Monday, October 18, 2010
Edmonton Candidates for Mayor Encourage Young Voters
Thx Rick Lee of Sonic Radio 102.9 for this video on encouraging younger people getting out to vote. Thanks also to all the Edmonton Mayoralty Candidates for participating. AND THANK YOU to all those citizens who have taken the time to get informed on the issues that concern them in this election and who will show up at the polls today to make a difference in the way they see the future of our city.
I have voted in Ward 6 and my choices were Mandel for Mayor, Batty for Councillor and Spencer for Public School Trustee. Now go make your own choices. YOU will be glad you did.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Edmonton Sun Endorses Mandel
OK - the political ground in Alberta is really shifting. The Edmonton Sun has endorsed Stephen Mandel for Mayor. Mandel is the most progressive, proven and capable candidate on the ballot this time. He deserves another term for all the reasons the Sun points out and more. Mandel is the clear, credible, competent and conscientious choice to lead Edmonton for the next three years. For the Sun to recognize this is counter-intuitive given their past positions dramatically opposed to progressive values.
BTW the Calgary Sun has done the same thing. They endorsed Nenshi, the other openly progressive candidate for mayor in Calgary. The political culture of Alberta is not all right wing and reactionary - not any more.
There is a serious disappointment and clear effort at diminishing our democracy in this Edmonton municipal election. The Mandel opposition has come from the well funded Envision Edmonton group who are mostly a one issue group around the closing of the municipal airport. It has been loud and oft-time loutish with orchestrated heckling and booing of Mandel at forums. I have no problem with activist and aggressive citizen engagement. I have encouraged it in this blog for years. What we also need is informed and respectful citizen engagement where we can disagree without being disagreeable. That has not always been the hallmarks of Envision Edmonton. This is not a condemnation of all the responsible, respectful and dedicated volunteers who have done an admirable job of motivating thousands of citizens to their cause.
The Envision Edmonton efforts have failed to gain momentum and has now in a much deserved decline. They has lost the respect and forfeited the trust of Edmontonians looking for integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency in politics. The admittedly unfounded and dirty trick smear campaign against Mandel by Nathan Black, the Envision Edmonton petition manger was a dramatic indication that at least this leader of Envision Edmonton was prepared to resort to Nixonian levels of political dirty tricks. Passion is not a free pass to promote and participate in political corruption.
The fact that Envision Edmonton has stood by Mr. Black shows that they don't understand nor ascribe to the political values of integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency that Edmontonians demand of our political culture. They, like Mr. Black, are now suffering from self inflicted and fatal wounds. This citizen's movement has fallen from grace and now should not be trusted by any reasonable voter in Edmonton.
I support the closure of the municipal airport. I have seen no substantial evidence or proof of Envision Edmonton claims of city council acting undemocratically on the closure issues. They has produced a petition that is too little, too late and contrary to law but pursue the matter in the courts anyway. I also categorically reject the tactics employed by Mr. Black and Envision Edmonton by association since they have stood by him in the face of his admitted breaches of integrity, honestly, accountability and transparency in politics.
I encourage the citizens of Edmonton to send a clear message that we are tired of old-style politics based on personal power or propaganda where self-interested ends justify any means. Reject those candidates who are endorsed by Envision Edmonton on October 18. Send a clear message that we do not want and will not tolerate a Tea Party approach to politics in Edmonton.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
BTW the Calgary Sun has done the same thing. They endorsed Nenshi, the other openly progressive candidate for mayor in Calgary. The political culture of Alberta is not all right wing and reactionary - not any more.
There is a serious disappointment and clear effort at diminishing our democracy in this Edmonton municipal election. The Mandel opposition has come from the well funded Envision Edmonton group who are mostly a one issue group around the closing of the municipal airport. It has been loud and oft-time loutish with orchestrated heckling and booing of Mandel at forums. I have no problem with activist and aggressive citizen engagement. I have encouraged it in this blog for years. What we also need is informed and respectful citizen engagement where we can disagree without being disagreeable. That has not always been the hallmarks of Envision Edmonton. This is not a condemnation of all the responsible, respectful and dedicated volunteers who have done an admirable job of motivating thousands of citizens to their cause.
The Envision Edmonton efforts have failed to gain momentum and has now in a much deserved decline. They has lost the respect and forfeited the trust of Edmontonians looking for integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency in politics. The admittedly unfounded and dirty trick smear campaign against Mandel by Nathan Black, the Envision Edmonton petition manger was a dramatic indication that at least this leader of Envision Edmonton was prepared to resort to Nixonian levels of political dirty tricks. Passion is not a free pass to promote and participate in political corruption.
The fact that Envision Edmonton has stood by Mr. Black shows that they don't understand nor ascribe to the political values of integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency that Edmontonians demand of our political culture. They, like Mr. Black, are now suffering from self inflicted and fatal wounds. This citizen's movement has fallen from grace and now should not be trusted by any reasonable voter in Edmonton.
I support the closure of the municipal airport. I have seen no substantial evidence or proof of Envision Edmonton claims of city council acting undemocratically on the closure issues. They has produced a petition that is too little, too late and contrary to law but pursue the matter in the courts anyway. I also categorically reject the tactics employed by Mr. Black and Envision Edmonton by association since they have stood by him in the face of his admitted breaches of integrity, honestly, accountability and transparency in politics.
I encourage the citizens of Edmonton to send a clear message that we are tired of old-style politics based on personal power or propaganda where self-interested ends justify any means. Reject those candidates who are endorsed by Envision Edmonton on October 18. Send a clear message that we do not want and will not tolerate a Tea Party approach to politics in Edmonton.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
ARTES Releases Edmonton Public School Candidates Report Card
ARTES is another progressive citizens movement in the spirit of Reboot Alberta but focused on the Edmonton Public School Board elections. They have published a "report card" on various candidates that may help you get some focus on what questions you need to ask yourself as you pick a candidate on October 18.
They have published their methodology to arrive at these ratings and comments on candidates too. The criteria they used to assess candidates are interesting too:
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
They have published their methodology to arrive at these ratings and comments on candidates too. The criteria they used to assess candidates are interesting too:
- Ability (competence, experience, professionalism)
- Independence (courage, open to new ideas, does not rubber-stamp, questions assumptions)
- Accountability (honest, trustworthy, transparent, understands board governance)
- Responsiveness (communication, listens to and represents public, supports disadvantaged groups)
- Vision (leadership, co-operation, passion)
I like this list of qualities used to assess candidates. It aligns well with the values we found in a Reboot Alberta survey of Albertan's values in politics and policy making, namely integrity, honesty, accountability, transparency, fiscal and personal responsibility. Ver much aligned with the values criteria used by ARTES in their report card.
With the Edmonton municipal elections getting most of the media attention it is easy to overlook the critically important concurrent election of school boards. There is a significant increase in the number of candidates running for school boards all over the province and fewer acclaimed candidates. This is good news for progressive politics and a healthy democracy in Alberta.
Do not forget to mark you ballots for your local school board elections all over Alberta on Monday. This is a critical voting opportunity too.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Alberta Gets to Vote on Monday - Will Progressives Show Up?
There are elections for municipal politicians and school board trustees all over Alberta on October 18. These elected officials are the closest to the community but ironically result in the lowest voter turnout.
There are some indications that this is changing in Calgary and Edmonton at least. I have not had the time to review other places to get a sense of voter turnout intentions. I can only hope the sense of the import of the opportunity to participate in our democracy is hitting home with Albertans.
One of my passions is citizenship and citizen engagement. This blog is often focused on those concerns. I hope for more than citizens turning up to vote but actually knowing what the want from government and making an effort to see which of the candidates comes closest to their values and concerns. That takes a bit of time but with the Internet this research is very easy to do.
I am not going to tell you how to vote but I do want to encourage you to vote. I especially want to encourage the progressive thinking Albertans to vote. The people with this value set have become very disillusioned with politics and have withdrawn from democracy as a result. That is no way to change the system.
Elections are about choices, change and charting courses. So let me make some observations about the Mayoralty races in Edmonton and Calgary in that context.
EDMONTON:
Edmonton is a two-horse race between Mandel and Dorward. Both fine candidates but with very different world and local views about issues and the direction for the city.
There is an undercurrent of this contest being a proxy race for the next provincial election in Edmonton. I think there is some truth to that. Dorward is an unsuccessful PC candidate from the last political election but is now the favourite of the Wildrose faction in the culture war in right wing politics in Alberta. Mandel is less defined as a partisan politician but he is being framed as the PC Party choice. I actually think he is better understood and the anybody but WAP choice.
How this will undercurrent of provincial party influence plays out on the choice for Mayor of Edmonton will send a message about the potential strength of the WAP in Edmonton. Right now the WAP is very weak in Edmonton but a win or even a strong showing by Dorward will be seen as a serious shift in momentum for the Wildrose in Edmonton.
It is entirely possible for Mr. Dorward to win this election for Mayor on Monday but only if progressive voters continue to stay home on election day. If progressive stay indifferent to consequences of elections or presume a Mandel victory so they don't need to bother - don't be surprised by a Droward win.
CALGARY:
This is an even more interesting race for Mayor. There is the same provincial implications undercurrents. McIver the early leader is the Wildrose choice. Then we have Barb Higgins, the recently retired TV news anchor cum candidate who thinks she is the right person to run a multi-billion dollar civic budget. She is the PC darling with the backing of the Dinning PC leadership brain trust.
Then we have Naheed Nenshi, the upstart outsider progressive candidate with a more modern and motivated campaign approach based on issues and policy. Nenshi was at first a group of third tier progressive candidates including Wayne Stewart and Bob Hawkesworth but he broke from that pack. Nenshi is now tied with the original front runners all around 30% support according to a very recent Leger poll. Hawkesworth has withdrawn and is supporting Higgins. Stewart has also withdrawn and is supporting Nenshi. Just to make it more interesting.
Here is a chance for progressive voters in Calgary to vote for a young, intelligent, articulate and capable political alternative. They can show up and support the momentum of Nenshi and send a message to the establishment that runs Calgary that their presumption of the perpetual traditional right-wing conservative political culture is not a given in the future of that great city.
Full disclosure - I know Nenshi the best of all the candidates. He is involved in Reboot Alberta too and was one of the people who helped merge the Renew Alberta group with the Alberta Party as a progressive centrists political alternative for our province. I worked with Ric McIvor a few year ago on men's issues in bullying and domestic violence and his knowledge and understanding of the complexity of the issues impressed me. I have never met Barb Higgins but know a lot of the people running her campaign.
CONCLUSION:
There is a very important subtext to the Mayoralty races in Edmonton and Calgary with potential implications for the future of provincial politics in Alberta. If McIvor and Dorward win the Wildrose will become even wilder and emboldened. If Higgins wins the Calgary establishment will rise up and once again want the run the province from behind closed doors like they did when Ralph Klein was Premier. If Mandel and Nenshi win we can see signs of a shifting in the political culture in the province and the old one-party system is an artifact of the past. It will show that there is a yearnings for a more progressive, inclusive, accountable government that is open, based on integrity and stewardship - not just getting and keeping personal political power
The choices made by Edmonton and Calgary represent two-thirds of the Alberta population. That alone has serious implications for politics in the rest of the province. None of my readers will be surprised by my choices. I am voting for Mandel and would vote for Nenshi - if I lived in Calgary.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
There are some indications that this is changing in Calgary and Edmonton at least. I have not had the time to review other places to get a sense of voter turnout intentions. I can only hope the sense of the import of the opportunity to participate in our democracy is hitting home with Albertans.
One of my passions is citizenship and citizen engagement. This blog is often focused on those concerns. I hope for more than citizens turning up to vote but actually knowing what the want from government and making an effort to see which of the candidates comes closest to their values and concerns. That takes a bit of time but with the Internet this research is very easy to do.
I am not going to tell you how to vote but I do want to encourage you to vote. I especially want to encourage the progressive thinking Albertans to vote. The people with this value set have become very disillusioned with politics and have withdrawn from democracy as a result. That is no way to change the system.
Elections are about choices, change and charting courses. So let me make some observations about the Mayoralty races in Edmonton and Calgary in that context.
EDMONTON:
Edmonton is a two-horse race between Mandel and Dorward. Both fine candidates but with very different world and local views about issues and the direction for the city.
There is an undercurrent of this contest being a proxy race for the next provincial election in Edmonton. I think there is some truth to that. Dorward is an unsuccessful PC candidate from the last political election but is now the favourite of the Wildrose faction in the culture war in right wing politics in Alberta. Mandel is less defined as a partisan politician but he is being framed as the PC Party choice. I actually think he is better understood and the anybody but WAP choice.
How this will undercurrent of provincial party influence plays out on the choice for Mayor of Edmonton will send a message about the potential strength of the WAP in Edmonton. Right now the WAP is very weak in Edmonton but a win or even a strong showing by Dorward will be seen as a serious shift in momentum for the Wildrose in Edmonton.
It is entirely possible for Mr. Dorward to win this election for Mayor on Monday but only if progressive voters continue to stay home on election day. If progressive stay indifferent to consequences of elections or presume a Mandel victory so they don't need to bother - don't be surprised by a Droward win.
CALGARY:
This is an even more interesting race for Mayor. There is the same provincial implications undercurrents. McIver the early leader is the Wildrose choice. Then we have Barb Higgins, the recently retired TV news anchor cum candidate who thinks she is the right person to run a multi-billion dollar civic budget. She is the PC darling with the backing of the Dinning PC leadership brain trust.
Then we have Naheed Nenshi, the upstart outsider progressive candidate with a more modern and motivated campaign approach based on issues and policy. Nenshi was at first a group of third tier progressive candidates including Wayne Stewart and Bob Hawkesworth but he broke from that pack. Nenshi is now tied with the original front runners all around 30% support according to a very recent Leger poll. Hawkesworth has withdrawn and is supporting Higgins. Stewart has also withdrawn and is supporting Nenshi. Just to make it more interesting.
Here is a chance for progressive voters in Calgary to vote for a young, intelligent, articulate and capable political alternative. They can show up and support the momentum of Nenshi and send a message to the establishment that runs Calgary that their presumption of the perpetual traditional right-wing conservative political culture is not a given in the future of that great city.
Full disclosure - I know Nenshi the best of all the candidates. He is involved in Reboot Alberta too and was one of the people who helped merge the Renew Alberta group with the Alberta Party as a progressive centrists political alternative for our province. I worked with Ric McIvor a few year ago on men's issues in bullying and domestic violence and his knowledge and understanding of the complexity of the issues impressed me. I have never met Barb Higgins but know a lot of the people running her campaign.
CONCLUSION:
There is a very important subtext to the Mayoralty races in Edmonton and Calgary with potential implications for the future of provincial politics in Alberta. If McIvor and Dorward win the Wildrose will become even wilder and emboldened. If Higgins wins the Calgary establishment will rise up and once again want the run the province from behind closed doors like they did when Ralph Klein was Premier. If Mandel and Nenshi win we can see signs of a shifting in the political culture in the province and the old one-party system is an artifact of the past. It will show that there is a yearnings for a more progressive, inclusive, accountable government that is open, based on integrity and stewardship - not just getting and keeping personal political power
The choices made by Edmonton and Calgary represent two-thirds of the Alberta population. That alone has serious implications for politics in the rest of the province. None of my readers will be surprised by my choices. I am voting for Mandel and would vote for Nenshi - if I lived in Calgary.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Alberta Local Elections Less Than a Week Away!
Early indications are that there is more interest in local elections for municipal government and school boards this time than three years ago. Only anecdotal but the advance poll in Edmonton shows a marked increase in voter turnout. The Edmonton Sun non-scientific on-line "poll" shows 67% of us say we will vote. We always say we will vote but we perpetually lie about our actual voting behaviours. Maybe citizens will have more integrity this time and do what they say on October 18th
Three years ago things were pretty rosy in Alberta, energy prices were soaring to new highs and everyone was scrambling to keep up with the overheated economy. Now the change is dramatic but in reality we are in a more normal economic situation but tinged with some critical uncertainties. Uncertainties like the US economy and the rise of the BRIC nations and enormous personal and public debt overhanging the psyche and climate change seeping in as a reality. It all adds up and with record gold prices we see the economic angst being acted out in the market place.
Back to the local realities in Alberta - will we see a revived sense of citizenship in improved voter turnout next Monday? What will be the ballot questions? Calgary is in a culture war that is illustrated by the wide array of candidates for mayor. I wonder if Calgary wants a new face for their city or if the entrenched power structure will opt for a version of a status quo candidate, McIver or Higgins.. Mandel won in Edmonton two elections ago because both highly touted front runners were found wanting in some fundamental way. The chance for change took over and both of them were rejected in favour of the third place candidate - Mandel. Could that happen in Calgary this time? Would Nenshi, Stewart or Hawkesworth benefit from this kinds of yearning for real change in Calgary?
Edmonton started out as a yawner of a campaign but has heated up significantly thanks to Envision Edmonton efforts to press for a plebiscite on the municipal airport closing. The mayoralty campaign here is turning into a battle for the next narrative of the story Edmonton wants to tell itself about itself. There is a sense by the traditionalists Envision Edmonton types to almost emulate the Wildrose as the yearn for an Edmonton of a time past. The modernists just want to be left alone and get on with their lives, make some money and without having to worry about messy things like politics, democracy, citizenship and social issues.
The real question in Edmonton is will the progressives show up and support Mandel or just presume his win is a foregone conclusion so they can stay indifferent and inert politically. If that happens and the grumpy types from Envision Edmonton show up then anything can happen. That is the nature of politics.
School Board elections are interesting in Edmonton - have not followed them in Calgary. EPSB is in for some serious change for sure, not sure about the Catholic board here but will ponder that in the next few days. too.
I encourage all Albertans to get informed and get into discussion with friends an family about what they want from their government and make a conscious considered choice at the polls. I especially encourage progressives to take this plea to heart. Indifference is inexcusable in tight races. The progressive voice is being lost in the Alberta political culture because we are not speaking up and not showing up. Other voices are speaking up and showing up. And they are taking over the political power in our province.
Remember it is not THE government. It is OUR government - whether you voted or not.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
Three years ago things were pretty rosy in Alberta, energy prices were soaring to new highs and everyone was scrambling to keep up with the overheated economy. Now the change is dramatic but in reality we are in a more normal economic situation but tinged with some critical uncertainties. Uncertainties like the US economy and the rise of the BRIC nations and enormous personal and public debt overhanging the psyche and climate change seeping in as a reality. It all adds up and with record gold prices we see the economic angst being acted out in the market place.
Back to the local realities in Alberta - will we see a revived sense of citizenship in improved voter turnout next Monday? What will be the ballot questions? Calgary is in a culture war that is illustrated by the wide array of candidates for mayor. I wonder if Calgary wants a new face for their city or if the entrenched power structure will opt for a version of a status quo candidate, McIver or Higgins.. Mandel won in Edmonton two elections ago because both highly touted front runners were found wanting in some fundamental way. The chance for change took over and both of them were rejected in favour of the third place candidate - Mandel. Could that happen in Calgary this time? Would Nenshi, Stewart or Hawkesworth benefit from this kinds of yearning for real change in Calgary?
Edmonton started out as a yawner of a campaign but has heated up significantly thanks to Envision Edmonton efforts to press for a plebiscite on the municipal airport closing. The mayoralty campaign here is turning into a battle for the next narrative of the story Edmonton wants to tell itself about itself. There is a sense by the traditionalists Envision Edmonton types to almost emulate the Wildrose as the yearn for an Edmonton of a time past. The modernists just want to be left alone and get on with their lives, make some money and without having to worry about messy things like politics, democracy, citizenship and social issues.
The real question in Edmonton is will the progressives show up and support Mandel or just presume his win is a foregone conclusion so they can stay indifferent and inert politically. If that happens and the grumpy types from Envision Edmonton show up then anything can happen. That is the nature of politics.
School Board elections are interesting in Edmonton - have not followed them in Calgary. EPSB is in for some serious change for sure, not sure about the Catholic board here but will ponder that in the next few days. too.
I encourage all Albertans to get informed and get into discussion with friends an family about what they want from their government and make a conscious considered choice at the polls. I especially encourage progressives to take this plea to heart. Indifference is inexcusable in tight races. The progressive voice is being lost in the Alberta political culture because we are not speaking up and not showing up. Other voices are speaking up and showing up. And they are taking over the political power in our province.
Remember it is not THE government. It is OUR government - whether you voted or not.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
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