Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi has decided to follow in the political footsteps of former Calgary mayor Ralph Klein. Nenshi, like Ralph, went into his first mayoral campaign as a dark horse but wound up winning three straight terms. Now Nenshi, again like Ralph, has decided to step up to
Continue readingTag: Nenshi (Naheed)
Views from the Beltline: Calgary remains in good hands
If there was a natural successor to retiring mayor Naheed Nenshi it would be Jyoti Gondek. Like Nenshi she is well educated (Ph.D. in urban sociology) with a thorough grasp of urban issues. Yesterday Calgarians, in their wisdom, chose her as their next mayor out of 26 aspiring candidates. Mayor-elect
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Fair deal for Calgary?
The list of plebiscites Calgarians will be asked to vote on in the October municipal election is growing. The City will ask voters once again (this is a periodic exercise) to weigh in on fluoridating the water supply, and the provincial government is asking if equalization payments should be removed
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: I’ll miss the mayor
I was surprised when Naheed Nenshi won Calgary’s mayoral race in 2010. The odds-on favourite, a well-known alderman, had been running for years and, due to his popularity with developers, had a huge war chest. However he failed to convince the public he had the right stuff to be a
Continue readingNaheed Nenshi—world’s best mayor?
Recently, Canada suffered through the pain and embarrassment of having the world’s worst mayor. Is it possible we can now rise above the humiliation with the world’s best mayor? Calgary’s mayor Naheed Nenshi has made the short list for the 2014 World Mayor Prize, awarded every two years to a
Continue readingAlberta politicos hedge on flood mitigation
After the great flood in Calgary last year, municipal and provincial governments agreed something had to be done to prevent another such catastrophe. There were, however, no shortage of sceptics. There would be bold promises initially, they said, but the commitments would wane with time, people would start to forget,
Continue readingCalgary—sprawl or planning?
During the recent Calgary election campaign, two visions of the city’s future development vied for attention. One, presented by Calgary’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi, was about planning growth to ensure a sustainable city. The other, presented by a group of home builders and their hired gun, Preston Manning of the Manning
Continue readingProgressive Alberta
Seemingly in defiance of Alberta’s reputation as a very conservative province, voters in Calgary and Edmonton both elected young, progressive mayors yesterday. Calgary elected the 41-year old Naheed Nenshi for a second term and Edmonton chose the 34-year old former city councillor Don Iveson. Nenshi supports a more compact city
Continue readingBuying Calgay’s civic election with a little help from Preston Manning
Alberta’s election funding rules are notoriously weak. Those applying to municipal elections are no exception. The essentials can easily be summarized: no spending limits, contributions limited to $5,000 a year (the candidate may contribute up to $10,000 of his own funds), and the candidate must file a disclosure statement of
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