Decision 2010: Calgary Municipal Election

[Policy Wonk]

I don't think Alberta has changed much at all in the last 30 years,

I would say the "great leap forward" in Alberta began in the 1950's - the great influx of urban professionals from Eastern Canada and the United States to support the modern oil industry is what changed Alberta, it is this change that the angry farmers are still railing against in church basements around the province.

The change was made official by Peter Lougheed obliterating out Social Credit in 1971

[srperrycgy]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

^ With how close Banks came to Hodges last time, this time should finish the job.

I was at the Crowfoot LRT opening today and honestly, Hodges did not look good. He had a hat on, so the combover was at rest. I would be very surprised if he ran again.

[Wooster]

That dinosaur needs to retire. Seriously, Hodges has been alderman almost as long as I've been alive. His ideas area also stuck about 25 years behind. Calgary is no longer a city of half a million.

I seem to remember liking Jennifer Banks', I wonder if she'll run again.

[SmokWawelski]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Alberta is an infinitely better place today than it was 30 years ago, and a lot of that has to do with changing attitudes as (gasp!) people from the east and BC taught Albertans a thing or three.

Or maybe the people from the east and BC realized that Alberta is not as red neck as the CBC National makes it to be

I'm a transplant from behind the former iron curtain, and I can tell you one certain thing. You don't vote you should shut the f*uck up!!!!!!! To live here is a privilege not a right, too many people here take this for granted at all levels of government. I take my 9 year old (current) to every election, municipal, provincial and federal, I make sure to tell her why it is important to vote. Otherwise you/we end up with no more than 30%(municipal) of the voting population casting their ballets, and part of the 30% is an organized group of special interest groups that represent only their narrow point of view. It's not good for for anyone when you have very few making decisions for the masses. My two cents.

Now when the time comes to voting get out there and be a

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Immigrants too!

They all come from places east of Alberta.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by freeweed

They all come from places east of Alberta.

South, too.

[wild wild west]

I must say, I am baffled that PGIB would actually think bringing polarizing ideologues like Rush Limbaugh to town would in any way help galvanize support for conservative candidates who associate themselves with this group...if anything you'd think it would do just the opposite. Time will tell I guess.

re: Hodges, thankfully he is just one vote on council but the guy is a dinosaur. He puts his full energies into obstructing, delaying, blocking and delaying progress in this city. I am hopeful that he will retire, but although his opponent last time around ran a great campaign and came surprisingly close, never underestimate the staying power of being the incumbent in getting the anti-progress vote out.

[fusili]

CALGARY - A group of business lobbyists have given half of city council a failing grade on a number of issues, ranging from property tax increases to closing Memorial Drive.

“We’re very concerned we’re not getting the leadership our city deserves,” Bill Partridge, executive vice-president of the Building Owner and Managers Association, said Monday. “This is intended to draw attention to how council performed for the people they purport to serve.”

Calling itself the Coalition for Tax Fairness, eight of the nine members are business lobby groups. The ninth is the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Grades for individual council members ranged from an A+ for Ald. Ric McIver and an A for Ald. Andre Chabot to Fs for Aldermen Druh Farrell and Linda Fox-Mellway. Mayor Dave Bronconnier and Ald. Gord Lowe, chairman of the finance committee, received Ds.

Other grades included: B+ for Diane Colley-Urquhart, B for Joe Connelly and Jim Stevenson, C for Ray Jones, C- for Dale Hodges, D+ for Bob Hawkesworth and John Mar, D for Joe Ceci, D- for Brian Pincott.

The groups chose a number of council votes over the first half of this term and then awarded points based on whether that vote was considered taxpayer friendly or unfriendly.

The 32 votes chosen included election donation reform, changing the curbside recycling program to allow for the inclusion of private collectors, pedestrian bridges over the Bow River, increasing tipping fees at the landfill, reducing the use of plastic shopping bags, closing Memorial Drive for a street party and last fall’s setting of the three-year budget.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

link

[You Need A Thneed]

The actual scores:

Grades (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

---------------------------------------------

Report card criteria:

Municipal Report Card - Score components

I. Taxpayer friendly voting record, 70 points

II. Management of Aldermanic office and travel budgets
- Within budget, 5 points
- Bonus points: Level of spending below average, 5 points

III. Policy making and governance
- Number of motions and taxpayer friendliness of motions, 10 points

IV. Responsiveness and proactive stakeholder engagement, 10 points


Total: 100

[The Chemist]

Farrell should consider it a badge of honour to get an F from a bunch of right-wing nuts like the PGIB - obviously she's doing all the right things if they're all riled up at her.

What did Fox-Mellway do to deserve the same honour?

[frinkprof]

Nevermind.

[wild wild west]

"The groups chose a number of council votes over the first half of this term and then awarded points based on whether that vote was considered taxpayer friendly or unfriendly.

The 32 votes chosen included election donation reform, changing the curbside recycling program to allow for the inclusion of private collectors, pedestrian bridges over the Bow River, increasing tipping fees at the landfill, reducing the use of plastic shopping bags, closing Memorial Drive for a street party and last fall’s setting of the three-year budget."

Interesting - no mention here of far more taxpayer-unfriendly decisions like the $80 million borrowing bylaw to extend roads and services to Skyview Ranch.

I'm all for a taxpayer watchdog - but only if they actually have a real eye for the big wastes of taxpayer dollars rather than flogging minor symbolic issues like closing Memorial Drive for one day to death, in the name of ideology. McIver and his ilk appear somewhat penny-wise and pound foolish.

Also, any "report card" that rates Hodges above 8 other Council members should be summarily ignored.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by wild wild west

"The groups chose a number of council votes over the first half of this term and then awarded points based on whether that vote was considered taxpayer friendly or unfriendly.

The 32 votes chosen included election donation reform, changing the curbside recycling program to allow for the inclusion of private collectors, pedestrian bridges over the Bow River, increasing tipping fees at the landfill, reducing the use of plastic shopping bags, closing Memorial Drive for a street party and last fall’s setting of the three-year budget."

Interesting - no mention here of far more taxpayer-unfriendly decisions like the $80 million borrowing bylaw to extend roads and services to Skyview Ranch.

I'm all for a taxpayer watchdog - but only if they actually have a real eye for the big wastes of taxpayer dollars rather than flogging minor symbolic issues like closing Memorial Drive for one day to death, in the name of ideology. McIver and his ilk appear somewhat penny-wise and pound foolish.

Also, any "report card" that rates Hodges above 8 other Council members should be summarily ignored.

I question the whole thing. A vote on increasing tipping fees? Was the voting ranked as good if it was against tipping fees? or for them? If it was against tipping fees, I think that is fiscally irresponsible. People should pay for the waste they produce. And disincentives to using a landfill which costs lots of money is a good thing. Just my two cents.

[mersar]

The general methodology that they've said they used was anything that increased the cost to the tax payers to do something was a positive on their ranking if the person voted against it. So those who voted for raising the tipping fees would have gotten docked points for that vote.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by mersar

The general methodology that they've said they used was anything that increased the cost to the tax payers to do something was a positive on their ranking if the person voted against it. So those who voted for raising the tipping fees would have gotten docked points for that vote.

And yet, increasing tipping fees is a fiscally responsible action. It reduces externalities caused by the disposal of waste. Land fills cost money. No wait, land fills cost lots of money. Increasing tipping fees discourages waste disposal, which in turn reduces the cost of land fill operations and land acquisition, which is good economically and reduces the overall burden on taxpayers.

The impression that I am getting from this report is "Anything that costs money is bad, we can't and shouldn't spend money on anything, but we still want to have a high level of service." It is like these people refuse to admit that things cost money. Perhaps someone should go explain to these people the concept of "there is no such thing as a free lunch."

And if you couldn't tell, I am just a little frustruated in this city.

[Stang]

<sarcasm>
You guys are all looking into this way too much. You're not supposed to ask questions like that. The lady on the news told me about the report card and she wouldn't lie or slant the facts. "D" for all of you for thinking independently.
</sarcasm>

[Riise]

Originally Posted by Stang

<sarcasm>
You guys are all looking into this way too much. You're not supposed to ask questions like that. The lady on the news told me about the report card and she wouldn't lie or slant the facts. "D" for all of you for thinking independently.
</sarcasm>

This gives me an idea, maybe SSP Calgary should come up with our own satirical report card... Considering how the Sun is pretty much a joke, we'll be sure to get covered by at least one media outlet!

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Riise

This gives me an idea, maybe SSP Calgary should come up with our own satirical report card... Considering how the Sun is pretty much a joke, we'll be sure to get covered by at least one media outlet!

Great idea! Here is my report card for them, I'm only filling in grades for the ones I am familiar with:

McIver: F
Chabot:
Colley-Urquhart: D
Connelly :
Stevenson:
Jones :
Hodges:
Hawkesworth:
Mar: C
Lowe: B
Ceci: B
Bronconnier: B
Pincott: B
Fox-Mellway: She's on council?
Farrell: B

[korzym]

McIver will win.
and note when you bash someone, its best to state reasons rather than express emotional angst, such as smok and www, there's more people that made similar posts, but too sensationalist and profane to mention them.

50% of people polled on the ctv website give council an F, which is a more diverse sample group. Do you think just a couple vocal liberals on ssp is reason for confidence in a bronconnier re-election? [this convo has been had before, and its agreed this place attracts younger people which tend to be liberals/socialists; voter turn out is stronger amongst elder people as well so think about it].

The role of a mayor isn't to fulfill an egotistical "vision" for a city. Your a manager, and you identify priorities and act on them. You don't see that in Bronconnier

[wild wild west]

Hmmm, being as objective as I can here, I actually consider McIver the best of his particular voting block...he at least has a brain, the rest of those guys (Chabot, Connelly, etc.) just go along with whatever he says. If any of you have had the chance to meet Ald. Chabot - well, let's just say he proves that you don't have to be smart to get elected.

Honestly I would give the vast majority of Council, at most, C's. Most of Council has either been pre-occupied with ideological battles, or not had a solid grasp of the bigger picture. Farrell's been great on downtown and urban design issues but doesn't show much of a grasp of other issues when, for example, she suggests putting the new Convention Centre by the airport. Others such as Hawkesworth, Fox-Mellway or Jones may (or may not?) do a great job for their constituents but seem to flip and flop at the city-wide level. Hodges is a dinosaur. Overall I would only give 3 of them better than a C: A couple of aldermen who I have been very impressed with in terms of their ability to articulate common-sense positions, Gord Lowe and Brian Pincott, and Joe Ceci who is an example of an alderman who works hard at the constituency level.