Calgary municipal election, 2007

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The 2007 Calgary municipal election took place on 15 October, 2007. It was a joint election with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 1. There was one position open for mayor and 14 ward positions for aldermen. All but one of the incumbents ran again in this election (Barry Erskine, of Ward 11, did not seek reelection). Two incumbents will were returned by acclamation. Municipal elections were held across the province. See Alberta municipal elections, 2007.

The percent of eligible voters who voted was between 20% and 30% — putting turnout at a higher level than the previous election in 2004.

Contents

[edit] Results

Bold indicates elected, italics indicates incumbent.

[edit] Mayor

Candidate Votes %
Dave Bronconnier 128,112 61
Alnoor Kassam 35,442 17
Sandy Jenkins 16,531 8
Jeremy Zhao 8,025 4
Allan Foster 6,455 3
David Bertram 5,549 3
Elizabeth Kaur Fielding 4,010 2
Harry Heck 3,811 2
J. J. Sunstrum 1,813 1

[edit] Aldermen

[edit] Ward 1

Candidate Votes %
Dale Hodges 12,059 56
Jennifer Banks 8.579 40
Normand Perrault 869 4

[edit] Ward 2

Candidate Votes %
Gord Lowe 10,269 61
Biagio Magliocca 3,979 24
Terry Avramenko 2,242 13
Daniel M. Del Re 312 2

[edit] Ward 3

Candidate Votes %
Jim Stevenson 5.452 37
George Chahal 5.419 37
Helene Larocque 3.919 26

[edit] Ward 4

Candidate Votes %
Bob Hawkesworth 10,555 74
Richard Evans 2.632 18
Alex Peterson 1,088 8

[edit] Ward 5

Candidate Votes %
Ray Jones 7,590 80
Mohamed El-Rafih 1.945 20

[edit] Ward 6

Candidate Votes %
Joe Connelly 9.068 47
Craig Burrows 6,594 34
James Donald Istvanffy 2,732 14
James Kohut 852 4
Rosemary Berglund 205 1

[edit] Ward 7

Candidate Votes %
Druh Farrell 8.998 69
Barry Elridge 2,249 17
Merle Terlesky 1,280 10
Jag Aithal 532 4

[edit] Ward 8

Candidate Votes %
John Mar 4,014 32
Madeline King 3,847 30
Steve Chapman 3,430 27
Lindsay Luhnau 1,412 11

[edit] Ward 9

Candidate Votes %
Joe Ceci 7,213 57
Al Koenig 4,962 39
Stan Waciak 572 4

[edit] Ward 10

Candidate Votes %
Andre Chabot 8,263 89
Nargis Dossa 1,064 11

[edit] Ward 11

Candidate Votes %
Brian Pincott 6,037 34
Evonne Whelan 4,490 25
James M. Murray 3,353 19
Dave Matthews 2,241 13
Jim Rockwell 1,539 9

[edit] Ward 12

Candidate Votes %
Richard William McIver 16,700 91
Nick Halfyard 1,634 9

[edit] Ward 13

Candidate Votes %
Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart Acclaimed

[edit] Ward 14

Candidate Votes %
Linda Fox-Mellway Acclaimed

[edit] Bylaw Changes Affecting this Election

Due to illegalities in the voting for ward 10 in the 2004 municipal election, the Calgary City Council passed Bylaw 58M2006 which will require electors to produce one of the following required identifications before they can receive their ballot:[1]

  1. Canadian Driver's or Operator's Licence;
  2. Canadian Passport;
  3. Canadian Military Identification;
  4. Birth Certificate;
  5. Baptismal Certificate;
  6. Alberta Personal Health Card;
  7. Alberta Identification Card;
  8. Certificate of Canadian Citizenship;
  9. Veteran Affairs Canada;
  10. Old Age Security (OAS) Card;
  11. Firearms Licence Possession - Acquisition; or
  12. Firearms - Possession Only Licence

[edit] Nominations

Nomination day was held on 17 September, 2007, between 9:00am and 12:00pm, in the Council Chamber of the municipal building. In accordance to Bylaw 31M2007 and Bylaw 30M2007, a minimum of 100 electors must nominate the mayoral candidate and a $500 deposit is required on nomination day. For alderman and school board candidates, a $100 deposit is required, and 100 electors (25 electors for school board) must nominate the candidate. In the case of aldermen, the 100 electors must reside in the ward in which the candidate is running. For school board nominees, the electors must be members of the appropriate school district.

[edit] Key Issues

Some of the prominent issues receiving public attention include the following (listed in alphabetical order):[2]

[edit] Crime

Recent high-profile violent crimes in Calgary have generated public concern for safety in the city.[3]

[edit] Environment

Calgary has the highest per capita ecological footprint amongst Canada's larger cities. The City has concentrated past efforts on increasing community water conservation and reducing its corporate GHG emissions. Community goals to reduce the community’s ecological footprint were identified through the Imagine Calgary process. These are intended to form the basis for comprehensive community-based initiatives to reduce the per capita ecological footprint.[4]

[edit] Housing

There is an ongoing shortage of housing in the city. That, combined with what is among the highest rates of growth in housing costs in Canada, has made housing a significant issue for the public.

[edit] Infrastructure

A week before the election, the provincial government agreed to provide $3.3 billion for infrastructure in Calgary over the next 10 years. It will be up to city council to allocate those funds.

[edit] Transportation

  • Disruption of roads, paths and sidewalks due to construction.
  • Public transit infrastructure.[3]
  • Increasing motor-vehicle congestion.[5]

[edit] Voter participation

Voter turnout in the previous Calgary municipal election was 19.8%, while in the 2001 municipal elections it was 38%.[6][7][8]

[edit] Candidates

Formal nomination occurred on September 17, 2007. The official list of candidates was released on 18 September.[9] Incumbent candidates are shown below with their names italicized.

[edit] Mayor

  • Dave Bronconnier is the current Mayor of Calgary. He was first elected as Mayor in 2001 and is looking to be re-elected for a third term. Prior to his election as Mayor, Bronconnier was the Alderman for Ward 6 for three terms (1992 to 2001).[10] (Dave Bronconnier campaign website)

Three candidates whose intentions were the subject of prior speculation — Barry Eldridge, Oscar Fech, and Doug Service — did not file nomination papers for the position of mayor for this election.

[edit] Ward 1

  • Dale Hodges was first elected to city council in 1983, and is currently in his eighth term as alderman. He has lived in Calgary Northwest for over 30 years, and his wife Yvonne is a retired principal.[17] (Dale Hodges campaign website)
  • Normand Perrault is a 57 year old retired general contractor.[16]

One candidate whose intentions were the subject of prior speculation, Carol Neuman, did not file nomination papers for this election.

[edit] Ward 2

  • Daniel M. Del Re is a 44 year old machine operator.[16]
  • Gord Lowe was first elected as alderman in October 2001. He served the Province of Alberta as a member of the Alberta Law Enforcement Review Board and as a member of the Social Care Facilities Review Committee.[19] (Gord Lowe campaign website)

One candidate whose intentions were the subject of prior speculation, Michael Jeffrey, did not file nomination papers for this election.

[edit] Ward 3

  • Helene Larocque was elected to her first term as Alderman in October 2004. She served as Planning and Development Director and President of the Martindale Community Association, and was elected as president of the Federation of Calgary Communities.[20] (Helene Larocque campaign website)

[edit] Ward 4

  • Alex Peterson is a 20 year old student attending SAIT.[16]

[edit] Ward 5

  • Mohamed El-Rafih is a recent graduate from the University of Calgary's Political Science Department. A lifelong resident of Rundle, El-Rafih has taken an active role in reducing youth crime in Calgary's North East Communities. [16] (Mohamed El-Rafih campaign website)
  • Ray Jones is serving as an alderman for ward 5 for the fifth time. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Governor General’s of Canada Award in 1993.[22]

[edit] Ward 6

  • Rosemary Berglund, while missing the withdrawal deadline by a reported 5 minutes, has announced that she is yielding in the campaign in an effort to avoid splitting the vote amongst the candidates opposing Craig Burrows.[23] (Rosemary Berglund campaign website)

[edit] Ward 7

  • Barry Eldridge is a 49 year old self-employed tradesman.[16]
  • Druh Farrell was first elected as alderman in October 2001. She founded and chaired the Inner City coalition and managed the Kensington Business Revitalization Zone. She also owned a clothing manufacturing and exporting company. [27] (Druh Farrell campaign website)

[edit] Ward 8

  • Madeleine King was first elected as aldermen in October 2001. She moved from England in 1981 and re-qualified as an Alberta lawyer. She was appointed by the Government of Canada to the Board of Directors of the Calgary Airport Authority, chairing the body’s Governance and Compensation Committee. [30] (Madeleine King campaign website)
  • John Mar is the current president of the Scarboro community association. He is also a business owner and a former RCMP officer.[32] (John Mar campaign website)

[edit] Ward 9

  • Al Koenig has been a City of Calgary police sergeant for 27 years, and is in his third term as President of the Calgary Police Association.[34] (Al Koenig campaign website)
  • Stan Waciak is 52 years old and self-employed in the construction industry.[16]

[edit] Ward 10

[edit] Ward 11

  • Dave Matthews is a 73 year old retiree.[16]
  • James M. "Jim" Murray lives in Ward 11 and is a 57 year old lawyer who was General Counsel at TransCanada PipeLines and chair of two Calgary City Council Committees.[16] (James M. "Jim" Murray campaign website)

Barry Erksine has announced he will not run for re-election.[37][38]

[edit] Ward 12

  • Richard William "Ric" McIver was first elected as alderman in October 2001. He previously owned two companies in Calgary. [39] (Ric McIver campaign website)

[edit] Ward 13

[edit] Ward 14

[edit] Controversies

  • Campaign finance.[41]

[edit] Regarding specific candidates

  • Sandy Jenkins was forceably ejected from the University of Calgary MacEwan Hall Ballroom by security during a Weakerthans concert which he sneaked in after not having paid for a ticket.[42]
  • Dave Bronconnier’s fundraising has raised concerns about the impact of funding on the campaign.[43]
  • Craig Burrows (incumbent, Ward 6) had to return $12,000 received from the city to cover the costs of a University of Calgary business management course he took.[44]
  • Alnoor Kassam (mayoral candidate) was connected to a banking scandal in Kenya, including admitted acts of bribery, prior to moving to Canada. He has denied some of the accusations, and claimed others to be part of the political culture of that nation. Kassam insists he didn't take a penny (when he left Kenya), noting that a Canadian immigration tribunal ruled in his favour. Kassam has received negative attention for increasing rents significantly in an apartment building he owns in the Mount Royal community.[45][46]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ 2007 Calgary General Election. City of Calgary.
  2. ^ Kim Guttormson; Colette Derworiz. "Mayor faces eight challengers", Calgary Herald, 2007-09-18. 
  3. ^ a b Shawn Logan; Pablo Fernandez. "Traffic, city crime hot topics", Calgary Sun, 2007-09-18. 
  4. ^ Reducing Calgary's Ecological Footprint. City of Calgary.
  5. ^ Global Calgary: Road politics. Global Calgary.
  6. ^ Canada West Foundation (October 2004). Alberta Municipal Elections. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
  7. ^ Robert Remington. "Young Jeremy tackles apathy", Calgary Herald, 2007-09-18. 
  8. ^ Doug Firby (2007-09-11). Lousy voter turnout? Toss out the results. Calgary Herald.
  9. ^ Official List of Candidates – 2007 Civic Election. City of Calgary (2007-09-18).
  10. ^ About Dave Bronconnier. City of Calgary.
  11. ^ Municipal Records, City of Calgary, 2004 
  12. ^ Bungalow Boys Contact
  13. ^ Derworiz, Colette. "Oilpatch engineer tosses hat into mayoral race", Calgary Herald. 
  14. ^ Derworiz, Colette. "Mayor faces race for office", Calgary Herald, 2007-05-30, pp. B7. 
  15. ^ "Jeremy Zhao on CHQR" (MP3), CHQR 770 News, 2007-06-04. 
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Calgary’s field of aldermanic hopefuls", Calgary Sun, September 17, 2007. 
  17. ^ Biography of Dale Hodges. City of Calgary.
  18. ^ Kim Guttormson; Colette Derworiz. "As council breaks, battle lines are drawn", Calgary Herald, 2007-07-23. 
  19. ^ Biography of Alderman Gord Lowe. City of Calgary.
  20. ^ Biography of Helene Larocque. City of Calgary.
  21. ^ "Businessman tosses hat into Ward 3 race", Calgary Herald, 2007-07-04, pp. B2. 
  22. ^ Biography of Alderman Ray Jones. City of Calgary.
  23. ^ Colette Derworiz. "Ward 6 candidate pulling out", Calgary Herald, 2007-09-19. 
  24. ^ Biography of Alderman Craig Burrows. City of Calgary.
  25. ^ Screen Giant Media Company Website - Contact Us. Screen Giant Media.
  26. ^ Tourism Calgary 2006 Annual Report. Tourism Calgary.
  27. ^ Biography of Alderman Druh Farrell. City of Calgary.
  28. ^ National Advisory Group. Progressive Group for Independent Business.
  29. ^ Official 2004 Election Results. City of Calgary.
  30. ^ Biography of Alderman Madeleine King. City of Calgary.
  31. ^ Who We Are. Clean Calgary Association.
  32. ^ "Candidate Steps Forward To Challenge King In Ward 8", 770 CHQR. 
  33. ^ Biography of Alderman Joe Ceci. City of Calgary.
  34. ^ Shawn Logan (2007-09-11). CPA prez throws his hat into the ring. Calgary Sun. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
  35. ^ "Aftergood jailed, fined in voting scandal", CBC News, 2007-05-04. 
  36. ^ "Environmentalist Wants to Be a Calgary Alderman", 770 CHQR. 
  37. ^ "Alderman Announces He Won’t Run In October Election", 770 CHQR. 
  38. ^ "Erskine making surprise departure", Calgary Herald. 
  39. ^ Biography of Alderman Ric McIver. City of Calgary.
  40. ^ a b "Two Alderman (sic) Acclaimed", 770 CHQR, 2007-09-17. 
  41. ^ "Aldermanic Candidate Calls For Tighter Campaign Financing Rules", AM770 CHQR, 2007-09-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. 
  42. ^ "Jenkins weak for the Weakerthans - Mayoral candidate gets kicked out of concert", Gauntlet News, 2007-10-11. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  43. ^ Derworiz, Colette. "Mayor’s war chest scares off rivals", Calgary Herald, 2007-07-02, pp. B1. 
  44. ^ "Alderman told to repay city for business course", CBC News, 2007-02-16. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. 
  45. ^ Don Braid. "Challenger takes on Bronconnier dollar for dollar in this campaign", Calgary Herald, 2007-09-18. 
  46. ^ Guttormson, Kim & Derworiz, Colette (2007-09-08), “Who is Alnoor Kassam?”, Calgary Herald, <http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=3e475b2b-d19a-49c2-b97e-db6e9836d9ab> 

[edit] External links