Municipal Politics

[suburbia]

Bill Smith leading the news once again



Opponents question Bill Smith's business savvy after bailiffs ready to seize assets over unpaid loan
Naheed Nenshi said he too would be embarrassed if a 'clerical error' had bailiffs looking for his property
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/nenshi-questions-smith-s-bailiff-seizure-1.4349017

Bill Smith's main rivals are questioning the Calgary mayoral candidate's business savvy in the wake of a CBC News story that uncovered bailiffs were prepared to seize more than $24,000 in property from Smith's business earlier this year.

In January, a warrant authorized Consolidated Civil Enforcement, a private company that offers bailiff services, to recover personal property, to "realize the sum of $24,545.60" because the "security agreement" between Smith's professional corporation and RBC Small Business Loans "is now in default."

Naheed Nenshi, who is running for a third term as mayor in the Oct. 16 election, says the incident calls into question Smith's ability to guard taxpayers' money.

"He said that he was embarrassed. I'd be embarrassed if that happened to me." said Nenshi.

"One of the interesting things about being mayor is that you really have to work with the big picture and the little picture.

"So, you've got to know the big numbers. You've got to understand the direction of the place. But you also have to really understand the details. You have to read every page of that 1,500- or 2,000-page agenda and make sure that you see everything in there," said Nenshi.

Mayoral candidate Andre Chabot, who ran a small business, says he can't understand what happened.

"All my bills were always paid on time," said Chabot.

"The bank was looking to increase my credit rating and my loan," he added.

Smith did not respond to his opponents' comments.

[DizzyEdge]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Ward 7 Candidates?: Druh, Margot Aftergood, Brent Alexander, Dean Brawn, Marek Hejduk

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Anyone have any thoughts on the Ward 7 Candidates?: Druh, Margot Aftergood, Brent Alexander, Dean Brawn, Marek Hejduk

So far the impression I'm getting from their websites, in a nutshell (Anything in quotes are directly lifted from their websites):

Margot Aftergood:
"It is wrong to change the character of our neighbourhoods to higher density without first securing the support of the community"

Brent Alexander:
"We need to do a better job prioritizing expenditures. Residents want frivolous spending to stop."

"We need to make decisions based on evidence and competent planning. Residents want rational, evidence-based decisions that will improve the quality of life for all of our communities."


Dean Brawn
“Eliminate additional business taxes.”

"Negotiate a win-win agreement for the City and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)"

"The City must also return to lower business taxes to incentivize franchises like the Flames to invest and expand in Calgary. "

"Dean supports a term limits for municipal politicians. He intends to serve for a maximum of two terms."

"Dean is firm in opposing the current plan to relocate the residents of Midfield Park on September 30, 2017."

"Like so many decisions in council, the City has taken many decisions on bike lanes following a top-down approach. Countless business owners and residents of Ward 7 and Calgary have been negatively affected, in terms of traffic and parking difficulties, by the construction of bike lanes without proper consultation"

Marek Hejduk

"ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMON SENSE"
- complains about the peace bridge
- thinks driver education and bike licensing > bike lanes

"SECONDARY SUITES IN THE CITY"
- proposes a separate body to approve/regulate secondary suites and airbnb to keep those from wasting council meeting time

"OLYMPIC BID"
- "for now we should let the Olympic bid lie until we are all financially and emotionally prepared for it."

"RE-EXAMINE THE FLUORIDE ISSUE"
- "Calgarians know that removing fluoride has put our children and our seniors at risk regardless of their socio economic background."

Druh Farrell

"Vibrant, Healthy Neighbourhoods"

"Safe Streets"

"Smart Development"

"Complete Flood Mitigation"

"Economic Resiliency"

"The Tough Questions - Megaprojects must provide financial accountability. The Olympics or sports arenas are highly profitable businesses that often transfer financial risks to citizens. Druh will continue to ask tough questions around debt and tax impacts, risk versus reward, and public benefit of such projects."



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

So Margot seems like the Nimby candidate
Brent seems kind of like a Greg Clark, fiscally aware but somewhat progressive
Dean is the conservative candidate
Marek is... kind of random, feels more like a 'these are my 4 personal concerns' platform than a vision.
Druh is the pro-innercity, pro-densification candidate

I think in my mind after that quick browse it's between Druh and Brent for me. I'll check their social media later this week to see if they've tweeted out anything crack-potty hah.
Does anyone do any polling for ward races?

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

So far the impression I'm getting from their websites, in a nutshell:

Margot Aftergood:
"It is wrong to change the character of our neighbourhoods to higher density without first securing the support of the community"

Brent Alexander:
"We need to do a better job prioritizing expenditures. Residents want frivolous spending to stop."

"We need to make decisions based on evidence and competent planning. Residents want rational, evidence-based decisions that will improve the quality of life for all of our communities."


Dean Brawn
“Eliminate additional business taxes.”

"Negotiate a win-win agreement for the City and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)"

"The City must also return to lower business taxes to incentivize franchises like the Flames to invest and expand in Calgary. "

"Dean supports a term limits for municipal politicians. He intends to serve for a maximum of two terms."

"Dean is firm in opposing the current plan to relocate the residents of Midfield Park on September 30, 2017."

"Like so many decisions in council, the City has taken many decisions on bike lanes following a top-down approach. Countless business owners and residents of Ward 7 and Calgary have been negatively affected, in terms of traffic and parking difficulties, by the construction of bike lanes without proper consultation"

Marek Hejduk

"ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMON SENSE"
- complains about the peace bridge
- thinks driver education and bike licensing > bike lanes

"SECONDARY SUITES IN THE CITY"
- proposes a separate body to approve/regulate secondary suites and airbnb to keep those from wasting council meeting time

"OLYMPIC BID"
- "for now we should let the Olympic bid lie until we are all financially and emotionally prepared for it."

"RE-EXAMINE THE FLUORIDE ISSUE"
- "Calgarians know that removing fluoride has put our children and our seniors at risk regardless of their socio economic background."

Druh Farrell

"Vibrant, Healthy Neighbourhoods"

"Safe Streets"

"Smart Development"

"Complete Flood Mitigation"

"Economic Resiliency"

"The Tough Questions - Megaprojects must provide financial accountability. The Olympics or sports arenas are highly profitable businesses that often transfer financial risks to citizens. Druh will continue to ask tough questions around debt and tax impacts, risk versus reward, and public benefit of such projects."


Anything in quotes are directly lifted from their websites.
--------------------

So Margot seems like the Nimby candidate
Brent seems kind of like a Greg Clark, fiscally aware but somewhat progressive
Dean is the conservative candidate
Marek is... kind of random, feels more like a 'these are my 4 personal concerns' platform than a vision.
Druh is the pro-innercity, pro-densification candidate

I think in my mind after that quick browse it's between Druh and Brent for me.
Does anyone do any polling for ward races?

Which of those was endorsed by Jay Westman?

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Which of those was endorsed by Jay Westman?

Brent.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Brent.

Thanks.

Personally, I think Druh has done a good job and works hard. Just the negative posts by "saving calgary" convince me more so.

[DizzyEdge]

Anyone available to go to the Ward 7 All Candidates Forum tonight? I'm unfortunately already booked.

[suburbia]

http://www.lrtonthegreen.ca/press-releas...s-confirm-strong-support-for-green-line/

The poll was conducted by Asking Canadians and uses an online panel, which is considered by experts to be more accurate than IVR “robo-dial” polls. The poll was conducted between October 7 and 10.

The poll results are very clear:

70% of Calgarians support the full 46 km route and 28 stations for the Green Line to be built in stages as approved by City Council
77% of Calgarians support proceeding with the 20 km phase one the Green Line which has been fully funded the municipal, provincial and federal governments.
70% of Calgarians oppose delaying construction of the Green Line
57% of Calgarians agree that a candidate’s position on the Green Line will impact their vote this election.

The poll also asked respondents about the current mayoral race:
When asked which mayoral candidate do you intend to vote for, the results were as follows:

Andre Chabot 3%
Naheed Nenshi 41%
Bill Smith 26%
Other 2%
Don’t know / Not sure 28%

[suburbia]

Settled $2.2M lawsuit from 2010 alleged Bill Smith failed in duty as 'reasonably competent solicitor'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-bill-smith-lawsuit-real-estate-deal-1.4349741

[Calgarian]

Do we really need 2 threads for this?

[Habanero]

Originally Posted by suburbia

http://www.lrtonthegreen.ca/press-releas...s-confirm-strong-support-for-green-line/

The only accurate poll will be the election results. As I mentioned in the other thread, I'm voting for Nenshi despite not liking him. Right now the only thing that might change my mind is seeing a bunch more annoying posts from you.

[Rollerstud98]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/calga...treet-police-not-investigating-1.4355351

Wow, had not heard about this before. Hopefully this liar does not get elected. Also hope the victim in this can get his job back.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Rollerstud98

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/calga...treet-police-not-investigating-1.4355351

Wow, had not heard about this before. Hopefully this liar does not get elected. Also hope the victim in this can get his job back.

Wow is right. I hope the police revisit their decision not to investigate because it's paramount we find out who cloned that guy's FB account. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it is someone connected to her.

[suburbia]

Post-election analysis by Don Braid. Sorry for extensive quoting here - the article was packed with lots of notable commentary.

Hard election lessons for the UCP, and the Flames
http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/braid-hard-election-lessons-for-the-ucp-and-the-flames

Monday night showed how big money can backfire in politics, creating suspicion and even hostility. Sometimes the barrage of Smith ads — even on the big screen during Flames games — made people wonder who’s paying, and for what.

Who was going to be in charge? Was it the UCP, whoever runs it after the leadership is decided Oct. 28? Or maybe even a hockey team?

On Monday, Flames vice-president Gordon Norrie tweeted: “Cast your vote for change @TeamBillSmith.”

During the campaign he put out a string of anti-Nenshi tweets, including: “There is ‘arrogance’ and ‘Nenshi arrogance.’ The latter contains a whole other level in which there is high portion of mean-spiritedness!”

The Flames say these tweets don’t represent the corporate position of Calgary Sports and Entertainment, which defends Norrie’s right to free speech.

Norrie’s Twitter handle is @CalgaryFlamesVP. But no connection, of course.

The real gasper came from the team’s director of communications, Sean Kelso, who tweeted after the results were in: “I can’t believe it YYC. Having @Nenshi as mayor is worse than @realDonaldTrump being president. #arrogant.”

The night Nenshi first won in 2010, Progressive Conservative MLA Kyle Fawcett tweeted, “Nenshi . . . BIG mistake Calgary.”

For that milder offence, he apologized. Neither the Flames nor their tweeters emitted anything resembling an apology.

On Monday, Nenshi said the Flames “politicized this in an extraordinary way, not just that one tweet yesterday, but one of their most senior executives for weeks has been tweeting insults against me.

“You don’t get to say these views are my own when you’re also the face of the organization. If you’re the head of communications or you’re senior vice-president, guess what, you speak for the organization.”

I’d suggest that the three factors together — lavish campaign spending, Flames election advocacy, secret donor list — went a long way toward defeating Bill Smith.

Nenshi now has a strong four-year mandate to engage any further talks with the team. And the Flames, having failed to bring personnel changes to city hall, might try some of their own.

[Rollerstud98]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

Wow is right. I hope the police revisit their decision not to investigate because it's paramount we find out who cloned that guy's FB account. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it is someone connected to her.

Thankfully she got her ass kicked. Now hopefully they investigate it and bring charges against her!

[Blader]

Smiths' donor list:

Must be filed by the 1st day of March, following the election.

A long time from now, unfortunately!

http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/local-authorities-election-act-faq

[suburbia]

I had missed this one earlier. Quite entertaining.

Globe editorial: After overtime in Calgary, it’s Nenshi 1, Bettman 0
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion...-its-nenshi-1-bettman-0/article36673100/

To invoke an image that the Calgary Flames and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will understand, the clock is showing zeroes, the horn has sounded and one team is the unambiguous loser – theirs.

The arena-funding game isn't over in Calgary, but the metaphorical puck is now wedged in the Flames' [rear]end. For that, they have only themselves and their elbows-high style of play to blame.

[Corndogger]

If you haven't heard DCU's trip got cancelled due to bad weather. She's at council today to the surprise of many. She also presented evidence that her $25K trip was a year in the planning.

https://twitter.com/CBCScott/status/935243236662059008

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

If you haven't heard DCU's trip got cancelled due to bad weather. She's at council today to the surprise of many. She also presented evidence that her $25K trip was a year in the planning.

https://twitter.com/CBCScott/status/935243236662059008

But where was she the last while?

Perhaps more interesting is that I heard something about Farkas double-crossing her. Do you have more details about that?

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by suburbia

But where was she the last while?

Perhaps more interesting is that I heard something about Farkas double-crossing her. Do you have more details about that?

I think you have to go to a base country first, then get on the boat and sail to Antarctica. She was probably in Argentina.

Did Farkas double-cross her or did she double-cross him? All I know is she's claiming she recorded him and the plan was to ask administration to do something. With her long record of sketchiness I'll take his word over hers unless she provides the recording. If she's telling the truth he could be screwed.