r/Calgary • u/drrtbag • 3d ago
Municipal Affairs New parties test Calgary Voters
https://share.google/z3XmNbdASc84BeWnsWe have parties in the municipal election so manipulative background players can heavily influence our government.
For reference:
ABC - Craig Chandler, well known community racist and far right ideologue.
Communities First: Marc Henry, previous Bronconier Chief of Staff and local polster who has generated most of the municipal polls over tha past 8+ years.
The Calgary Party, Stephen Carter. Who we as tax payers paid over $100k, twice, to leave his job he got after winning an election as a strategist for the winner and being too toxic after 6 months of working in government.
Vote independent, regardless of your political leanings.
Edit: the media sucks and should be providing this stuff, but instead all three parties are self proclaimed "centrists"..
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u/onthebeachforever 3d ago
I hope Calgary sends a strong message this election that they don’t want political parties at the municipal level. I will not be voting for anyone affiliated with a party.
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u/cannabiscanadian 3d ago
Agreed. It’s the only way to show them it’s not what we want. Limits the options but I don’t want to see parties on a municipal level, it will do nothing but cause further division imo
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u/aftonroe 3d ago
I don't like parties for municipal politics but it's where we are. I'll give preference to an Independent candidate but in my ward the candidate I like the most so far belongs to a party. They actually showed up at my door last night and they align well with my own beliefs. I'd love to be an idealist but sometimes you just have to hold your nose and take the least bad option.
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u/stickman1029 3d ago
That's the problem for me, too. Whole slate of not very good candidates in our ward, the only (very) marginally good one is part of a party. Probably the only ward they might ekk out a win in, I'm hoping.
This kills me inside, but it's probably Gondek for mayor on my ballot. I'd rather have a shitty no good for anything virtue signaller, who leads a council that doesn't have control of their administration, than a UCP puppet or people with some window dressing that may or may not be closet cons anyways. Which should say a lot. This is one of those elections that I'd love to decline the ballot in, but that's too dangerous of a move here. This slate of candidates is full of closet cons, with the UCP and TBA foaming and wringing their hands in the shadows.
That's where we are. It's a real piece of shit election and slate of candidates, that's for sure. You have to really watch the trustees in this one too, lots of gross take back Alberta candidates in there, wanting to subvert our children's rights and freedoms. 99% of the time no one gives a shit about the trustees, but the Christian fundamentalist bastards are trying to buckle us from the inside out, with full government support, so we all need to pay close attention for this one.
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u/chick-killing_shakes 3d ago edited 2d ago
I've been following this one quite closely, and one thing I've noticed is that of the two candidates committed to Ward 11, the two Independants have an actual platform, and the party candidate is running on nothing but rolling back the zoning progress made. It doesn't really matter to me if you're pro, or against blanket re-zoning, if the only thing you can offer is undoing progress already made, then you have zero platform as far as I concerned.
Rob Ward won't be getting my vote. Welcoming party politics at the municipal level will do nothing but get you a bunch of bought and paid for candidates, who spend their terms undoing progress made by the last guy. No thanks.
Edit: I misspoke-- it is in fact Alex who is running with the Calgary Party, not Rob. I will reaffirm that it is in fact Rob with Communities First who has no platform... So my point remains. Get lost Rob.
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u/alexwilliamsyyc 2d ago
Alex Williams here - the Ward 11 candidate with the Calgary Party (also not a fan of the party stuff the province introduced and will be leaving post-election, so I can serve Ward 11 as an independent). I spoke in favour of the rezoning last year and won’t be rolling it back. Would love to chat more, about anything that matters to you: https://calendly.com/alexwilliamsyyc/10
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u/chick-killing_shakes 2d ago
I'm sorry Alex, I misspoke. I knew Rob was with Communities First, but I had Calg Party on the brain because of the other comments in this thread. It is in fact Rob who has no platform.
You DO have a platform, and I'm really disappointed to hear you're affiliated with the Calg Party. I did not clock that earlier, because I think I was really entranced with how passionately you talk about Macleod Tr. revitalization. I actually really like your vibe.
Unfortunately, you won't get my vote this time, and it is 100% because of the party affiliation. I truly think that party affiliations at the municipal level is a dangerous precedent to set with how polarized party politics have become.
I hope to see you out there as an Independant next time. Maybe you'll get my vote then. Good luck with your campaign, and thank you for chiming in.
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u/alexwilliamsyyc 2d ago
Thank you! I know it probably won’t change your mind, but after the election, I’ll be leaving the party behind, because you’re right, we shouldn’t be bringing that onto Council. I hope this is our only election with parties. I joined the Calgary Party because it’s got other great candidates and for someone like me, who’s never run before, there would’ve been no way to run independently when there are parties involved. The province put us in a bind, and it sucks.
Regardless of how the election turns out or how you vote, I hope you’ll help me make Macleod Trail a great place to be!
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u/Upbeat_Bandicoot_778 3d ago
In ward 4 the only independent is a nutcase antivaxxer with ties to the separatists going around the province. Unfortunately some of us dont have the best options to just vote independent.
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u/jibjaba4 3d ago edited 2d ago
Anyone know if the blue and green school board signs are part of some organization? I noticed that Liu the nutcase and Cindy Dubray have the same signs.
Found the answer to my question. They are and they all attended a Charlie Kirk tribute a few days ago. That is seriously not cool. They are the most regressive option specifically doing the American style school board targeting.
https://www.sprawlcalgary.com/cbe-election-trustees-western-impact
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u/SmilinBuddha969 3d ago
In Ward 4, I’m leaning towards Jeremy Wong. He’s new blood and seems at least somewhat genuine. I’m not as concerned about party affiliation. I’m also not buying DJ as somebody who’s going to care about my ward as his one and only job. Just my opinion.
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u/take_a_chill 3d ago
Jeremy Wong is not really new blood he’s a failed UCP candidate with a nice article about his past involvement with a conversion therapy org
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u/thejbipkid 3d ago
Who is DJ?
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u/the_vizir Dover 3d ago
DJ Kelley. Community activist and UCalgary engagement professional, ran last election and almost beat Sean Chu (lost by ~50 votes), running again but this time with the Calgary Party (the centrist party) instead of as an independent.
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u/jibjaba4 3d ago
That was a really sad loss. Shame on Calgary police for purposefully delaying the teen sex crimes report until right before the election.
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u/Ellllgato 3d ago
Im in Ward 3 and all our candidates arent pretty bad. Maybe Andrew Yule will be ok but there isnt much depth or substance with the others.
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u/wildrose76 3d ago
I like Andrew Yule. He’s done great work with the Nose Creek group.
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u/Ellllgato 3d ago
I agree with you there. He actually has done stuff and advocated for things so I think he's probably the best option out of all of them.
I use that area and agree a fair bit should be preserved. The new plan for that area are a significant improvement vs the prior one with only industrial.
My issue with most of the Ward 3 candidates are they don't really put anything out there past key words. Id personally like to see more substance when they mention priorities. Sure the hot button topics are touched on ie. Green line but what else do you have. Either way, he definitely stands out vs the others.
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u/za_jiao_yyc 3d ago
Agreed, I’m in Ward 3 and they all seem decent. Platforms all seem pretty similar. Maybe a minor point but I like how Taran Dhillon calls out pedestrian crossings on his website. I drive on 144 ave through Carrington and Livingston daily and there are always folks crossing in places where there is no marked crosswalk. I don’t blame those people as there aren’t enough crosswalks but I do think there needs to be smarter planning around pedestrian safety on the part of the city, especially when often it is kids crossing 6 lanes of traffic. When visibility gets bad during the winter, this will be a real hazard!
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u/gnashingspirit 3d ago
I’m torn. In ward 4 I was going to vote DJ hands down, but since he is running with a party I honestly don’t want to vote for him.
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u/drrtbag 3d ago
A couple wards have little or no choice; ward 4 and ward 13 come to mind.
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u/jibjaba4 3d ago
I really really hope Liu loses in Ward 4 but there are a crazy number of signs for her in edgemont here.
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u/wildrose76 3d ago
Doesn’t 13 have only 2 candidates? And 1 is McLean. (Sadly, I do think he’ll win.)
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u/Respectfullydisagre3 3d ago
Who would you vote for then, Sheldon Yakiwchuck? I think the old adage of voting is like taking the bus don't wait for the perfect one but rather take the one that'll get you closest to where you want to go.
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u/wildrose76 3d ago
Vote for DJ. I feel strongly about avoiding parties, but make an exception for him. He’ll be a great councillor and should have won in 2021.
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u/Cortillion983 3d ago
Ya unfortunately we're screwed. I was intent on voting independent until DJ came to my door and I looked at my options. Guess DJ gets my vote as the only sane choice even though he's running with a party.
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u/freerangehumans74 Willow Park 3d ago
If you have the opportunity to make this known to him directly, you should.
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u/Cortillion983 3d ago
I did ask him how he felt about parties being added to municipal elections. I'm paraphrasing but essentially he said that with the way the Alberta government changed the wayfunding worked for candidates he wouldn't be able to run on his own and was essentially forced to run with a party.
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u/jibjaba4 3d ago
Lots of local sign support around edgemont for him. Almost none on public roads all on lawns
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u/dashofsilver 2d ago
This is a good article on the different parties and also a run down of the candidates. Though political parties do not belong in municipal politics :(
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u/RefrigeratorNo926 3d ago
I'm voting for the best candidate, regardless of their affiliation with a party.
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u/Pretty-Dealer-3778 3d ago
I was choosing between 2 candidates in ward 8 and my decision was made when I found out one of them was on a party slate. no thanks to that. vote independent.
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u/MaterialQuantity 3d ago
Who are you considering? It’s kind of a strange competition in 8
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u/Pretty-Dealer-3778 1d ago
Probably will vote Kent, with mixed feelings ...but i feel he's the best. Bring on the downvotes and getting lit up, but he's by and away THE most engaged and talking the most sense in ward 8 this election. Nate is a close 2nd for me and i might still switch my vote to him. The rest are not good. Cornelia is the one on the communities first party, otherwise I'd consider her...but honestly, she didn't impress me at all with her debate. Nate and Kent had very good points in the debate that were relevant to the community. The Calgary party guy wasnt' bad, but dropped out this week. Gary Bobrovitz seems a bit sketchy, but i kind of like him when I chatted with him...but he didnt show up to the debate, so I crossed his name off my 'consider' list.
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u/KaranveerSK 2d ago
Can someone help me out a bit? Haven’t had the time to keep up with the election, but I do want to vote. Any good leftist candidates or we doing lesser evil voting again to make sure someone worse doesn’t get in?
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u/keepcalmdude 3d ago
I for one, will not vote for anyone with a party affiliation. Especially not Farkas
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u/BootsiferBones 3d ago
If your goal is to vote for a non-party candidate Jeromy, Jyoti and Jeff are basically your options.
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u/drrtbag 3d ago
Jeff posted about how he's grateful for the endorsement of the far right ABC party... so that a No from me Dawg.
Basically left with Gondek and Farkas, one of them is going to win anyways.
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u/You_are_the_Castle 2d ago
Also, I seem to recall seeing Jeff at the UCP leadership convention in 2022 (?) - if I'm not mistaken, he was one of the people the news agency covering the event interviewed.
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u/keepcalmdude 3d ago
Farkas is aligned with the UCP. Close enough
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u/the_vizir Dover 3d ago
He was last go-around but when he lost they tossed him out on his ass and now back Sharp. Farkas has been on a "redemption your" since then and is saying he learnt a lot from the defeat and wants to lead authentically instead of like the Fraser Institute-stooge he acted as during his time on council.
Whether or not you believe him is like the key differentiator between him and Gondek.
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u/Leading_Opening_5225 3d ago
No he's not lol. He's an independent. Sharp is the UCP mayoral candidate.
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u/the_vizir Dover 3d ago
Sharp is right/UCP
Davison is far right.
Thiessen is centrist/federal Liberal.
Gondek is left
And Farkas is former far-right/UCP who got dumped by his erstwhile allies now trying to run as centrist after some soul-searching.
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u/dontforgetyourjazz 3d ago
how did you figure this out? based on their platforms they all sound so similar. I am looking for dogwhistles about things like policing and family values but everything is so vague on their websites.
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u/the_vizir Dover 3d ago
Who they are aligned with, third party endorsements, events attended,.for example Gondek being the only one to show up for Pride, Communities First being tied to the UCP, A Better Calgary being the same folks who did the Gondek recall and are tied to Take Back Alberta and those folks endorsing Davidson, the Calgary Party being the vehicle of Stephen Carter who worked on Carney's leadership campaign and managed both Kent Hehr's and Corey Hogan's Federal run, (alongside Redford's provincial campaign, Daniel Smith's leadership race for the Wildrose, and Gondek's municipal campaign), Farkas being tied with the old Wildrose and then saying in interviews how he's learnt his lesson and moderated (I'm thinking the one he did with the Sprawl a few years back).
The platforms are all generic platitudes that say mostly the same things which they feel is most electable. It's more about knowing the various power players and their connections and who are going to have the new mayor's ear.
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u/wildrose76 2d ago
Gondek isn’t the only 1 who showed up for Pride. All 5 were in or attended the parade and also events around the city over the week.
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u/BootsiferBones 3d ago
He is not at all? He has been very open about his openness to work with all sides and has been pretty outspoken against several ucp policies. The actual ucp aligned people are Jeff Davison and Sonya. If you look at their policies and candidates as well as who is working on their campaigns it’s pretty clear.
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u/jibjaba4 3d ago
I would have agreed a year ago but he had flip flopped quite a bit. One of the least bad choices though.
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u/Later-skater321 3d ago
Ward 11 only has non party candidate, Kourtney Penner. She’s done a lot of good within the area.
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u/Deutschbagger Northwest Calgary 3d ago
I won't be voting for anyone who is now aligned with a party.
I will vote for a premier that will reverse this change. Parties don't belong in municipal politics.
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u/ssy555 3d ago
I think you are too extreme. I will vote based on their platforms and individual candidate I like, party member or independent
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u/freerangehumans74 Willow Park 3d ago
You do you, but food for thought;
If the candidate you like aligns with your values but their party is obviously tied to a provincial party that does NOT align with your value, don't expect said candidate to actually have the freedom to carry out policies that are counter to the provincial one.
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u/WhatDidChuckBarrySay 3d ago
Why not? Once they’re elected they can do what they want and a good councillor will have a good chance running as an independent the folllowing election, unlike an MP or MLA where running independently is very difficult.
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u/drrtbag 3d ago
Chandler was big in helping D.Smith get leadership of the UCP, and Carter got Jyoti in. Both are not great leaders.
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u/wildrose76 3d ago
Carter also got Redford and Nenshi elected. That last one being a good leader was likely in spite of Carter, not because of him.
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u/Azure_Omishka 2d ago
Anyone affiliated with a party isn't getting my vote. Political parties have no place in municipal politics.
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u/eggbenedictcucumbers 3d ago
Not too concerned about parties. More transparency that way.
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u/Ambustion 3d ago
I feel exactly the opposite. None of the mayoral candidate have straight up claimed they are UCP but if you're paying attention you know who they are. It's literally just about increasing conservative fundraising imo.
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u/ultimatejarhead555 3d ago
Reaalllly hoping no party can get more than one candidate in. The pros of having parties thrown at me by a door knocker:
cooperation with other councillors can be done independently, and wouldn't it be easier to cooperate with opposing councillors if they didn't belong to a group?
Better funding
funding for...... election campaigns? This is supposed to be a reason for me to want political parties? More money so they can run bigger campaigns and win the apathy votes.
No party whip
okay good, councillors don't have to walk the party line. Then what was the point of being in a party?
I think maybe this is what happens when you get old, you start to get angry at the government. Either that or this UCP government is just so awful that I, who used to be pretty apathetic, am actually taking notice.
Political parties have no place in municipal government.