Decision 2010: Calgary Municipal Election

[gantenbein]

Originally Posted by Ferreth

I will agree that Calgary is a safe place, but affordable, not so much. Ric's point plays well to those who don't think Calgary is a safe place, and there seem to be lots of those out there. With more time, Nenshi might have been able to point out that arts and culture can be tools to reduce crime, and Ric might have been able to point out that Artists are moving away from the city because it's so gosh darn expensive, but with 12 minutes we only got the appetizer part of the debate unfortunately.

There's also a crass contradiction between championing a more affordable Calgary on the one hand, and then attacking someone for their policy on secondary suites on the other (this being one simple measure that would make life more affordable for homeowners as well as renters). I wish that had been pointed out to McIver -- as well as calling him out for his base fear-mongering. This notion that having basement suites in homes makes the neighbourhood instantly unsafe is ludicrous (ever been to Kitsilano, Ric?), and dare I say, bigoted.

[Robert in Calgary]

I attended my 5th Mayoral Forum Wednesday night.

After the 2nd I became a firm Nenshi supporter.

Nenshi was at all five. McIver made four of them.

Barb Higgins came out of hiding for only the last one. Barb turned out to be a huge disappointment. She just doesn't know the issues.

Licia Corbella at the Herald is voting for McIver. But Licia and I agree, that of the top seven candidates, Barb would easily be the weakest.

I'm disappointed how her celebrity overshadowed Burrows, Connelly, Lord and Stewart. All four are better qualified than Barb.

ps - I've been very surprised by Burrows. In his close last night, he ever commented on learning humility the last three years.

[MalcolmTucker]

I've been very surprised by Burrows. In his close last night, he ever commented on learning humility the last three years

Considering what he did in the past, good for him. Whether the run was to fix his ego or just to avoid running in Ward 6 once Joe stepped up, I hope he has a good job lined up that doesn't involve the development industry.

[Bigtime]

Higgins apparently just went and chewed out a bunch of Artsvote volunteers after her interview on Breakfast TV.

DJ Kelly
Following her @BT_Calgary interview @Barb_Higgins comes over to the @artsvoteyyc crew and lays into us. WTF?! #yycvote

DJ Kelly
Higgins' behaviour was the most unprofessional I have ever seen from a politician. I am SHOCKED. She's lost my vote and then some. #yycvote

Mark Hopkins
We just got majorly chewed out by Higgins! "Who crapped in everybody's corn flakes this morning?" #yycvote

Mark Hopkins
I actually thought we gave her some pretty straightforward questions. Why come yell at artists? That ain't gonna help you. #yycvote

DJ Kelly
Yes, McCourt railroaded Higgins this morning on @BT_Calgary but why take that out on the the volunteer questioners? I'm speechless. #yycvote

Hmm, if she can't take a little heat on a TV interview how will she fare with the entire city watching and judging her performance?

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by LFRENCH

Maybe its just me, but I fail to see Ric's point on this. Calgary is a fairly safe place as it stands, and it still seems fairly affordable to me. Can work be done? sure but to put off arts and culture to make a already safe place safer seems like it isn't worth the trade off for me.

Originally Posted by Ferreth

I will agree that Calgary is a safe place, but affordable, not so much. Ric's point plays well to those who don't think Calgary is a safe place, and there seem to be lots of those out there.

Fear sells, which is why I can't ever in good conscience support someone like McIver - regardless of any other positions he may have. He's using 10 year old Bush-era tactics (at least in part) to try to get elected.

Calgary is one of the safest cities in North America, hands down. Our money is better spent elsewhere, not chasing some wild geese.

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Higgins apparently just went and chewed out a bunch of Artsvote volunteers after her interview on Breakfast TV.

Hmm, if she can't take a little heat on a TV interview how will she fare with the entire city watching and judging her performance?

Barb Higgins released an arts and culture policy before Nenshi as part of a detailed policy platform. I have still been waiting for Nenshi to release a "Better Idea" on what he plans to do for arts and culture. I am guessing he will release sometime this week... Hope they upload the BT video ASAP.

[Bigtime]

That's great, but you realize she just chewed out a bunch of the theatre reps and volunteers in the arts community this morning? If she lets loose emotionally like that so easily perhaps Kent Hehr's comments about her not having "thick enough skin" for the mayors job has some truth to it?

[Boris2k7]

Sounds like Barb was channeling Bob today.

[O-tacular]

HOLY CRAP!!! X92.9 dj Roger just layed into Barb Higgins in an interview! He basically said her campaign is based on fluff, she has no real policies and now she's borrowing others' ideas. Her response?"I have a TWO PAGE policy on transparancy!" Wow 2 whole pages? Great Barb!

Other gems: She doesn't support the SE LRT because it's not viable until it's 2/3eds of the way into the SE (no population base in central calgary). Does she understand nothing about transit? Of course there's no population in the industrial parks! The point is to get people from the periphery of the city to work.

Also, when asked about the airport tunnel being a waste because it only serves 10% of the city population she literally went "Oh... Next question please" and stalled for a good minute before giving a straight answer.

[Wooster]

Interview is on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yzx1r6O5Zk&feature=youtu.be


I thought McCourt's questions were a bit out of line. Higgins had every right to feel railroaded by that and fire back. However, that's not an excuse for chewing out a bunch of volunteers from ArtsVote that occured after.

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

HOLY CRAP!!! X92.9 dj Roger just layed into Barb Higgins in an interview! He basically said her campaign is based on fluff, she has no real policies and now she's borrowing others' ideas. Her response?"I have a TWO PAGE policy on transparancy!" Wow 2 whole pages? Great Barb!

Other gems: She doesn't support the SE LRT because it's not viable until it's 2/3eds of the way into the SE. Does she understand nothing about transit? Of course there's no population in the industrial parks! The point is to get people from the periphery of the city to work.

Also, when asked about the airport tunnel being a waste because it only serves 10% of the city population she literally went "Oh... Next question please" and stalled for a good minute before giving a straight answer.

I haven't read the reports, but yeah it's entirely possible that SE LRT has an economic cutoff depending on how long it is built.

http://bobhawkesworth.ca/2010/10/13/why-i-support-barb-higgins/

In Bob Hawkesworth's open letter on why he supports Barb Higgins he mentions as his second item:

- Moving forward with Plan It as the framework for land use and transportation planning as evidenced by making the southeast line of LRT the first priority project for transportation infrastructure.

This was one of my top election issues. SE LRT is the most important piece of Calgary infrastructure (SW ring road is also tremendously high, in my opinion), so it's important that making a system that is the best possible system. Calgary's LRT network boasts the highest ridership per capita for a light rail system in North America. I want to keep it the best system possible by ensuring it is not built as a financial albatross. And that means listening to the experts who have stewarded this over the decades.

[Bigtime]

The Herald is tweeting that Wayne Stewart will throw in the towel and support another campaign this morning.

[Calgarian]

Good on Higgins, that was an asshole statement by McCourt and she put him in his place. Not sure about what she did after, that shows a lack of Character IMO.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

HOLY CRAP!!! X92.9 dj Roger just layed into Barb Higgins in an interview! He basically said her campaign is based on fluff, she has no real policies and now she's borrowing others' ideas. Her response?"I have a TWO PAGE policy on transparancy!" Wow 2 whole pages? Great Barb!

Other gems: She doesn't support the SE LRT because it's not viable until it's 2/3eds of the way into the SE (no population base in central calgary). Does she understand nothing about transit? Of course there's no population in the industrial parks! The point is to get people from the periphery of the city to work.

Also, when asked about the airport tunnel being a waste because it only serves 10% of the city population she literally went "Oh... Next question please" and stalled for a good minute before giving a straight answer.

She does almost have a point about the SE LRT. The thing she is missing though is that it will take people into the industrial park from all parts of the city, and it will take people through the industrial park from the deep SE and provide residents there with an alternative to get to work. The SE LRT needs to be built in it's entirety to be viable, and as far as I know, that's the plan.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Radley77

I haven't read the reports, but yeah it's entirely possible that SE LRT has an economic cutoff depending on how long it is built.

http://bobhawkesworth.ca/2010/10/13/why-i-support-barb-higgins/

In Bob Hawkesworth's open letter on why he supports Barb Higgins he mentions as his second item:

- Moving forward with Plan It as the framework for land use and transportation planning as evidenced by making the southeast line of LRT the first priority project for transportation infrastructure.

This was one of my top election issues. SE LRT is the most important piece of Calgary infrastructure (SW ring road is also tremendously high, in my opinion), so it's important that making a system that is the best possible system. Calgary's LRT network boasts the highest ridership per capita for a light rail system in North America. I want to keep it the best system possible by ensuring it is not built as a financial albatross. And that means listening to the experts who have stewarded this over the decades.

The same experts who decided to slap riders with a $3.00 parking fee at stations (which has decreased ridership). The same experts who installed ticket machines that don't give change? The same experts who created bus routes and schedules that conflict with trains?

[DizzyEdge]

geeze you guys, I might actually start using twitter.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

The same experts who decided to slap riders with a $3.00 parking fee at stations (which has decreased ridership). The same experts who installed ticket machines that don't give change? The same experts who created bus routes and schedules that conflict with trains?

Good point

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

The same experts who decided to slap riders with a $3.00 parking fee at stations (which has decreased ridership). The same experts who installed ticket machines that don't give change? The same experts who created bus routes and schedules that conflict with trains?

Ridership is up if you look at the APTA reports ( http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2010_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf ), I think it was up 5% over the year when park'n'rides were implemented (considering both the additional station, and the recessions impact on less workers that is probably pretty good). Where is the information to support that ridership is down? Both Nenshi and McIver repeatedly say this stat, but I have yet to have confirm this is true.

Secondly, all three candidates, Ric, Barb, and Naheed all support removal of the parking fee.

[Wooster]

Mike McCourt is a tough questioner that does come on strong, but this shouldn't come as a surprise to any candidate. Just compare his questions with Higgins to Nenshi - I don't think he's biased as Higgins' charges.

Compare and contrast - who handles these questions better?

Higgins:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/635...st-with-the-candidates-higgins-hot-seat/

Nenshi:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/626...h-the-candidates-nenshi-on-the-hot-seat/

In other interviews with Burrows, McCourt calls the candidate a "loser"

[Wooster]

Kind of funny opinion piece in the National Post about the Toronto and Calgary mayoral races

Bizarro World?


Dan Arnold: Dear Toronto, Calgary wants its personality back

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010...onto-switch-personalities/#ixzz12Lha4yYA