Decision 2010: Calgary Municipal Election

[Calgarian]

The $500 million number is a little misleading if you ask me. From my understanding, that is the worst case scenario (tunneling under an operating runway), if we cut and cover, it should be about half that. Nenshi's best argument is that council dropped the ball, and this should have been approved as was originally planned.

I do like how Hawkesworthe is in favour of the SELRT and is pushing for it, that should be priority #1 right now, just not at the expense of the tunnel.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Calgary_Guy

I would agree, Nenshi and McIver stole the show. I'm impressed with Nenshi and would not be surprised if he moves up considerably in the poles.

Not to mention the Czechs and the Hungarians! Go Nenshi!

[Bigtime]

New poll by Zinc research shows McIver, Higgins, and Nenshi the 3 in the race at this point (I believe you know the mastermind behind this poll don't you Rusty?):

http://www.zincresearch.com/include/get.php?nodeid=65

[Bassic Lab]

Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby

I wouldn't say that it is obfuscation, since Hawkesworth in most forums acts like not building will save $500 million (I have not listened to the debate in question due to being at work and all so can't opine on that directly in this case). The other $350 million will have to be spent over time in either case, it is just a matter of what it is spent on. Building the tunnel does not mean a $500 million bill that we have to cover right away.

I agree that the way Hawkesworth is trying to sell not building the tunnel is pretty disingenuous as well. I am getting turned off by both sides of the debate here.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

New poll by Zinc research shows McIver, Higgins, and Nenshi the 3 in the race at this point (I believe you know the mastermind behind this poll don't you Rusty?):

http://www.zincresearch.com/include/get.php?nodeid=65

I'm no statistician, but some interesting things to me:

McIver / Higgins / Nenshi have 40%/27%/12% of those who will 'definitely vote', and 30% / 22% / 10% of those both definitely and likely to vote.

However, while McIver and Higgins come to mind when asked of candidates in the race to 75% and 74% of those surveyed, Nenshi only comes to mind to 30%, so in theory he could more than double his numbers in the first set of percentages just by making the public more aware of his campaign.

[Calgary_Guy]

WOW ...NAHEED NENSHI has improved 48% !!! The largest gain over the past few weeks compaired to all the other Mayoral Candidates, how long till he passes Barb for second place? I'll say within 2 weeks.... way 2 go.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I'm no statistician, but some interesting things to me:

McIver / Higgins / Nenshi have 40%/27%/12% of those who will 'definitely vote', and 30% / 22% / 10% of those both definitely and likely to vote.

However, while McIver and Higgins come to mind when asked of candidates in the race to 75% and 74% of those surveyed, Nenshi only comes to mind to 30%, so in theory he could more than double his numbers in the first set of percentages just by making the public more aware of his campaign.

Another way to put it:

McIver gets the vote of 40-53% of those who know of him, Higgins gets the vote of 30-36% of those who know of her, and Nenshi gets 33-40% of those who know of him, so he gets similar buy-in from those who know of his campaign as Higgins, actually slightly more.

I know I'm making a bunch of assumptions here, but still.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

New poll by Zinc research shows McIver, Higgins, and Nenshi the 3 in the race at this point (I believe you know the mastermind behind this poll don't you Rusty?)

I live at Zinc world headquarters!

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

I live at Zinc world headquarters!

Actually you may want to mention to him, on page one it states

"Base Size: Respondents who indicated “Definitely will vote” (n=306)"

But on page two it has

"Likely voters (n=306)"

Since page 1 and 2 have different numbers, I'm guessing "Likely voters" is both Definite and Probable voters, which which case I believe n = 396 would the actual sample.

[Calgarian]

I'm still not sure what Higgin's platform is, definitely not going to vote for her unless she actually comes up with something. Anyone know what she stands for?

[Radley77]

Barb Higgins Speech From Olympic Plaza:

On Tuesday, September 7, Barb Higgins hosted a noon hour campaign rally at Olympic Plaza to speak about her priorities. For those who were unable to attend the event, below is her speech to Calgarians.

Dave Kelly and Jann Arden! Two of the best of Calgary. They are such great examples of the strong, smart, dynamic people in our city… Calgary really does have an energy all its own. I want to thank you for being here today. It’s wonderful to see familiar faces - and so many new faces. I have great relationships with people from all walks of life - people I’ve met through my work at CTV - and in businesses- and schools- and through the non-profit sector…and of course - people who just come up to say “hi” while on the street or in the grocery store.

I’m here, running for Mayor, because I want to continue that relationship with you. I want to work for you at City Hall. I want to work to bring a new level of excellence to City Hall. And this is a wonderful location for a rally - because Olympic Plaza is a symbol of Calgary’s excellence. This is where the best Olympic athletes received their medals in the 1988 Olympics- and this is where Calgary showed the world what this city is capable of.

And we stand before two Calgary landmarks- the old City Hall - a sign of where we come from- and the new Municipal Building - a sign of our growth. And now it is time to look to the future. We are the envy of so many people because of our lifestyle - our success - our passion and our western warmth. It is now time for Calgary to mature… and we must now decide how we want our city to take shape.

I promised to start rolling out my platform by Labour Day. Our team activated the website on Friday- and I’m here now to talk to you in person about my ideas. I’m not going to promise you the moon - I think we are all tired of that kind of politics at any level. What I am going to promise is to work very hard on seven key priorities, and the first is financial responsibility.

City Hall must enforce discipline on spending. The global economy is still fragile. We must set strict guidelines on how to plan, how to budget, how to monitor spending, and how to measure for results.
There are two key areas that must be straightened out - one is the audit process. There are standards for auditing-- and the city is not meeting them. A quality assessment review of the Audit Office is underway. My commitment is to work with Council to implement the absolute highest standards that will be recommended. We cannot afford to cut corners on accountability and transparency.

One change I would like to see has to do with the Audit Committee. It is now made up of 5 Aldermen and 2 financial experts. I believe we need a better balance to ensure professionals are watching over how our money is spent. And in terms of budgeting Calgary, we are 60 million dollars short, just this year- that would add another 6-percent of taxes on top of the 6.7% increase already budgeted. I commit to fix the budget process, to look for more efficient ways to do business and I commit to look for overlap. City Hall needs to follow through on value-for-money-audits. Financial responsibility is priority number one.

My second priority is public safety. People have to feel safe to go outside for a city to be truly alive. In the last budget - police had to scramble to ensure they had funding for a summer training program. Police and Fire are a special category that deserve our full attention and respect at budget time.

My third priority is to improve the way we do business at City Hall. So if we’re looking for efficiencies, I propose we start with council meetings. They take too long - a single meeting can last 16 hours and then stretch into the next day! That is a waste of time and resources for Calgarians and city staff who also have to sit through those meetings when they could be busy doing other work. Minutiae is not efficiency.

To create change: I propose a panel of Calgary experts in management and governance. That panel will review City Council’s procedures so Council works to the highest and best model of governance. Let’s create efficiency. I would also like to create an online voting record - so it’s easy to find how your Mayor and your Aldermen vote.

My 4th priority is transportation and infrastructure- crucial for a growing city. I say it’s time to finish the projects underway and give those areas of the city a breather- while we focus on parts of the city that are still congested. It’s my goal to improve our public transit system to make it easier to get around.

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.

The tunnel- Calgary needs fast access to the airport - but we cannot afford this project on our own - we need 3 levels of government and they are not at the table. This project fell through the cracks and that’s what concerns me most. Now we are piece-mealing transportation to the airport and that is not acceptable.

My 5th priority is to streamline Planning, Development, and Approvals. You don’t want to stand in line at a grocery store for two hours to get through the checkout. So why do businesses have to stand in line for years to get the approvals they need to help us create this city? Businesses lose money when we hold them up - and it is business that drives our economy and creates jobs. We need to set a clear standard- a high standard -and then we need to let business do business.

Priority six is to build a healthy city. I will work with Council to bring recycling to apartments, condos and townhouses - if Edmonton can be a leader in recycling- so can Calgary.

And priority number 7 makes the point that Calgary is about so much more than asphalt and buildings. Arts, culture and sports-which make us more interesting people. The city can be creative in finding solutions that don’t cost a lot of money: for example: zoning for artists who want to live in industrial areas,- and support for programs that keep kids off the street - because paying for a soccer ball is a lot cheaper than paying for the justice system down the road.

You know… some of my priorities really aren’t all that different from some of the other candidates - and I think that’s because they are common sense and they are what the city needs. But on October 18th - you will have a decision to make about who you want to be Mayor. And so I want to talk about a personal goal that I have.

It is my goal to inspire and to support solutions. I will work with people to bring out the best in what they do. I will work with Council- and if there are any City Workers out here today… we will all work together- and we will all increase productivity at City Hall. We will make it a more efficient, enjoyable place to do business.

And just a note if there are any sceptics out there - please don’t hear this as me being a push over. Any of my former colleagues know I am tough when I have to be.

Leadership is about being tough - but it’s not about starting from that position. Leadership is about helping others to be their best. Leadership is about inspiring and exciting people to do more. It’s time to stop the clashes and divisions that have been created.

We need to work together - as a Council, and as a city - and we need to create better relationships to work with the regions around us, with Edmonton and with the Province- and together we can create even more of an economic powerhouse- and that means jobs and an even stronger quality of life. We all want the same things. We all want to be happy and be successful, and we’ll have much more of both if we pull and work together.

As I said earlier, I want to continue my relationship with Calgarians… and I look forward to working with you. I don’t have all the answers - and I don’t have to - because part of this job is to listen - to listen to what ‘you’ want for Calgary’s future. Calgary is ready to mature. That doesn’t mean changing who we are - it means becoming the best Calgary we can be. And on October 18th - you will choose who you believe will be the best to help Calgary become its absolute best.

And I hope on October 18th - you will vote Barb Higgins.

I highlighted some of her priorities, policy positions and also sentences that I think helps capture her personal style for leadership.

Some of the things I like about Higgins is her support for Plan It, her prioritization of fiscal responsibility first, and her inspirational style of management.

[Calgarian]

Her 5th priority is almost enough to get my vote. Anyone who has worked in the building and development industry in this city knows how FUBARed that process has become. City hall is too full of bureaucracy, there are too many departments who do not work together and hold up projects because of in-fighting. I had one project where roads and transportation both decided they had the final say on a design, disagreed completely on the design and refused to talk to each other. We had to act as the go between to get information from one department to the other and they were both extremely uncooperative and immature about the whole thing. It actually got to the point where my client was threatening to take legal action, it was the most retarded thing I have ever witnessed in this business.

That being said, I'm still unsure of how she plans to achieve all this with out any political experience, but I'm a lot less skeptical.

[DizzyEdge]

I'm happy to hear more substance from Higgins. I don't mind if people vote for her because "she has a nice smile" if she actually has some good ideas and a filled out platform.. my main worry was that the nice smile would be all that she had. I'm not convinced she's the best candidate, but I'm now not convinced that she's one of the worst.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Her 5th priority is almost enough to get my vote. Anyone who has worked in the building and development industry in this city knows how FUBARed that process has become. City hall is too full of bureaucracy, there are too many departments who do not work together and hold up projects because of in-fighting. I had one project where roads and transportation both decided they had the final say on a design, disagreed completely on the design and refused to talk to each other. We had to act as the go between to get information from one department to the other and they were both extremely uncooperative and immature about the whole thing. It actually got to the point where my client was threatening to take legal action, it was the most retarded thing I have ever witnessed in this business.

That being said, I'm still unsure of how she plans to achieve all this with out any political experience, but I'm a lot less skeptical.

When people complain about some decision "the city" made, I often tell them that there really is no 'city', it's instead a bunch of departments which are sometimes run like their own little fiefdoms, and if someone doesn't like a decision the city made there's often departments that didn't either, but were overruled by another.

I won't discuss roads and transportation

[Ferreth]

The classic city hall "departments not talking to each other problem" I've seen several times is Roads paving a back alley and Sewers coming along next year and digging it all up to replace a sewer main.

I almost didn't go ahead and build a sun room addition to my house when I found out it would be 3 or more months just to get a DP and a building permit, although I heard that it's faster now than it would've been last year due to some streamlining that has occurred. If it was faster (for small projects) I'm sure it would be an immediate boost to the economy as well as just making life a little nicer in this city.

I'd like to see how any candidate expects to fix these two issues. I'm doubtful they can.

Will not vote for Barb; no track record to speak of and there are other candidates qualified enough as well. Neshi talks a pretty good talk - what surprised me is in the CBC debate that McIver held his own following the line of "I'm willing to spend money to save money". I was sniggering though at the twist he threw in to get in yet another dig at the Peace Bridge. I'd like to see a debate about that, just for entertainment value. vs

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Anyone who has worked in the building and development industry in this city knows how FUBARed that process has become. City hall is too full of bureaucracy, there are too many departments who do not work together and hold up projects because of in-fighting.

Amen. Add to the list the requirements that come out of nowhere right before you thought a decision was to be made. The city has a lot of wrenches and they love throwing them into your plans last minute.

[jeffwhit]

It's kind of surreal to hear Mciver so strongly advocating to spend money on anything.

[Radley77]

I know the ERCB had a lot of the same issues... I was waiting up to 15 months to get some applications approved. And the issue wasn't that the application was deficient, but that the system was broken.

They did a number of things to fix it up:
- an online system for submissions (DDS), so that people can review what other applicants have done in the past, and what stage of processing it is at, it also sets deadlines throughout the process to accelerate the process, and establishes contact information for both parties, all data is captured and organized online
- standardization of a lot of issues through amendments of directives, and creation of a routine and non-routine processing flow path
- most issues are handled in parallel rather than a linear processing flow path
- hiring more people to clear out the backlog

The ERCB has gotten processing times for some applications down from 15 months to average about 3 months. I think it would be interesting to examine how the ERCB was so effective at reducing processing times and how it has increased transparency as a comparative study.

Corporations need government to move at a reasonable speed for business, and there needs to be transparent standards for getting a fast-tracked approval. There is no reason why Calgary couldn't build the best application processing system in North America. A more transparent system would also help the more volatile condo market track potential future supply and improve business robustness.

[Radley77]

Considering that candidates don't have to officially file nomination papers until September 20th (11 days away) and the election is on October 18th (39 days away), are there any candidates that are running for mayor that may change to running for alderman?

Any candidates that will drop out of the mayoral race entirely?

I wonder if Naheed could run for a NE ward alderman if he doesn't think he can get the votes needed for mayor? It wouldn't be hard to change his campaign pitch... ward 10 - Andre Chabot? Or maybe even Joe Connelly's old ward 6?

In order for Nenshi to win at this point, he would have to get 100% of the undecided vote, plus steal away votes from other candidates.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Radley77

Considering that candidates don't have to officially file nomination papers until September 20th (11 days away) and the election is on October 18th (39 days away), are there any candidates that are running for mayor that may change to running for alderman?

Any candidates that will drop out of the mayoral race entirely?

I wonder if Naheed could run for a NE ward alderman if he doesn't think he can get the votes needed for mayor? It wouldn't be hard to change his campaign pitch... ward 10 - Andre Chabot? Or maybe even Joe Connelly's old ward 6?

In order for Nenshi to win at this point, he would have to get 100% of the undecided vote, plus steal away votes from other candidates.

Or the poll wasn't necessarily accurate. They never are.