Halifax Municipal Elections

[DBaz]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I take some solace...

Fortunately, the majority of HRM residents don't give a crap what you take solace in.

It's funny, I had a chat with Pam Lovelace, which started with me saying I would never vote for her because she only cares about the suburbs. Unfortunately, that was driven by something you said causing me to completely ignore her.

Turns out she isn't who you implied she was and wasn't very happy I thought that. Keep in mind that this was in Musq. Harbour. Even though I choose to live in the outer suburbs I'm completely aware who pays for my roads and highways (here's a hint, it's the very people you keep slagging).

The problem is people like you and "Mayor Greg" have convinced the entitled people in said suburbs that they are hard done by...

[OldDartmouthMark]

Anyhow...

Has there been any reporting of voter turnout numbers?

[MonctonRad]

Waye used to be an active SSP member before joining politics.

Since he will have more free time now, I wonder if he will begin re-engaging with the forum to maintain his public profile.

Keith would enjoy that.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Waye used to be an active SSP member before joining politics.

Since he will have more free time now, I wonder if he will begin re-engaging with the forum to maintain his public profile.

Keith would enjoy that.

I would think that Mason has probably planned to participate in the real world so maybe a future employer would clamp down on "opinions"

[LikesBikes]

Pretty satisfied with these results. Is there anywhere that the main progressive and urbanist candidate didn't win?

I'm not sure what to take of Mayor Fillmore. His background seems pretty strong (former planner, MP, etc) but his campaign was not inspiring at all. It'll be interesting to see if we get Planner Mayor or Fix Potholes Mayor. While I don't know any urban planners or politics irl, I'd think people go into that field because they want to make an impact on things, so I'm cautiously optimistic about who he'll be and what this means for HRM in terms of transit, biking, housing and overall approach to becoming a major Canadian city.

[Dmajackson]

I've updated my original posts with the new numbers. There's two districts and mayor that aren't fully counted but they are not close races so we have our final list.

Neither of my votes got into office but I'm okay with that.

Four current councilors lost their races last night. I wonder how many we will be seeing again next week when the provincial election is announced?

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

Pretty satisfied with these results. Is there anywhere that the main progressive and urbanist candidate didn't win?

Purdy won and she is very much an old school suburban councillor who will vote against anything that might impact her ability to park on-street downtown. That was her reasoning for voting against the University Avenue bikeway last month.

Russell was the other no vote and he's gone.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

Pretty satisfied with these results. Is there anywhere that the main progressive and urbanist candidate didn't win?

I'm not sure what to take of Mayor Fillmore. His background seems pretty strong (former planner, MP, etc) but his campaign was not inspiring at all. It'll be interesting to see if we get Planner Mayor or Fix Potholes Mayor. While I don't know any urban planners or politics irl, I'd think people go into that field because they want to make an impact on things, so I'm cautiously optimistic about who he'll be and what this means for HRM in terms of transit, biking, housing and overall approach to becoming a major Canadian city.

I will give you a little background about some Halifax development or rather lack of it before you moved from Ottawa. After Purdy's wharf was built out in the eighties there arose a very loud, and effective anti- development organization that knew what levers and procedures to participate in to slow or Kill development. The group was led by a retired Dalhousie Professor that lived among the leafy streets around DAL. Phil Pacey has since passed but his group were always at public hearings loudly proclaiming that Halifax is not Toronto, blah, blah, blah. This group had the resources to delay almost everything with Imagination or design behind it.

Filmore was in the middle of a lot of this contention as a City planner. As his career progressed he and others discussed a better way and HRM by design was planned and implemented by Provincial decree by Rodney Macdonalds Provincial Government back in 2005. The 2011 Announcement of the Shipbuilding contract took development around here to a new level. Halifax went from 12 Cranes above the City in 2011 to over 24 within two years. We average over 35 now and probably will for at least the next ten years.

Fillmore now has some insight to how Federal money gets spread and having been in Ottawa for 9 Years can't hurt. We will see.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by DBaz

It's funny, I had a chat with Pam Lovelace, which started with me saying I would never vote for her because she only cares about the suburbs. Unfortunately, that was driven by something you said causing me to completely ignore her.
.

WTF are you going on about?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

After Purdy's wharf was built out in the eighties there arose a very loud, and effective anti- development organization that knew what levers and procedures to participate in to slow or Kill development. The group was led by a retired Dalhousie Professor that lived among the leafy streets around DAL. Phil Pacey has since passed but his group were always at public hearings loudly proclaiming that Halifax is not Toronto, blah, blah, blah. This group had the resources to delay almost everything with Imagination or design behind it.

A similar group has recently arisen in Moncton as well, led by a cadre of retired UdeM professors and associated (mostly francophone) social activists that I have deemed "the Gang of 34" (after the number of people who signed a recent petition against a proposed 2x17 storey mixed use development adjacent to the Riverfront Park).

Their numbers may not be that large, but, they have cultural and political clout, and could become quite dangerous. City council recently passed amendments necessary for the 2x17 storey Gateway Tower development, but, the Gang of 34 is not going down without a fight, now grumbling about the possibility of legal challenges to thwart the development. They seek a whole new downtown development master plan limiting height and intensity (despite an existing plan less than a decade old). They have a hanger on that we lovingly call the "Sandpiper Lady", who made a presentation against a recently approved 30 storey building (Infinity Tower). She's crazy, opposing the tower because of the effects it would have on the sandpipers (despite the fact the nearest sandpipers live about 30 km away). She had to be escorted out of the council session, shouting over her shoulder as she was being led from the room "Toronto East!!!!"

It's sad to see people like this trying to thwart development in our cities.......

[DBaz]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I know nothing about Lovelace other than her pledge to temporarily pause further bike lane installations to focus HRM resources on higher priority projects which is difficult to argue with…

That’s “wtf I’m going on about…”

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by DBaz

That’s “wtf I’m going on about…”

I’ll be sorely disappointed if you form your political opinions based upon what Keith, or anyone else, posts in this forum.

Do your own research. All of the viable candidates had their own websites outlining their platforms, plus there is a wealth of information already out there on candidates who had previously participated in politics.

At least you exercised your democratic rights in voting. I commend you for that!

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

A similar group has recently arisen in Moncton as well, led by a cadre of retired UdeM professors and associated (mostly francophone) social activists that I have deemed "the Gang of 34" (after the number of people who signed a recent petition against a proposed 2x17 storey mixed use development adjacent to the Riverfront Park).

Their numbers may not be that large, but, they have cultural and political clout, and could become quite dangerous. City council recently passed amendments necessary for the 2x17 storey Gateway Tower development, but, the Gang of 34 is not going down without a fight, now grumbling about the possibility of legal challenges to thwart the development. They seek a whole new downtown development master plan limiting height and intensity (despite an existing plan less than a decade old). They have a hanger on that we lovingly call the "Sandpiper Lady", who made a presentation against a recently approved 30 storey building (Infinity Tower). She's crazy, opposing the tower because of the effects it would have on the sandpipers (despite the fact the nearest sandpipers live about 30 km away). She had to be escorted out of the council session, shouting over her shoulder as she was being led from the room "Toronto East!!!!"

It's sad to see people like this trying to thwart development in our cities.......

Good luck with that Moncton. I see nothing but potential when I visit both Moncton and Saint John. Time for N.B. to shake off the Seventies.

[Nouvellecosse]

Overall i have mixed feelings about the result. I was pleased that Austin was elected in my district as that's who I voted for, but I'm not thrilled about Fillmore. I was initially planning to vote for Waye, but after further review of their platforms I ended up going with Lovelace as a more progressive option.

[DBaz]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I’ll be sorely disappointed if you form your political opinions based upon what Keith, or anyone else, posts in this forum.

Do your own research. All of the viable candidates had their own websites outlining their platforms, plus there is a wealth of information already out there on candidates who had previously participated in politics.

At least you exercised your democratic rights in voting. I commend you for that!

I did all that. I also directly talked with one of my local candidates, and went to a town hall where I talked to the other.

i boiled it down to three candidates: Mason, Lovelace and Fillmore. I didn't want Mason because even though I'm somewhat urbanist and understand who pays for the suburbs, he is too anti suburb for me. i had a Facebook conversation about something he posted online to confirm that.

I read Lovelace’s website and there was enough there to confirm in my mind what I took away from what Keith said.

So even though I didn’t want the liberal machine to decide the HRM mayor I prepared to hold my nose and vote Fillmore anyway.

At the town hall she heard my asking about how the actual funding streams work and candidates in the suburbs making promises they can’t or shouldn’t keep, and came up to talk to me afterward. She came across as more balanced than I originally thought.

I think I put more effort in then most…

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by DBaz

I did all that. I also directly talked with one of my local candidates, and went to a town hall where I talked to the other.

i boiled it down to three candidates: Mason, Lovelace and Fillmore. I didn't want Mason because even though I'm somewhat urbanist and understand who pays for the suburbs, he is too anti suburb for me. i had a Facebook conversation about something he posted online to confirm that.

I read Lovelace’s website and there was enough there to confirm in my mind what I took away from what Keith said.

So even though I didn’t want the liberal machine to decide the HRM mayor I prepared to hold my nose and vote Fillmore anyway.

At the town hall she heard my asking about how the actual funding streams work and candidates in the suburbs making promises they can’t or shouldn’t keep, and came up to talk to me afterward. She came across as more balanced than I originally thought.

I think I put more effort in then most…

Well, then, I misunderstood and applaud you for your efforts.

You confused me in your scolding of Keith in that it sounded like you felt completely misled, yet you confirmed by her website that Keith was right? Then from a personal interaction, you were left with the impression that she was more progressive than her election materials indicated?

My take from that (correct me if I’m wrong) is that either she didn’t put enough effort into crafting her plan/values and communicating them via her website, or she read the room and told you what she thought you wanted to hear, in person. If it’s the first, then it’s a shame in that she’s might have garnered more votes had she communicated her platform more effectively…

Again, I’m only going by what I’m reading here.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

A similar group has recently arisen in Moncton as well, led by a cadre of retired UdeM professors and associated (mostly francophone) social activists that I have deemed "the Gang of 34" (after the number of people who signed a recent petition against a proposed 2x17 storey mixed use development adjacent to the Riverfront Park).

Their numbers may not be that large, but, they have cultural and political clout, and could become quite dangerous. City council recently passed amendments necessary for the 2x17 storey Gateway Tower development, but, the Gang of 34 is not going down without a fight, now grumbling about the possibility of legal challenges to thwart the development. They seek a whole new downtown development master plan limiting height and intensity (despite an existing plan less than a decade old). They have a hanger on that we lovingly call the "Sandpiper Lady", who made a presentation against a recently approved 30 storey building (Infinity Tower). She's crazy, opposing the tower because of the effects it would have on the sandpipers (despite the fact the nearest sandpipers live about 30 km away). She had to be escorted out of the council session, shouting over her shoulder as she was being led from the room "Toronto East!!!!"

It's sad to see people like this trying to thwart development in our cities.......

Maybe the Halifax ones decided to throw in the towel and moved to Moncton.

[DBaz]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Well, then, I misunderstood and applaud you for your efforts.

You confused me in your scolding of Keith in that it sounded like you felt completely misled, yet you confirmed by her website that Keith was right? Then from a personal interaction, you were left with the impression that she was more progressive than her election materials indicated?

My take from that (correct me if I’m wrong) is that either she didn’t put enough effort into crafting her plan/values and communicating them via her website, or she read the room and told you what she thought you wanted to hear, in person. If it’s the first, then it’s a shame in that she’s might have garnered more votes had she communicated her platform more effectively…

Again, I’m only going by what I’m reading here.

I fully admit I went in with a bias. It’s quite common for politicians from the suburbs to pander to a certain group (cough, Fords, cough) and Keith’s comment coupled with what I read made me believe that was what she was doing. There was some evidence that one of the District 2 candidates was doing the same.

Since I’ve moved out here I find a lot of people who don’t understand which way the money actually flows come off quite entitled. Our “sidewalk” fiasco was the biggest example. People wouldn’t even let HRM explain what they were trying to accomplish at the meeting, even though it was other people from Porter’s Lake that asked to be included in the Rural Communities program in the first place.

Talking to her, it seemed it was a little of both. She’s not a hard-over anti urbanist, but she is a seasoned politician and knows how to tell people what they want to hear. However, she did seem to have a firm grasp of how the city actually works and that was refreshing.

[OldDartmouthMark]

It’s nice to know that there are still people around who have a balanced perspective on things.

Let’s hope for the best with our almost-new municipal govt.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Anyhow...

Has there been any reporting of voter turnout numbers?

Looks like the numbers are in, and they've even fallen from 2020, when we were still in the middle of the pandemic:

The results remain unofficial until certified, but HRM confirmed the voter turnout was lower than the previous election.
36.8 per cent (123,529 of the 335,341 eligible voters) in 2024
42.8 per cent (133,505 of the 311,934 eligible voters) in 2020

Source

Kind of sad that just a little over 1/3 of eligible voters bothered to participate, especially given that there were online and phone-in options available, but I guess that's where we are...