Yesterday afternoon, I crashed the swearing-in ceremony of the 2007-2010 Edmonton City Council. Here is the documentation.
The crowded hall.
The first meeting of Edmonton City Council following the swearing-in ceremony.
Don Iveson and myself on the temple-like steps of City Hall.
It has now been a week after the October 15, 2007 Edmonton Municipal Election and I've had a chance to put together some thoughts on this new Council...
New Councillors: Tony Caterina (Ward 3), Ben Henderson (Ward 4), Don Iveson (Ward 5), and Amarjeet Sohi (Ward 6). These new Councillors will definitely shake up the current political structure on City Council.
Returning Councillors: Karen Leibovici and Linda Sloan (Ward 1), Kim Krushell and Ron Hayter (Ward 2), Ed Gibbons (Ward 3), Jane Batty (Ward 4), Bryan Anderson (Ward 5), and Dave Thiele (Ward 6). And of course, don't forget Mayor Stephen Mandel.
It will be very interesting to watch the new dynamic between members of this City Council.
With Don Iveson defeating Mike Nickel in Ward 5, it looks like new Ward 3 Councillor Tony Caterina is the heir to the now empty right-wing seat on Council. It will be intesting to see if Caterina will take note of Mike Nickel’s missteps and learn that cooperation and collaboration with other Councillors, rather than confrontation, is the only way to accomplish goals on City Council.
With three of four new City Councillors having been elected on progressive forward looking platforms, Don Iveson, Ben Henderson, and Amarjeet Sohi are strong additions to Council and will bring forward some new ideas and fresh perspective in the next three years. They will find allies in Linda Sloan and Dave Thiele, but will also need to cooperate with other Councillors in order to implement some smart change in City Hall.
There are some big issues facing the new Council...
Sustainability and Smartening up Growth
A common theme of many candidates (new and returning) was the need for smarter urban planning. Like I wrote for CBC Edmonton during the election, it’s time this City Council to look outside the box in order to create a plan in order to deal with urban sprawl and growth issues. This includes building up more density in the inner core (smart infill and alternatives such as more Transit-Oriented Development).
Growth issues that this Council need to face is also dealing with the challenges that growth brings to the public transit system. With the expansion of Edmonton’s LRT southwards, it will be critical that the new Council take a serious look at redesigning the current transit route system in order to respond to the needs of Edmontonians – especially those in the far reaching areas of the city. It’s also time for the city to get more aggressive during community consultations in explaining to neighbourhoods the advantages of what Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will being to public transit in Edmonton.
Decades of not properly maintaining our municipal infrastructure have caused major deterioration of Edmonton’s roads and transportation systems (which was partially due to the provincial government downloading services to the municipalities while failing to increase public funding).
As well, affordable housing is a key area that the City of Edmonton will need to step in to create affordable homes for people to live in.
Also, implementing smarter growth strategies and initatives will be the key to delivering more effective and cost-efficient public services in order to improve the quality of life in Edmonton.
Regionalism
Unless the provincial government takes a strong role in creating a regional cooperation and cost-sharing framework, it will be unlikely that the dozens of cities, towns, villages, and counties in the region will come to a decision themselves.
Though it is promising to see that St. Albert’s new Mayor Nolan Crouse is interested in working with the City of Edmonton on regional issues, there still remains a substantial amount of conflict between many of the smaller municipalities (not to mention Edmonton and refinery-rich Strathcona County).
As I’ve written before, public transit is a perfect example of where the Capital City regional municipalities can work together.
Democracy
It’s time for City Council to address some of the key democratic issues in Edmonton civic politics including the ridiculous size of Edmonton’s Wards. Edmonton needs to take a serious look at reforming the Ward system to create smaller, more manageable Wards (perhaps, 12 or 14 Wards). It's also time for Edmonton to take a look at creating regulations on political donations for election candidates (as a response to the complete lack of any restrictions and regulations on political donations at the municipal level in Edmonton).
It’s also important that City Council position itself to be prepared for the next provincial electoral boundary redistribution to ensure that the growing city doesn’t once again fall victim to the rural Tory powerbase and lose representation in the Alberta Legislature.
There is a lot of potential for this City Council in the next three years and I will be watching with interest…
In trying to justify Don Iveson's stunning defeat of Mike Nickel in Ward 5 in the Monday, October 15, 2007 municipal elections, Edmonton Sun columnist Kerry Diotte has a new theory.
Instead of giving the much deserved credit to 16,848 Ward 5 voters who cast their ballots for Don Iveson, a strong candidate with a solid platform and very well-organized and dedicated volunteer campaign team, Diotte has declared that Mike Nickel was "short-changed by a vast left-wing conspiracy that was really behind his defeat.
It's pretty clear that Diotte is short-changing the voters of Ward 5 with his Drudge-style internet conspiracy theories.
And after listening to Nickel's only election night media comment before kicking the media out of his campaign office, it's not hard to believe that he rubbed Ward 5 voters in the wrong way:
"At the end of the day, I'm going to go make some money, which I should've been doing for three years anyway."If there's a support group for people like Diotte, I suggest he look for one, and invite Mike Nickel too.
From today's Edmonton Journal...
Iveson's name recognition campaign planned by skilled volunteersRead the rest!
Gordon Kent, With files from Francois Marchand, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 7:45 am
EDMONTON - The biggest upset in Edmonton ward politics this decade began at a February meeting where Don Iveson and five advisers began to map out his strategy for winning a seat on city council.
Iveson, 28, had never sought public office and was running in Ward 5, where the seats were filled by high-profile incumbents Bryan Anderson and Mike Nickel.
But over the following few months, he and his informal communications team worked out the details about what material to put into the hands of voters, whether lawn signs were needed and the best ways to use the Internet.
Though you wouldn't know if by reading this blog, Monday, October 15 was a day of Municipal Election Days across Alberta. There are three successful candidates who ran in races in towns and cities across Alberta that I would like to congratulate.
In the Town of Drumheller, Andrew Berdahl was elected after placing a strong second in a race for six seats. This is Andrew's first-term on Drumheller's Town Council. Andrew is a younger guy and will bring some fresh perspective to Drumheller Town Council. Congrats and Good Luck!
In the City of St. Albert, former Alderman Nolan Crouse did St. Albertans a favour by keeping two-time former Mayor Richard Plain out of the Mayor's chair. I first met Mayor-elect Crouse last fall while I was part of the team advocating and lobbying for the Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass) for University of Alberta students in St. Albert (Don Iveson was a key player on our team). Though we didn't agree on everything regarding the program, I respected his common-sense stance (Crouse voted in favour of the U-Pass). Congrats!
In the north western Alberta City of Grande Prairie, Alderman Bill Given was re-elected to City Council by placing a strong first-place in a race for eight seats. Bill is one of the few Municipal representatives in Alberta to reach out in to the world of blogging and online communications. Congrats!
As many of you who came out to the Blackdog to celebrate Don Iveson's campaign and victory in Ward 5 will attest, it was a rocking party. Now some of it is preserved on YouTube...
Don Iveson gives an interview following his election...
Don Iveson's victory speech...
I am a little sore after a night of celebrating Don Iveson's victory in Ward 5, but I would like to congratulate all the candidates and their campaign teams for their hard work.
Here are some thoughts on last night's results...
Mayor: Stephen Mandel received a much lesser than expected second mandate of 65% (compared to predictions of 80%), leaving last-minute candidate Don Koziak and his Core Values with the 25% anti-Mandel vote. Also, marijuana enthusiast Dave Dowling actually placed third...
Ward 1 - Councillors Linda Sloan and Karen Leibovici road the easy train to victory last night placing +8,000 votes ahead of challenger Andrew Knack.
Ward 2 - Kim Krushell and Ron Hayter were also easily re-elected (Hayter for his 11th term).
Ward 3 - With the retirement of Councillor Janice Melnychuk, both conservative Tony Caterina and progressive Harvey Voogd fought hard for the Ward 3 seat. Caterina prevailed. Ed Gibbons was re-elected.
Ward 4 - In a very close three-way race, Jane Batty, Ben Henderson, and Lewis Cardinal duked it out in this hot Ward race. Batty placed first with Henderson and Cardinal placing incredibly close to each other in second and third place. Ward 4 will now be represented by Jane Batty and Ben Henderson.
Ward 5 - The story of the night was in Ward 5, where my friend and candidate of choice Don Iveson pwned incumbent-Councillor Mike Nickel.
Don and his team campaigned hard using solid traditional campaigning techniques with a mix of online communication tools (such as a solid website, blogs, Google ads, and YouTube videos) and presented a solid platform (using full-sentences, rather than vague bullet points).
Having knocked on many doors for Don in Ward 5 over the summer and fall, it wasn't hard to sense an appetite for change.
Don Iveson's election in Ward 5 proved that incumbency isn't the all protecting shield that some pundits, such as Jim Lightbody, would preach.
Don also placed not too far behind incumbent-Councillor Bryan Anderson.
Needless to say, I am very proud of my new representation on Edmonton City Council!
I was also live-blogging from the Don Iveson victory party.
Ward 6 - The dogfight between Amarjeet Sohi and Chinwe Okelu ended in a tight victory for Mr. Sohi! Both were strong candidates and I think Ward 6 will do well with Sohi as their Councillor. Incumbent Dave Thiele was also re-elected.
Turnout - Was low.
Next Post: What does this means for Edmonton, City Council, and the future?
I am very very proud to announce that my good friend Don Iveson is the new City Councillor for Ward 5. Smart Growth. Efficiency. Environmental Responsibility. Vibrant Communities.
Ward 5 have elected a good candidate today.
COUNCILLOR - WARD 5 44 / 44 Polls Reported
Candidate Name # of Votes % of Votes
Bryan Kent Anderson 17867 33.76%
Don Iveson 16848 31.84%
Mike Nickel 14597 27.58%
Brent Michalyk 3610 6.82%
Congrats to Don. Congrats to the campaign team and volunteers, and congrats to Ward 5 for making a great choice!
I'm live from the Don Iveson Campaign Party at the Underdog on Whyte Avenue!
8:15 p.m. - The Underdog is filled with Don Iveson supporters. A photographer from the Edmonton Journal is taking picture of me live-blogging as I write.
8:17 p.m. - The Edmonton Journal has a story with me taking on U of A Political Science Professor Jim Lightbody on incumbency re-election.
8:25 p.m. - Live results will soon be posted at Edmonton Election. U of A Students' Union President Michael Janz is arguing about provincial lobbying with fellow students.
8:29 pm - First results rolling in: Ward 5: Don is in second place with 5 polls reporting...
COUNCILLOR - WARD 5 5 / 44 Polls ReportedThere is cautious optimisim in the room as the mood is excited!
Candidate Name # of Votes % of Votes
Bryan Kent Anderson 1264 33.19%
Don Iveson 1192 31.30%
Mike Nickel 1103 28.97%
Brent Michalyk 249 6.54%
Volunteers are pouring in and out of Don Iveson's campaign headquarters in Edmonton's Ward 5.
Phones are ringing off the hook. The website is buzzing. Campaign volunteers are working hard to get the vote out. With an episode of the West Wing playing in the background, the Edmonton Journal has released a new story about voter turnout in Ward 5:
The biggest voter turnout today has been in Ward 5, where two incumbent councillors, Bryan Anderson and Mike Nickel, are facing a challenge from 28-year-old Don Iveson and one other candidate. Ward 5, in southwest Edmonton, traditionally has a high voter turnout; its population tends to be higher income and better educated.
Once the polls close at 8:00 p.m. tonight, updated results can be found at Elections Edmonton and CBC Edmonton.
And of course, I will be providing live commentary from the Don Iveson for Ward 5 Election Night Party at The Underdog.
Today is Election Day in Edmonton and it's important that you get out and vote!
See my previous post for more information on what you need to do in order to and where you need to go to vote!
Also, I encourage voters in Ward 5 to join me in supporting Don Iveson to become one of Ward 5's two City Councillors.
Don's ideas for Edmonton and Ward 5 will bring a much needed new perspective to Edmonton's City Council.
Don has run a substance-based campaign focused around the three principles of Efficiency, Environmental Responsibility, and Vibrant Communities - and more on his campaign website.
Don has also released a number of YouTube videos focusing on Smarter Urban Planning, Public Transit, Affordable Housing, and Community Consultation.
Edmonton's Jam Union has also released a great podcast interview with Don.
As mentioned previously, I will be live-blogging commentary and election results from the Don Iveson campaign party at the Underdog on Whyte Avenue after the polls close at 8:00 p.m.
UPDATE: I've voted!
Tomorrow is Edmonton's Municipal Election, so remember to get out and vote!
To vote, you must:
* be at least 18 years old,
* be a Canadian citizen,
* be a resident in Alberta for the six consecutive months immediately preceding election day (as of April 16, 2007)
* be a resident of Edmonton on election day,
* not have voted previously in this election
Voting stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
DON'T FORGET - all voters must present identification at the polls. The ID, such as an Alberta Driver's Licence, Alberta Health Care Card or a Canadian passport, must confirm your age and identity.
To find out where to vote, click here.
For more information on the election, click here.
To read profiles of the Mayoral and Ward elections, see below.
Edmonton Election 2007: Race Profiles
The Non-Race for Mayor
Ward 1
The Race in Ward 2
A Race in Ward 3
Something about Ward 4
Choice in Ward 5
Wrath of Ward 6
Tomorrow is Election Day in Edmonton and I will be live-blogging tomorrow night after the polls close at 8:00 p.m. from the Don Iveson for Ward 5 campaign party at the Underdog on Whyte Avenue (on the extreme northern boundary of Ward 5).
Election results, blogging, and beer. A solid election night combination.
On Thursday, October 11, I joined Ward 5 City Council candidate Don Iveson and volunteers for an afternoon and evening of campaigning. Here's my story of the day:
12:30 p.m. Don Iveson and his Deputy Campaign Manager Leanne Brown pop by my house to pick me up.
12:45 p.m. We start doorknocking in the Belgravia neighbourhood. As a first time candidate, I was surprised at the amount of positive support Don got at the doors. The big issues I heard of at the doors with Don were transportation, and the sorry state of our roads and planning in Edmonton.
It also wasn't uncommon to hear complaints about the demon dialing ways of another Ward 5 candidate.
We also got eight lawn sign requests in less than an hour in Belgravia. Go team!
1:50 p.m. Don, Leanne, and I head off to the Queen Alexandra Seniors Lodge in the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood.
Don spoke to a group of about 40 seniors and covered a wide range of issues. Following Don's introductions, the residents had a chance to ask Don questions about his platform and what his stances as a City Councillor for Ward 5 would be.
Questions ranged from snow removal, the labour shortage, the difficulty of keeping up with Alberta's and Edmonton's growth, roads and potholes, sidewalk maintenance, and the state of infrastructure in Edmonton's mature neighbourhoods (such as Queen Alexandra).
Don's was also able to cover issues spanning from smarter planning, public transit, road maintenance, education, and fair taxation.
As we were leaving the Seniors Lodge, one of the residents leaned over to Don, thanked him for speaking to the residents, and told Don that he "had learned more about Edmonton in the one hour talking with Don than he had in the past 10 years." Touching and powerful.
3:10 p.m. Leave the Queen Alexandra Seniors Lodge and hard off towards Riverbend!
3:30 p.m. - We stop to have a quick lunch at the Fresh Start Cafe in Riverbend neighbourhood. I had a great roast beef sandwich with a tomato soup (not really relavent to this story, but good none the less).
While at Fresh Start, we meet up with Dr. Rob Agostinis, President of the Terwilliger-Riverbend Advisory Council, who joins us for some doorknocking in Riverbend.
3:45 p.m. After a quick lunch, Don, Leanne, Dr. Agostinis, and I head off to Riverbend to do some doorknocking!
Some big issues at the doors in Riverbend include transportation, I hear something at the doors that sticks in my head:
"there is a great willingness to take public transit, if service was improved and made more convenient for the residents in Riverbend."I also canvass a surprising amount of families who will be voting for Don Iveson and Mike Nickel. An interesting mix. There seems to be quite a bit of hostility towards Ward Five's other City Councillor, Bryan Anderson, in this neighbourhood.
"Urbanism cannout exist with out the layers of history."As much of Don's campaign has centered around vibrant communities and efficiency, this lecture was particularly fitting.
"Density is not a problem, overcrowding is."
"Urbanism does not exist with out denisity, density breeds diversity, diversity defines a city."
"Lively diverse cities contain the seeds of their own rejuvination."
In what should have been an easy re-election of two incumbents, the 2007 election in Ward 5 has ended up as a three-way race.
The main challenger to the two incumbents is Don Iveson (who I am proud to call a friend).
Running on the message of Smart Sustainable Growth for Ward 5, Don Iveson is easily the strongest and most energetic candidate running in in this Ward. As the underdog of the race, Don Iveson's team has relied on volunteer power rather than the expensive American-style demon dialing of one of the incumbents.
With a solid platform centered around the principles of efficiency, environmental responsibility, and vibrant communities, the residents of Ward 5 and the City of Edmonton would be well-served by the fresh voice and ideas that Don Iveson would bring to the next City Council.
Since the beginning of the campaign, Don Iveson has gained the support of some of Edmonton's strongest advocates including retiring City Councillors Michael Phair and Janice Melnychuk, former MLA Don Massey, Edmonton-Strathcona MLA Raj Pannu, and former City Councillors Larry Langley and Gene Dub.
Incumbent Councillor Bryan Anderson, whom I consider an "inoffensive" candidate has served on City Council since 1995 and though he has been a lower profile Councillor, has been a strong constituency worker. Much like Dave Theile in Ward 6, Anderson should beware of voters starting to think that he's been around for too long.
Incumbent Mike Nickel (aka Mr. Demon Dialer), who was first elected in 2004 after failing to be elected Mayor in 1998 and 2001, is widely believed to be running re-election in order to set himself up for a 2010 Mayoral campaign. Part of Nickel '10 includes the Nickel campaign's fronting of pro-Nickel candidates in other Wards (Tony Caterina in Ward 3, Debbie Yeung in Ward 4, and Chuck McKenna in Ward 6).
Nickel, who, along with Mayoral candidate Bill Whatcott, is a fan of Ted Morton, proudly supported Morton in the 2006 Tory leadership selection over local-boy and moderate conservative, Edmonton-Whitemud MLA Dave Hancock.
Though Nickel has a reputation as an opponent towards any City involvement that does not include bare bones core services (such as his strident opposition to the Universal Bus Pass for University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan College students) he should be respected for standing firm and actually believing in his Ronald Reaganesq-vaules. That said, it's 2007 and the Reagan-era ended in 1988.
With serious transportation and urban sprawl issues facing Ward 5 now and in the immediate future, it's important that Edmontonians in Ward 5 look carefully at these candidates and support the candidates who will fight for smart growth in Ward 5.
2007 Candidates
Bryan Anderson
Don Iveson
Mike Nickel
Brent Michalyk
2004 Election Results
Bryan Anderson - 19,650
Mike Nickel - 16,803
Donna Finucane - 15,123
Al Slemko - 6,576
Ian Crawford - 5,307
Jung-Suk Ryu - 3,817
Katie Oppen - 2,029
Adil Pirbhai - 533
Facebook Race
Don Iveson for Ward 5 City Councillor - 366 members
Edmonton's Ward 6 covers the entire southeast section (Mill Woods) of Edmonton and includes some of the most ethnically diverse areas of the City. Not shying away from its reputation for delivering raucous election campaigns, Ward 6 presents an interesting race for 2007.
With the overdue retirement of long-time Councillor Terry Cavanagh (who was appointed and defeated as Mayor two-times since first being elected to Council in 1971), there are no shortage of candidates lining up for the challenge of representing Ward 6.
Incumbent Dave Theile, who was first elected in 1998, is seeking re-election. Though I like Theile's easy-going style, he may be reaching the point of getting too comfortable in his City Council chair. Hopefully he won't fall victim to the 'big chair syndrome' if he is re-elected on Monday.
Two of the main challengers lined up are Chinwe Okelu and Amarjeet Sohi, and both are in a dog fight with each other after mounting very strong campaigns (and both aren't shying away from their partisan connections to help them over the top - Okelu as a Liberal and Sohi as a New Democrat).
Okelu, who has run in Ward 6 in 1998, 2001, and 2004, placed a very strong third in 2004 against Cavanagh. This is Sohi's second run at Ward 6, having placed a strong fourth in 2004.
I've met both candidates a number of times and though both would be effective advocates for Ward 6, I've been particularly impressed with Amarjeet Sohi's work with Public Interest Alberta.
With both of the main challengers holding decent name recognition, boasting strong teams and platforms, and campaigning hard I wouldn't be surprised if either of them won (or if both of them won).
The 'other interesting candidates' category includes Lori Jeffery Heaney who is a former Councillor from the Summer Village of Val Quentin and right-wing 'Mike Nickel' candidate Chuck McKenna.
2007 Candidates
Lori Jeffery-Heaney
Chuck McKenna
Chinwe Okelu
Amarjeet Sohi
Dave Thiele*
Tomas Dennis Vasquez
2004 Election Results
Dave Thiele - 16,128
Terry Cavanagh - 14,725
Chinwe Okelu - 12,877
Amarjeet Sohi - 8,077
Barbara Ann Thompson - 6,339
Terry McKinnon - 2,908
Sean Diakiw - 1,013
Facebook Count
Friends of Chinwe Okelu - 19 members
Elect Amarjeet Sohi for Ward 6 Councillor - 80 members
Coming soon: Race profiles of Ward 5, Ward 6, the Edmonton Catholic School District and Edmonton Public School Boards, as well as my predictions for Monday October 15, 2007.
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I can be reached by email at: daveberta.ca@gmail.com.
