Calgary Municipal Election 2007 Thread

[freeweed]

[QUOTE=Rob D;3053228]I'd vote for Madeleine King rather than a certain chap who's running against her (former city cop I believe). He's too obsessed with parking issues and I've heard he's not too friendly toward the gay community /QUOTE]

What the hell? How does this even happen in this day and age? Is he trying to get the city to disallow gay marriages or something?

[Boris2k7]

I don't think so, but he's made anti-gay comments in public before. I was surprised to hear about it, but then again, the guy is very conservative, in a bad way.

Here is a rather amusing blog entry:

http://crystalgaze2.blogspot.com/200...ions-2007.html

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by mersar

Alright, its time to play "Guess which Mayoral Candidates don't know Calgary":

1. The city planned to build the LRT underground in the 60's
2. Lane reversals in Calgary are being ignored
3. Calgary has no lane reversals, but vancouver has had them for decades
3. There is a halfbuilt LRT station underneath Bankers Hall (also mentioned the station under the municipal building)

Who said each during interviews today?

1. Sandy Jenkins
2. Alnoor Kassam (the only new reversal since the Centre Street Bridge opened under Al Duerr was pushed by Craig Burrows, so it is not pushed forward by the current Mayor on as wide a scale envisioned by Alnoor)
3. Let me say either Jeremy Zhao, or Harry Heck.
4. Sandy Jenkins

[You Need A Thneed]

From my brief look at some of the mayoral candidates' websites, I'd say that the fact checking doesn't happen there either. And in some cases, there is a total lack of common sense and reasoning too.

Alnoor seems to think that every single suite out there is going to pass a safety check , due to the reasoning required to say this:

Originally Posted by GoAlnoor.com

This process should not be subject to political interference - so long as a safety inspection approves of the suites, home owners should be allowed to rent out secondary suites.

So what do you do with suites that don't pass the safety inspection? Say that they can't rent it out? You'd have to, or else the whole thing would be meaningless. So, when 95% of suites fail the safety inspection (according to building codes), we would end up having a lot of people out on the streets.

[Boris2k7]

Election hopefuls fly out of gate
Civic candidates kick off campaigns
Colette Derworiz, Kim Guttormson and Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Calgary's civic election campaign officially began Monday, with several hot races shaping up as 77 candidates declared their intentions to run for mayor, alderman or school board trustee.

During the three hours open to officially submit their names, candidates were already campaigning on issues such as crime, homelessness, transportation and the environment.

"I've been bitching about this city for so long, it was time to shut up or put up -- and I don't like to shut up," said Ward 7 candidate Barry Eldridge, who had to go back to the community early Monday to get 10 signatures for his nomination papers after he didn't put his name on top of one of the forms.

An incumbent, Madeleine King, made the same mistake, rushing out to the Mission community around 10 a.m. to gather another 40 of the 100 signatures needed to run.

It immediately led other candidates in Ward 8 to criticize King's record on city council.

"We all make screw-ups," King responded. "It's embarrassing."

Carol Neuman, a candidate who had planned to run in Ward 1, arrived at 11:50 a.m. to find out she had made a similar error. Because she didn't have time to return to her community to collect more signatures, she's unable to run in this fall's election.

By the noon deadline, however, a total of 77 people had filed nomination papers at a cost of $100 for trustee and alderman, and $500 for mayor -- compared to 79 people in the 2004 campaign.

The list is not official until noon today, which is the deadline to withdraw.

There are eight people who filed their papers to run for mayor against Dave Bronconnier, the incumbent who has at least $1 million in his war chest and two terms under his belt.

"The campaign officially kicks off -- four weeks of, really, an opportunity to get out there and hear what's on Calgarians' minds," said Bronconnier, who noted he didn't know who the other candidates in the race were. "I focus on my campaign."

Still, two fringe mayoral candidates pulled out all of the stops Monday when they arrived at City Hall -- with one, Harry Heck, arriving with two men dressed as the Blues Brothers and another, J.J. Sunstrum, carried into the building in shiny blue pyjamas and fuzzy buffalo slippers.

"I had second thoughts this morning about whether I wanted to run for the job as mayor," Sunstrum told reporters after he filed his papers.

When asked why he wore pajamas to nomination day, he said: "I am a bit of a mischievous person." He later returned in a suit, asking people if that was "better."

Ward 11 is the only wide-open aldermanic race, with five candidates running after Barry Erskine decided last week to retire.

"I had thought about it before," said lawyer Jim Murray, who is running in Ward 11. "It surprised me he decided not to run at that late date.

"But I was able to file my nomination papers on time."

Other than the two aldermen who were acclaimed -- Diane Colley-Urquhart and Linda Fox-Mellway -- each of the other 11 incumbents face between one and four challengers.

In Ward 6, four candidates are challenging Craig Burrows, who has had a year filled with controversy. However, Rosemary Berglund said she or one of the other candidates may drop out by noon today to avoid splitting the vote.

Meanwhile, about half of the Calgary Catholic School District was acclaimed Monday when nominations closed.

Serafino Scarpino, Linda Wellman and Marg Belcourt will all be returning to the board this fall. Newcomer Mary Martin, a registered nurse with four children, has also won her bid to replace Maureen Emond in wards 13 and 14.

Rogue trustee Michael O'Malley also submitted nomination papers to run for the separate board despite a verdict pending in a legal challenge of his removal as trustee. He won't be the only name on the ballot in wards 9 and 10, as former trustee Adam Heighes and former candidate Rosemarie Goerlitz are also vying for the seat.

In the Calgary Board of Education, current chair Pat Cochrane and former chair Gordon Dirks have both been acclaimed.

The remaining races include a mixture of stay-at-home parents, former teachers, business leaders and former politicians for Calgary voters to choose from.

The most hotly contested riding is wards 11 and 13 where four challengers have applied to replace Nancy Close. Candidates include Karen Kryczka, Neil Mackie, Kathy Power and Deborah Duncan.

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com


Ald. Madeleine King, who made a mistake in her nomination papers, shows her relief after rushing out to collect 40 new signatures she needed to run. See story, Page B5.
Leah Hennel, Calgary

[Boris2k7]

Mayor faces eight challengers
Bronconnier can be beaten, say rivals
Kim Guttormson and Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Transportation, crime, affordable housing and billions in provincial infrastructure dollars came into play Monday, as nine candidates staked their claim to the mayor's chair.

Whether wearing suits or pyjamas and slippers, flanked by campaign managers or a duo dressed as the Blues Brothers, all nine hopefuls swore they were serious candidates to lead the city after Oct. 15.

"I don't have a war chest so how else do you get attention," said J.J. Sunstrum, who showed up wearing a yellow "Not For Sale" T-shirt, shiny blue pyjamas and fuzzy buffalo slippers.

While political analysts often give the campaign edge to incumbents, many of those challenging Dave Bronconnier for the job disputed that.

"The race is wide open," said contender Harry Heck, who brought the Jake and Elwood Blues look-alikes. "It's going to be a horse race."

Sandy Jenkins, a 47-year-old geophysicist, admitted it will be an uphill battle, but he doesn't believe Bronconnier is unbeatable, despite his estimated $1-million-plus campaign kitty.

"If you've got the right message, you are going to resonate with people," he said. "I've lived here for 25 years. You get tired of complaining after a while before you decide to do things about it."

Jeremy Zhao, a second year engineering student at the University of Calgary, said he wants to get people interested in the election.

"I decided to participate, rather than spoil my ballot or not vote," said Zhao, 19.

Bronconnier, seeking a third term in office, said he's running on his record.

"My last six years, the record speaks for itself, in terms of investment back into this community," he said, "but, of course, we're going to talk about the future."

Last week, the province and its municipalities signed a deal that will provide infrastructure funding for the next decade -- $3.3 billion for Calgary over 10 years, giving the new council the enviable task of deciding where to spend it.

Some, including mayoral candidate Alnoor Kassam, questioned the timing of the announcement, but Bronconnier said it was the province's call, adding, "it was three years of hard work to get the province to sign this agreement."

Monday, as the candidates were swarmed by media, they listed their priorities for the campaign: road construction and the need for increased public transit topped most lists.

Kassam said alternative solutions to the city's traffic problems, such as lane reversals and car pool lanes, need to be investigated.

Bronconnier said of the $2 billion spent on transportation over the last term, more than half went to transit.

Crime, which came to a head this summer with eight suspicious deaths in nine days, also topped the list of concerns.

"We don't need more words, we need action," said Kassam. "We need the police officers to have the permission to do it."

Bronconnier noted that council has put 350 more police officers on the street over the past three years.

Candidate Elizabeth Fielding said there needs to be a preventative approach to crime in the city, including engaging youth.

The list of candidates won't be official until noon today.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com


What mayoral candidate J.J. Sunstrum lacks in campaign funding, he makes up for in pyjamas.
Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

[Boris2k7]

Young Jeremy tackles apathy
Robert Remington, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Jeremy the giant killer is 19 years old. He works bagging groceries to help pay his way through university. His favourite movie is Lord of the Rings and his zodiac year is Dragon.

He plays piano and is the producer of Chinese Talk, a podcast about Asian stereotypes.

He stands about five feet tall and his position on civic taxation is posted on YouTube to the tune of Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper.

Jeremy Zhao doesn't stand a chance of unseating Dave Bronconnier.

But of all the fringe candidates for the top job at City Hall -- one mayoral candidate showed up Monday dressed in pyjamas, another was accompanied by two guys dressed as the Blues Brothers -- Zhao deserves credit for making voter apathy his primary issue in this campaign.

"If I can get more people out to vote than the 19 per cent turnout of the last election, at the end of the day I'll be happy," said Zhao, a second-year engineering student at the University of Calgary.

Zhao showed up for nomination day at city hall with a posse of young supporters and paid his $500 nomination fee in cash -- $50s, $20s, $10s and $5s -- that he collected from friends.

His campaign is totally Internet-based, using sites like YouTube, My Space, Facebook and his own

jeremyzhao.com. On the latter, he posts links to all the other candidates running in the Oct. 15 civic election.

"I am for democracy, not for winning. I urge all Calgarians to choose carefully who they will pick and who really stands up for the people, and those who stand up for themselves. Be informed and stay critical," Zhao says on his site.

In 2004, a pitiful 19.8 per cent of the municipal electorate bothered to drag themselves to the polls in Calgary, the lowest of any major city in Canada's last rounds of municipal elections.

"It's ridiculous. It's horrible," Zhao says of voter apathy.

Other newcomers to civic politics agreed.

"I decided I can sit around and complain or do something about it," said Richard Evans, a candidate in Ward 4.

"Democracy is Job 1," said James Kohut, a Ward 6 candidate who showed up wearing a T-shirt with sheep on it that read "Be herd or not."

Kohut went so far as to suggest that the city give out random prizes to voters such as tickets to Heritage Park, the zoo or transit passes.

"We have to do everything we can to get people involved," Kohut said.

Voting in a civic election is work. Unlike provincial and federal politics, there is no party system to align voters along ideological lines. Fixed dates for municipal elections also make for less political drama leading into a campaign. Historically, voter turnout in civic politics is driven by two factors: plebiscites and competitive mayoral races.

When Edmonton mayor William Hawrelak ran unopposed in the mid-1950s, voter turnout dropped to 10 per cent. The turnout in Calgary was 38 per cent when Al Duerr retired in 2001, leaving Bronconnier in a battle against Bev Longstaff. In 2004, with Bronconnier running virtually unchallenged, turnout plummeted.

Calgary had a 45.8 per cent turnout in 1998, when water fluoridation was put to plebiscite, passing by a 55 per cent margin.

Robert Roach, director of research for the Canada West Foundation, says low municipal voter turnout is confounding.

"In many ways, it's a mystery. This is a level government where your vote and your access to politicians after the vote counts the most. Federally, you elect a distant MP to go off to Ottawa and make policy, so it's a very strange disconnect that voters have with municipal politics. The issues on the national scene are seen as more important -- Are we going to war? Will we have health care? But the issues the city is wrestling with are pretty important to our day-to-day lives and are going to be factors 10, 20 and 30 years down the road," Roach said.

Keith Brownsey, a political science instructor at Mount Royal College, says municipal voters really do get the government they deserve.

"We fail to engage in civic political life at our own peril," Brownsey says. "Some very radical people can get into office at the civic level with few votes. A hundred votes one way or the other and you can be an alderman in this town."

Or even a pyjama-wearing mayor.

rremington@theherald.canwest.com

[Boris2k7]

King nearly misses cut-off for election
Colette Derworiz, with files from Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The race in Ward 8 heated up on the first day of the official campaign Monday when the incumbent nearly missed the deadline for filing her nomination papers -- and two of her competitors immediately criticized the mistake.

Madeleine King, a two-term alderman heading into this fall's election, arrived at City Hall around 10 a.m. to find out dozens of the 100 signatures she required to run were invalid.

She quickly went back out into the community to gather 40 new signatures and returned six minutes before the noon deadline.

"You're in the door, so you're OK," Barb Clifford, the city's returning officer, said to a visibly frazzled King as she ran in the door.

As she arrived, another candidate was being rejected for another problem on her nomination papers, leading to a loud exchange in council chambers.

Out of breath, King waited for her turn and then watched as Clifford counted the names.

"We've got enough; you've got enough," Clifford said, as King let out a sigh of relief.

She then joked that she could use a "stiff drink," adding traffic seemed even worse than usual.

But her misstep led to criticism from two of the three people in the running for her seat.

"It shows a lack of organization -- if nothing else. Things like that should be dealt with ahead of time," said Steve Chapman, who was only 146 votes behind King in the 2004 election.

John Mar, another candidate, agreed that it's indicative of King's organization.

"You would think she would have her ducks in a row," he said, suggesting her papers could still be rejected today if all of the signatures don't check out.

The third candidate, however, said she's relieved King made it.

"The more choice Ward 8 voters have, the more we can improve voter turnout," said Lindsay Luhnau, who noted she doesn't want to run a negative campaign.

King said she was embarrassed by the incident.

"My track record shows I am a hard worker . . . very competent," she said. "Sometimes one just has to apologize. We all make mistakes. I'm sorry I did it."

Clifford said there were three people who had insufficient signatures because the signed pages didn't have the proper information at the top.

"There was no proof they knew what they were signing for," she said, noting Ward 7 candidate Barry Eldridge made the same mistake as King and had to run out to get 11 signatures.

While both Eldridge and King made it, one woman was unable to run in Ward 1 despite arriving 10 minutes before the deadline.

Carol Neuman, who had been planning to run in Ward 1, had her papers rejected because she had copied the original form onto two separate pieces of paper.

"I had more than enough (signatures)," she said outside council chambers. "I asked about photocopying the forms and they said it wouldn't be a problem."

Neuman, who had a campaign website set up, said it was frustrating.

"Especially because there is no appeal process," she said. "There's nothing documented on the city website or what's given out to potential candidates."

Clifford said the forms may need to be reviewed.

"We haven't had this occur in the past," she said. "We have used this form since 1995. . . . Obviously, this time, there was an issue with one candidate."

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com


Ald. Madeleine King watches as the signatures on her nomination form are scrutinized on Monday at City Hall.
Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

[Boris2k7]

Two aldermen to hit streets despite acclamations
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Diane Colley-Urquhart and Linda Fox-Mellway will spend the next four weeks knocking on doors, but the two aldermen don't have to worry about campaigning.

They were elected Monday by acclamation.

"We'll still run a campaign out there," said Colley-Urquhart, the alderman for Ward 13, who was also acclaimed in the 2001 election. "Nothing really changes. I'll still be out campaigning and having the public forums, doing those sorts of things to engage people."

Surprised at the lack of competition, Colley-Urquhart said she thought if any issue pulled out a challenger, it would have been the "Support Our Troops" decals, which she argued against putting on city vehicles. "But it didn't, so that's that."

She said she'll have to decide whether to still send out a brochure or just post it online.

Fox-Mellway, the alderman for Ward 14, said she's sent out information and had a second brochure planned.

With no one running against her, Fox-Mellway said she'll now be able to dedicate more time to ward priorities rather than campaigning aggressively.

"I certainly hope it indicates some level of confidence," she said of having no challengers.

The two aldermen join two trustees with the Calgary Board of Education and four with the Calgary Catholic board in being acclaimed.

In 2004, four aldermen were acclaimed.

Colley-Urquhart said it's important to be talking to her constituents, especially given the $3.3 billion in infrastructure the city will receive from the province over the next decade.

She said the main priority for Ward 13 in the next term is seeing a deal between the province and Tsuu T'ina Nation for the southwest leg of the ring road.

"Development can't proceed out there until we get the ring road built," she said.

Transportation, recreation and emergency services will be the focus of Fox-Mellway's next three years.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

[Boris2k7]

Challenger takes on Bronconnier dollar for dollar in this campaign
Don Braid, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

There's never been anything like this in a Calgary mayoral campaign -- a challenger from out of the blue with $1 million in cold cash to spend.

Alnoor Kassam says he can't confirm the figure, for competitive reasons, but $1 million "isn't far off."

So he pretty much confirms it, after all. The figure could even turn out to be low, if Mayor Dave Bronconnier cranks up his own spending to the $1-million range, which he's quite capable of doing. The Go Alnoor crowd will then match him dollar for dollar.

The bad blood is already boiling between the two camps. After some testy early exchanges, Bronconnier's men and Kassam's crowd don't talk to each other these days.

But they talk about each other readily enough. Bronco's camp says polls already show Alnoor isn't just second, he's running fourth, with Bronconnier far in front of everyone.

That may be true, but the difference between Kassam and the seven other mayoral challengers -- the Harry Hecks and Jeremy Zhaos -- is all that money.

Kassam has already bought ads in more than 100 LRT stations. With much more in the kitty, Kassam can make himself very well known to Calgarians in the next 30 days.

By contrast, the amiable Jeremy Zhao, a U of C engineering student, says he has "zero" cash to spend. He blew his entire political wad, $500, on the entry fee.

Kassam says he came to Calgary in 2004 with a goal of making $5 million in five years. Instead, he says, he made $16 million in two years, mostly on a hotel deal.

More recently, he found himself on the wrong end of media reports when he radically raised the rents in a Mount Royal lowrise -- for one tenant, from $650 to $2,500 a month.

He now says they all found other accommodations before they had to pay the increase.

There's a much longer history to Kassam, who fled Kenya in 1993 with the law at his heels for his involvement in the country's greatest banking scandal.

He was a principal of Trade Bank, as well as Diner's Club. A huge inquiry over government subsidy of exports focused on the fate of the bank.

Kenyan officials have said he's welcome to return, as long as he coughs up $23 million Cdn he's alleged to have taken with him.

Kassam insists he didn't take a penny, noting that a Canadian immigration tribunal ruled in his favour.

He has freely told me, though, that he used to leave briefcases full of cash behind when he visited government ministers, and engaged in illegal currency trading.

Kassam is disarming when he's asked about all this. "Oh yes, I did that," he said last last October, referring to the bribery. "We all did. We had to. That was the political culture, entirely without ethics or honesty.

"It's not excusable, some of the things I did, but now I can sit back and reflect on what I did wrong and try to make it right."

It's far from certain that even $1 million will sell this story in Calgary. That seems so obvious, in fact, that I thought Kassam would drop out long before now.

But a full year later he's still campaigning and spending, utterly convinced he will make a most wonderful mayor.

With Bronconnier already deeply annoyed, this is going to be one strange election battle. Expensive, too.

dbraid@shaw.ca

[Boris2k7]

Races shaping up in school board election
Funding, quality of education among top issues
Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Diversity best describes the looming public trustee election campaign, as former politicians, retired teachers, businessmen and twentysomething candidates seek a seat as a Calgary Board of Education trustee.

Board chairwoman Pat Cochrane and former chairman Gordon Dirks were both acclaimed Monday. But strong races are shaping up elsewhere, as more than a dozen candidates vie for five remaining spots.

The hottest race appears to be in Wards 11 and 13, where four candidates hope to replace Nancy Close.

Former Conservative Calgary West MLA Karen Kryczka wants to launch a second career as a CBE trustee and said her political connections should help the board work with the government to address funding issues.

"I am very interested in seeing progress at all levels, whether it's new schools, renovations to old ones, upgrades to schools, P3s," Kryczka said.

Entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom Kathy Power, running in the same district, said the board has to be held accountable for the quality of education it provides.

"I see too many parents taking their kids out of public school and putting them in another system because they're not happy," Power said.

Deborah Duncan is a school council facilitator and mother of two who said lobbying for education funding is crucial for the board to survive.

"I want to ensure education is made a priority in Alberta and the province puts in place a long-term plan . . . which will allow the school board to get back to (teaching) Calgary students," Duncan said.

Rounding out the race is Neil Mackie, a father of two who fears a disconnect between the board and parents.

"I don't think the families have enough of a voice," said Mackie, who works for a technology firm in Calgary.

Michael Peter Stefanyshyn appears to be the most youthful candidate in the fall election. The 27-year-old was a high school science teacher, but said he left the profession after seeing too much politics in schools.

"There's not enough money getting into the classroom . . . but there is also too much overhead and too much administration staff," said Stefanyshyn, who is running in Wards 5 and 10.

Pamela King has also worked for the CBE and said more focus must be paid to addressing labour issues.

"We have great people and we need to figure out a way to keep them," said the mother of two, who is also running in Wards 5 and 10 for the seat left vacant when trustee Kyle Fawcett announced his intention to run for MLA.

George Lane was acclaimed as the Wards 6 and 7 trustee three years ago, but he's got a political fight ahead, facing two challengers. A strong election is a great opportunity to discuss meaningful educational issues, Lane said.

"I'm a strong believer in early childhood education. I think it needs to be much more available to all families who want it (including) full-time kindergarten and junior kindergarten. Completion of high school should be the norm," Lane said.

Drake Hammill is a former CBE employee who said he's been lobbying for a solution to Calgary's crumbling schools for more than a decade.

"I think it's about time our children are supplied with a healthy, clean and secure school environment," said Hammill, who is running to replace Lane.

Calgary lawyer and former general counsel for the CBE Greg Scott is also campaigning in Wards 6 and 7. Like most others, he is eager to find a solution to ongoing funding problems.

"I think (my past experience with the CBE) gives me something to offer that would be unique. I have a strong legal knowledge of the school act and of education issues," said Scott.

The fight to get new schools built has brought trustee Lynn Ferguson back in the campaign for Wards 3 and 4.

"What it's about is trying to find out how we are going to build schools in our community into the future."

Also campaigning in Wards 3 and 4 is Jadine Kohut. The mother of three has spoken out against the way the CBE has ranked schools on its capital plan in the past and is now running for clearer guidelines on the issue.

"There needs to be a formula for high schools so we can fund them across Calgary fairly," said Kohut.

Finding ways to give students the tools they need to succeed in a global world is why Carol Bazinet chose to run again. She will be campaigning against newcomer Greg Humphreys for her Ward 12 and 14 seat on the school board, but Bazinet welcomes the debate and interest from new candidates.

Humphreys is running to have "less talk, more direction" at the CBE.

The father of two said he's disappointed in the school board's progress on major financial issues.

smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com


Calgary Board of Education candidates

- Wards 1 and 2

Gordon Dirks * acclaimed

- Wards 3 and 4

Lynn Ferguson
Jadine Kohut

- Wards 5 and 10

Pamela King
Michael Stefanyshyn

- Wards 6 and 7

George Lane
Drake Hammill
Greg Scott

- Wards 8 and 9

Pat Cochrane * acclaimed

- Wards 11 and 13

Deborah Duncan
Kathy Power
Neil Mackie
Karen Kryczka

- Wards 12 and 14

Carol Bazinet
Greg Humphreys

[Boris2k7]

Most Catholic board seats filled by acclamation
Ousted trustee O'Malley files nomination papers
Sarah McGinnis, with files from Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The trustee election campaign has barely begun and already more than half of the Calgary Catholic School District seats have been settled by acclamation.

There will races for only three of the separate board's seven seats, including the return of ousted trustee Michael O'Malley as a controversial candidate trying to reclaim the seat he was forced to vacate.

Current trustees Serafino Scarpino, Linda Wellman and Marg Belcourt have all been returned to office after no one came forward to run against them in next month's civic election.

Newcomer Mary Martin has also been confirmed as a member of the separate board representing students in Wards 13 and 14. The mother of four is a registered nurse who has long volunteered at both the school and district level.

Most recently, Martin was a member of the round table exploring the gambling-based fundraising issue and has worked to find alternative ways to raise money for local schools.

Her primary objective in joining the school board is to help in the fight for long-term funding.

"Inadequate provincial funding . . . spills over into transportation, it jeopardizes the ability to build schools and deliver programs. As a parent I've seen this for years and it's becoming more worrisome."

O'Malley created the biggest stir of the morning when he was confirmed as a separate board candidate in Wards 9, 10 and Chestermere on Monday.

In the lead up to nomination day, there was much debate over whether O'Malley would be eligible to run.

A verdict is pending on a second trial over whether O'Malley was unfairly punted from the separate board.

The district argues that until the decision is announced, a previous ban on O'Malley running for re-election should stand.

But O'Malley said that since he was granted a retrial there is no legal ruling preventing him from campaigning.

"I won my appeal. All the authorities have given me the freedom (to run). The courts haven't stopped me, the law hasn't stopped me, the trial judge hasn't stopped me, the returning officer hasn't stopped me," O'Malley said.

"I'm going to let the voters make the final decisions on this conflict with the board."

Barb Clifford, the city's returning officer, said they have accepted the nomination papers from O'Malley because his previous judgment -- which barred him from running again until 2010 -- has been set aside.

"I had to accept his papers," she told reporters at City Hall. "He is a candidate at this moment."

Clifford said while she can't comment on the legal technicalities, she noted O'Malley could withdraw his candidacy by noon today or he could file a disclaimer that he will not accept office if he's elected. However, she added, that is up to the candidate.

"He is on the ballot -- unless he withdraws within 24 hours."

O'Malley won't be the only name on the ballot in his riding. Two other candidates have stepped up to prevent his re-election.

Rosemarie Goerlitz unsuccessfully challenged trustee Linda Wellman in the last election. She said the waste of public dollars in the separate board's ongoing legal battle with O'Malley is why she decided to fight for the seat.

"It breaks my heart to see they can spend so many hours and so many dollars on issues that don't affect the children. Everything should have been spent on the programs instead of fighting political issues," she said.

Former trustee Adam Heighes has also come out strong in campaigning to replace O'Malley, to whom he lost three years ago.

This father of five said it's unacceptable how O'Malley hijacked the school board in pursuit of his democratic goals while ignoring the needs of students. He confronted O'Malley about how much he cost the board in legal costs on Monday.

Two-time trustee and board chairwoman Cathie Williams discovered she will have to run a campaign to reclaim her seat after oilman Michael Annuik announced his candidacy for Wards 11 and 12.

And veteran trustee Lois Burke-Gaffney will contest for re-election to Wards 6 and 8 against Calgary architect Antoni Grochowski.

smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com


Calgary Catholic School District candidates

- Wards 1, 2 and Cochrane

Serafino Scarpino * acclaimed

- Wards 3, 5 and Airdrie

Linda Wellman * acclaimed

- Wards 4 and 7

Margaret Belcourt * acclaimed

- Wards 6 and 8

Lois Burke-Gaffney
Antoni Grochowski

- Wards 9, 10 and Chestermere

Michael O'Malley
Adam Heighes
Rosemarie Goerlitz

- Wards 11 and 12

Cathie Williams
Michael Annuik

- Wards 13 and 14

Mary Martin * acclaimed


Former Catholic trustee Michael O'Malley filed papers to run again in the seat from which he was ousted by fellow board members.
Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

[SIZE="3"]
Serafino Scarpino, Linda Wellman and Marg Belcourt will all be returning to the board this fall. Newcomer Mary Martin, a registered nurse with four children, has also won her bid to replace Maureen Emond in wards 13 and 14.

Mr. Scarps was a kick-ass Italian teacher in high school(bonus points if you can guess which school!) and did an awesome job as our lead chaperone on our trip to Italy in grade 12.

With all the disputes with O'Malley I've always envisioned Serafino just getting up from his chair and putting some serious good old Italian beat down on him!

[Zilla]

^ St. Francis!

I took English from him at St. Margaret's and then he moved to St. Francis the same year I did. Great guy, I agree.

I also did the Italy trip (different chaperones though)

[Boris2k7]

You guys got to go to Italy!? The only place we were sent was Kananaskis...

F*cking Bishop O' Byrne...

EDIT: BTW, that should be all the election spamming for the day. That is, unless the candidates find new and innovative ways to whore themselves to the media.

[Boris2k7]

Mayor's closest rival not even in the race
Hillhurst man picked second in opinion poll
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Barry Eldridge is Calgarians' second choice for mayor, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The problem is the West Hillhurst resident isn't running for the city's top job on Oct. 15 -- he's a candidate in Ward 7.

"I'm honoured," the 49-year-old said with a laugh. "It's the mail-in vote, I guess."

In the Ipsos Reid poll conducted last week, incumbent Dave Bronconnier -- whose campaign commissioned the survey -- got the votes of almost half of those questioned.

Forty-four per cent didn't know who they would vote for or said they wouldn't vote.

Eldridge, whose name was offered as a choice along with eight others because he'd taken out nomination papers to run for mayor, placed second.

Of the 400 people surveyed, 187 named Bronconnier, while nine chose Eldridge, eight selected mayoral candidate Sandy Jenkins and six opted for Alnoor Kassam.

Kassam, who officially launched his campaign in May and has spent heavily on advertising, was the runner-up in terms of name recognition -- 10 per cent compared with Bronconnier's 42 per cent.

"It tells them they have to continue what they're doing, getting his name out there," Mount Royal College political scientist Keith Brownsey said of the Kassam team.

"On the other hand, he should be doing slightly better because he's been campaigning for months."

Kassam's campaign manager, Stephen Carter, said given that the poll was conducted the week before the election campaign officially started, he's not surprised by the numbers.

"We've got 25 per cent of Dave Bronconnier's name awareness. That's exactly what we wanted," he said. "The stuff we've been going out with, we've got Go Alnoor stop signs, it's not exactly giving them in-depth reasons to vote for us.

"That's what happens in the four weeks before the election."

Jenkins said it seems early to be releasing a poll.

"The reason (Bronconnier) released this is they look so good in it," Jenkins said. "Alnoor (Kassam) has his own polls and if he looked better, he'd be releasing them, I'm sure."

But Jenkins pointed out the high number of undecided voters and said a lot can happen during the campaign.

"It's early, obviously (Bronconnier) has an overwhelming lead," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting out there."

Bronconnier said the poll reinforced for his team what the main issues for Calgarians are -- transportation, infrastructure, housing, and crime and safety.

"Our platform is consistent with what people what," Bronconnier said. "There's no surprises here."

He was also pleased with the results around whether citizens are satisfied with his performance and that of city council.

According to the poll, 76 per cent either strongly or somewhat approved of how Bronconnier has done his job, while 70 per cent felt the same of council.

Seventy-one per cent of people said the city is on the right track.

"The last six years, we've made an investment in infrastructure, and it's paying off and people are recognizing that and prepared to give council credit for it," Bronconnier said.

Carter said the approval rating isn't surprising.

"It's because people don't have the full story of why they should be dissatisfied," he said.

But Brownsey said Bronconnier should be happy with the number.

"It's a very big number. It demonstrates there's not a lot of discontent out there," he said.

Ipsos Reid surveyed 400 people between Sept. 11 and 13. The poll is considered accurate within plus or minus 4.9 points, 19 times out of 20.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

[Boris2k7]

Ward 6 candidate pulling out
Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A candidate in Ward 6 says she's dropping out to avoid splitting the vote against a controversial incumbent, Craig Burrows.

Rosemary Berglund, 55, is one of five candidates who will appear on the ballot in Ward 6 for the Oct. 15 vote, after she missed Tuesday noon deadline by five minutes to withdraw her name as a candidate.

But even though she missed the deadline, Berglund told the Herald she'll still take herself out of the running.

"I'm planning on yielding, yes," she said late Tuesday, explaining she wanted to unseat Burrows. "I ran hoping and moving forward to being the best alderman the ward has seen. It's just not going to work; it's just splitting too many votes.

"My community is first. I have to yield."

Berglund, president of the Coach Hill-Patterson Heights Community Association, was one of the residents who fought to save the historic Hart House and believed their interests weren't being served by their alderman.

Burrows, who courted controversy over spending $12,000 this spring on an education course and making inappropriate comments about the smoking bylaw, said he has a solid track record with his communities.

"They know I work hard," he said, suggesting his "tough stance on tough issues" can rile people.

In the past few weeks, the other four candidates have been discussing whether they should join forces to try to unseat the incumbent.

"She's been bringing this up for weeks," said James Istvanffy, who placed second to Burrows in the 2001 election. "I'm going to run a full campaign."

James Kohut, who ran in the 2004 campaign, said he talked to Istvanffy about withdrawing because they have similar platforms, but Kohut, too, has decided to stay in the race.

The fifth candidate, Joe Connelly, said he will also run a full campaign over the next four weeks.

"We are still moving ahead," he said, noting he's not concerned about vote splitting because he's got a "solid" platform. "I made a commitment to my people that I will move ahead.

"That will not change."

All of the other 76 candidates kept their names in the races for Calgary's mayor, alderman and school board trustees.

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com


Rosemary Berglund missed the deadline to withdraw.
Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

[Boris2k7]

School board candidates urged to pursue funding
Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007

School board employee unions and parent groups are looking for Calgary's trustee candidates to weigh in on ways to secure more education funding, using private-public partnerships to build schools, and gambling-related fundraisers.

There are 20 individuals campaigning for eight available trustee positions on the boards of the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District.

"I think it's fantastic. This is democracy at its best," said Calgary Public Teachers Association president Jenny Regal.

The Calgary Association of Parent and School Councils and the Alberta Teachers' Association presented the candidates with survey questions and information on pending forums moments after they filed nomination papers on Monday.

Securing more long-term education funding from the province to repair crumbling schools and pay for new ones will be one of the biggest issues, said Regal.

Teachers will also be looking for candidates prepared to lobby the province to boost its three per cent operating grant increase -- which must cover all cost escalation and salaries for the school boards, said Calgary Catholic Teachers Association president David Cracknell.

Candidates also need to understand the complexity of the job they're running for, said Bob Anderson, president of the CBE's maintenance and custodial workers.

The public school board "is a $1-billion-a-year corporation and trustees have to have both business experience and education experience," he said.

School support workers want to see where candidates stand on the province's plan to build nine P3 schools in Calgary and how these public-private partnerships would work, said Anderson.

Catholic parents are talking about the trustee election in Wards 9, 10 and Chestermere, where Michael O'Malley is fighting to return to the separate school board after being removed midway through his first term. Former trustee Adam Heighes and retired special education teacher Rosemarie Goerlitz are also running.

School fundraising will be another major concern for Catholic parents, said parent Karen Melon, who is school council chair for Father Lacombe High School.

"If the Catholic board will not allow us to fundraise through casinos, then the government should take a portion of its gaming revenues and put it toward education funding for public and separate boards," said Melon.

smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com

Online Extras

Log onto our website for expanded civic election coverage CalgaryHerald.com

[Boris2k7]

A link to the Herald section on the election (ha!)

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...ion/index.html

There is a map in there with the candidates on it, which I will post in a few minutes (have to change locations...)

EDIT: NM, the map isn't all that great. It's a Google Map, which is fine for checking and interacting with, but not so good for posting and referencing here. A link will do:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...ectionmap.html

[Beltliner]

This was a surprise on one level, anyway:

School board pleased with judge's decision

calgary.ctv.ca

rre

POSTED AT 3:45 PM Wednesday, September 19

A judge has ruled the catholic school trustee, Michael O’Malley, cannot run in the civic election.

The ruling came hours after O’Malley’s name officially went on the ballot.

O’Malley was told he could not run in the 2007 civic election because he sued the school board three times.

The judge also ruled that O’Malley is disqualified from running in the 2010 civic election.

The school district tells CTV News it is pleased with the decision.

Don't suppose anyone on the board has seen the first act of Die Fledermaus to put this story in perspective....