea on crime and safety shortly (as well as arts and culture)... so this could be a deciding factor (preferably Nenshi will be launching into a more detailed discussion than a flagwaving news release). My guess is the reason why this hasn't been released yet is for strategic reasons as opposed to technical reasons (allows him to pose questions that will identify flaws in candidates).

[SubwayRev]

Originally Posted by Radley77

I'm leaning towards Higgins. I don't watch TV, so did not know of Barb Higgins until she announced her candidacy. I have been following the other two main contenders for the last 3 years.

I like that Barb is respectful of diversity in an incredibly broad sense. From geography, to ethnicity, to occupation, and income.

Other potential candidates were eliminated due to lack of diversity with respect to transportation option (McIver), and Nenshi with lack of a priority and policies surrounding crime and safety.

I am being risk adverse at this point. Should a compelling argument be made by Ric to expand his ideas on transportation issues, or Nenshi on safety and police, I probably would reconsider one of these candidates. I am expecting Nenshi to release a Better Idea on crime and safety shortly (as well as arts and culture)... so this could be a deciding factor (preferably Nenshi will be launching into a more detailed discussion than a flagwaving news release). My guess is the reason why this hasn't been released yet is for strategic reasons as opposed to technical reasons (allows him to pose questions that will identify flaws in candidates).

I was just looking at Barb's website, and her statements on both transportation and crime or so vague, they aren't really saying anything.

Originally Posted by Barb on Crime

Safety is non-negotiable.

???

You say Nenshi doesn't have a policy, but what does Barb have?
So she's against crime. Who isn't? She has no policy or plan.

Originally Posted by Barb on Transportation

I'll steer council to high priorities and spend money wisely.

So, what are these priorities? Again, no plan and no policy. You said McIver lacks diversity when it comes to transportation options, but yet Barb has offered even less.

It seems her entire platform is, vote for me, and I'll tell you what I'm going to do after that. Trust me.