We’ve got a mayor and council ready to create new LRT lines in Edmonton. We’re looking at some of the largest transit expansions in our history, and there are calls for more bicycle lanes. Clearly, we need to hear from a mayor that helped get us our LRT line and one that loves private automobiles.

In this forum:

Mayor Ivor Dent – The Commonwealth Games and our LRT system can be linked back to Dent

Mayor Matthew (Mat) “Warden” McCauley – Edmonton’s first mayor

Mayor William Short – One of the City of Edmonton’s first mayors, and one of the first people in Edmonton to ever own a car

After the jump you’ll find out what they think, and it should provide great debate since we’ve got one of the first car-owners and a mayor who helped bring us LRT.

Now in your iTunes!

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Brought to life by Brittney Le Blanc, Scott C. Bourgeois, Randy Brososky, and Kris Loranger. With some help from Jeff Samsonow.

YouTube is certainly a staple of a couple of campaigns. And with forums being streamed live, and school board trustee candidates substituting short videos for their forums, web video is where it’s at.

The video in this post is one of many interVivos Alberta has posted on its YouTube account.

I live in Ward 11. With no incumbent, Ward 11 is crowded like Palace Buffet after church lets out.

For what seems to be a hotly contested seat, no one has been banging down my door to win me over. Which is a shame, because if you pay attention to my Twitter conversations you would know my vote counts more than other votes. That’s just science.

This woeful state of affairs forced me to do my own research, scoping out some candidate websites and asking my laptop screen the tough questions. Since the candidate photos were curiously unable to speak, I’ve had to make up their responses myself.

So I present to you the candidates, if their websites could talk:

Contender #1: Shane Bergdahl

In his campaign photo, Shane stares into the middle distance like a cheetah poised to attack. His usage of bold Times New Roman is at once playful and reminiscent of a school newsletter written by mean nuns. I can tell at once he has many dimensions.

Jill: So, Mr. Bergdahl, what would you say your top three issues are in this election?

S.B.: Well Jill, I will give you FOUR. Number one, transit. No brainer, people like LRT. DONE. Number two, seniors. We are mission critical on knitting classes right now. DONE. Number three, schools. Stop closin’ ‘em. DONE. Number four, community policing. That’s just sense. DONE.

Jill: I appreciate your enthusiasm. Anything else to add?

S.B.: Do you want to hear my four key issues again?

Jill: ….Not really, no.

S.B.: DONE.

Contender #2: Kerry Diotte

Kerry makes intense eye contact with me as I load his site. Presumably this is the same icy stare cast on politicians to get to the bottom of those tough stories. Stare too long and you may be mesmerized.

K.D.: Excellent, glad to be here, I’m a watchdog. Always watching, until I blow my whistle. Then I’m the whistleblower. But then I cut through red tape; I’m a tape-cutting machine.

Jill: You mean scissors?

K.D.: Will you vote on election day, Monday October 18?

Jill: Um, yes.

K.D.: That is good, my poll indicates that 80.8% of respondents agree. As a veteran journalist, I am really good at polls.

Jill: Mr. Diotte, where do you stand on the City Centre Airport closure?

K.D.: Well, when I went door-knocking people were angry. When you’re a longtime reporter like me, you know something about getting angry. I even wrote some columns about being angry, you may remember. In the Sun. So I think we should have a vote. Every vote counts, especially when you’re a hardworking columnist like I am.

Jill: Wait, what?

Contender #3: Vishal Luthra

Fashion show! Vishal’s dashing campaign photo features him in several handsome outfits, including police officer, farmer and guy-holding-a-bag ensembles. The last in this series (Did I mention this pictures are coming closer to the screen with every costume change? SWOON.) features Vishal wearing a dark suit and shiny white tie.

Jill: Hello Mr. Luthra, how are you?

V.L.: Link. Video photos SLIDESHOW buttons buttons linkity link.

Jill: Oh holy shit. That’s a lot you have going on there.

V.L.: Follow me on TWITTER, YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK! Listen to my radio ad!

Jill: I’m dizzy. Is that a button for pet photos? What’s your platform?

V.L.: It’s something about housing and transparent government. Also, I will solve the homeless. Submit your pet photos!

Jill: (no response, unconscious)

Contender #4: Roberto Magalang

Roberto doesn’t have a website, so I imagine him as a giant, walking question mark. Sorry, Roberto.

Contender #5: Chinwe Okelu

Imagine your grandpa. Now multiply your grandpa by six times the root of awesome. Now you have Chinwe Okelu. His website is a soothing bath of happiness after a sound eye-stabbing from Vishal Luthra.

Jill: Mr. Okelu, what do you stand for?

C.O.: Besides happiness and light? I am in favour of more thorough public consultation, a stand-alone public library for Mill Woods, lower property taxes and residential infill, to name a few.

Jill: Your smile is dazzling. Also, you are super-involved in the community.

C.O.: Both of these things are true. Vote for me. You cannot resist the siren call of my glorious teeth.

And finally, Contender #6: Brent Schaffrick

As I enter, the website is dark and shadowy. But there’s a glint in the darkness – is that a bald head? Yes, it’s Brent Schaffrick, hiding in the shadows of his campaign photo. Happy Halloween, kids!

Jill: Mr. Schaffrick, if you could pick only three emotions to experience for the rest of your life, what would they be?

B.S.: Displeased, upset and disagreeing.

Jill: Disagreeing isn’t really an emotion.

B.S.: I am upset with your decision not to define disagreeing as an emotion. I disagree.

Jill: So, what things do you actually like?

B.S.: I like True Democracy, the Wisdom of Crowds, Cameras, and Random Capitalization. I also like metaphors – the airport situation is just like Who Wants to be a Millionaire!

Jill: Yeah, we’re done here.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you’re running for public office you should probably have a decent website. Also, vote for Chinwe Okelu, because his smile is like rainbows.

From garbage collection to policing, recreation to power generation, the City of Edmonton provides a lot to its residents. Our city’s former mayors sure have some thoughts on what could be done better. And what they’d rather just take care of without you sticking your nose into it.

In this forum:

Mayor Matthew (Mat) “Warden” McCauley – Edmonton’s first mayor

Mayor William J. McNamara – First mayor to defeat a sitting incumbent, in the city’s closest race (still the closest race to date)

Mayor William “Wild Bill” Hawrelak – 3 time mayor, twice had to leave office because of land deals, eventually died in office

Brought to life by Brittney Le Blanc, Scott C. Bourgeois, Diego Ibarra, J. Nelson Niwa, a an actual ghost. With some help from Jeff Samsonow.

People be talking about politics, am I right?! And they be doing it a lot.

I cannot tell a lie* – politics bores me to tears. I get that this makes me a lout, but a few years of technical school and community college aside, I’m completely uneducated. I know that I SHOULD care about the mayor, city council, school boards, etc. And I try to care.

But as soon as I endeavour to catch up on current affairs in the news, I quickly discover that there is this huge gap between what everyone else seems to THINK is “common knowledge” and what this commoner actually knows.

Which led me to wonder, “What would it take to get me to get interested?”

I have come to the conclusion, my little monkeys, that it would take someone explaining municipal politics to me as though I were a child, using the only framework I have to operate within:  a monosyllabic vocabulary and a lot of pop culture references.

So I give you my two-part video series on Edmonton’s new-for-2010 12-Ward System. I hope you enjoy it.

Part 2: When? Why? can be found over here, on something the kids call YouTube.

*totally a lie

The debate could get heated. It might even spark a new run for the mayor’s office.

In this forum:

Mayor Joseph Clarke – Fightin’ Joe. Mayor, councillor, constant candidate, brawler.

Mayor David Duggan – Pro-business and pro-radio. Also Alberta Conservative leader.

Mayor Matthew (Mat) “Warden” McCauley – Edmonton’s first mayor

Consider this a historical satire by actors who did very little research.

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Further reading (and proof we didn’t make everything up):

More McCauley (and schools).

Neighbourhoods of Duggan (not the same Duggan) and McCauley, and Joe Clarke Athletic Field

Panama

Mayor William J. McNamara and fighting with Joe Clarke

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Brought to life by Brittney Le Blanc, Scott C. Bourgeois, Peter Daly, Diego Ibarra, and J Nelson Niwa. With some help from Jeff Samsonow.

So what if they’re dead? Doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions. Edmonton’s mayors are back from beyond and they have something to say about this city’s future.

In this forum:

Mayor Matthew (Mat) “Warden” McCauley – Edmonton’s first mayor

Mayor William Thomas Henry – The dean of Edmonton’s furniture trade

Mayor William “Wild Bill” Hawrelak – 3 time mayor, twice had to leave office because of land deals, eventually died in office

Consider this a historical satire by actors who did very little research.

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Mayor Fred Mitchell

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Brought to life by Brittney Le Blanc, Scott C. Bourgeois, Jeff Samsonow, and an actual ghost.

By Gregory Bell

I put on my civic engagement touque and headed out to the Ward 6 candidates forum. Before Tuesday, I think the last time I did anything even remotely related to local politics was to nervously ask a question at a public consultation in St. Albert, discussing a curfew for teenagers. So I was excited to be doing something a little more politically conscious in my community.

I’ve been following the City Centre Airport controversy quite closely and I hope to put as much effort into watching the real campaign.

DemoCamp was the same night and I skipped it to go to this, so I was hoping for a good show. I wasn’t disappointed. There was some crazy, some boring moments, some theatrics, and some decent information. I’ve picked a candidate based on their performance for the evening so now all they have to do is not screw up before the 18th and they’ve got my vote.

I’m going to steal a good idea from Vue Weekly’s David Berry and list the candidates from least likely to get my vote to most.

But before I get to that I have to explain the huge surprise I received talking to Envision Edmonton-backed mayoral candidate David Dorward. He approached my friend and I before the forum started and launched into his spiel. When he asked for my opinion I was blunt with him saying that I wasn’t going to vote for him because he wanted to keep the airport open. He shocked me by saying that if elected mayor he would would be forced to close the airport because “there aren’t enough votes on council.” He claimed that he would be known as “the mayor who closed the airport.”

I have a seriously difficult time believing he’s sincere since he’s endorsed by Envision Edmonton and Cal Nichols has said he wants to raise $500,000 to get him elected. So either he flat out lied to me or Envision Edmonton is going to be sorely disappointed if he becomes mayor.

If that’s not enough to jade you against all politicians here’s my review of the Ward 6 candidates.

Carla Frost

Last night’s little dose of crazy. She’s very passionate about her issues, but communicating what those issues are was not really working out for her. She rambled way off topic at every opportunity. Frost does seem engaged in the community, repeatedly mentioning that she had talked to 700 people just this week. She certainly brought a different view to the forum, raising lots of inner city issues, but this is not someone I could trust to run my city.

Thomas Robert

I had to go back to my notes to remember what my impression of this guy was, probably a bad sign. He’s not someone I would want representing me on council, because I don’t think he’d get a word in edgewise. He was a little under-prepared, for example claiming the cleanup of the ECCA lands would cost billions of dollars, when the report released a few weeks ago stated that the contamination at the site was minimal. He was also very disappointed with council for not cleaning up the north side house explosion. He stated he didn’t want to be a one issue candidate, but spent the first three minutes of his allotted six minute opening remarks talking about how he wanted the airport kept open.

Adil Parbhai

I feel bad for Parbhai, he’s clearly a policy wonk and is deeply interested in council, but he’s a terrible public speaker and really difficult to take seriously. He has a habit of saying “like” more than any teenager I’ve ever met. Obviously this shouldn’t disqualify him from getting a seat, but I would feel sorry for the other councilors who would have to sit through his speeches. He was the most aggressive of any of the candidates, calling out incumbent Jane Batty on a number of occasions. I don’t get the impression he’d be a consensus building voice on council.

James Johnson

The most openly pro-ECCA candidate at the event. He’s well coached and has the makings of a decent politician (I use that word in the derogatory sense). He hit the usual “taxes bad, voting good” talking points and got some applause for it, but I don’t feel that there’s a lot of thought behind his platform. He suggested that there be more plebiscites in the city for things like large capital expenditures and tax increases. Obviously he hasn’t been paying attention to how poorly this has worked out for California.

Jane Batty

As the incumbent her political experience shone through tonight. In an evening of rough edges, she was certainly the most polished speaker. Batty rested on her laurels though, mostly sticking to highlighting the accomplishments of the current council. I didn’t get the feeling that she had a grand vision for Edmonton or was enthused about being a councillor at all.

Lee Permann

Someone out there is really lucky to have Permann as their cool uncle. He’s no-nonsense and straight forward, and I get the impression he eats little shits like me for breakfast. The man is eminently reasonable and seems like he would be a really fun voice to have on council. Unfortunately, he lacks experience and I don’t feel like he’d be effective at managing the plodding reality of civic politics.

Cris Basualdo

Basualdo is certainly the most passionate candidate in Ward 6. She is absolutely dedicated to getting the inner city voice heard on council. Her volunteer resume is impressive and I have no doubt that she really represents the people in the run-down core neighbourhoods. She seemed nervous up on stage and a little disorganized which detracted from her message somewhat. While I feel she’d turn into a pretty good councillor, I also feel that she would need some time to get up to speed.

Bryan Kapitza

I was really impressed with Kapitza, he was an excellent speaker. He had a clear, organized platform and seemed well informed on everything that came up during the night. What impressed me most was how knowledgeable he was on how the city actually functions. I don’t think even Jane Batty knows more than Kapitza about the inner workings of how our little hamlet is run. He also proved to be the most knowledgeable when talking about potential financing options for the downtown arena despite the fact that he’s against public financing in the first place. He strikes me as someone who can get things done and the things he wants done I agree with. I’m sold.

Today is the second-biggest day of the election. The election itself being the biggest of them all.

Today is the day candidates for council, public school trustee, Catholic school trustee, and mayor have to file their paperwork with the City of Edmonton’s clerk’s office. It’s aptly named “Nomination Day.”

It will be interesting to see if everyone who’s declared themselves a candidate remembers to get down to the office to file. I hope they have three alarm clocks, multiple transportation options, and all the paperwork in order. Monday is always the toughest day to wake up on time.

It may also see the appearance of one or two candidates we haven’t yet heard from.

By late this afternoon the clerk’s office will post the unofficial list of candidates. Then we’re off to the races.

I hope people coming late to the game (even big guns like latecoming mayoral candidate Dave Dorward) are ready to go, since forums begin Tuesday night. On the forums…you can watch them live on the web. The City is even trying to have ways for you to ask questions from home. That’s pretty sweet.

Forum dates and times can be found here.

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The airport, yes the City Centre Airport, is still going to be a big part of the election.

Even though the petition to have a question on our ballot failed to garner enough legitimate signatures. And it was a year late.

The group that brought forward the petition, Envision Edmonton, is throwing its support (and cash) behind Dave Dorward for mayor. And it will support any candidate it sees as “pro-airport.” Don Koziak stepped out of the mayor’s race, admitting he couldn’t win, and is now targetting Kim Krushell in Ward 2. That’s the ward with the airport in it, and Krushell voted for developing the airport lands.

Another mayoral candidate who’s been pro-airport, Daryl Bonar, didn’t so easily step aside for the new Dorward-Airport machine.

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Outside of the candidates, and other obvious issues of every election (crime, potholes, transit, etc…) you’ll see a few groups pop up to try and keep specific issues on the radar.

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters have a website dedicated to the 2010 election. We’ve talked about the need for better cycling infrastructure in Edmonton, and how that could change more than just bike lanes.

And RePower Alberta wants to have candidates, and voters, thinking about green energy.

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I still think the Edmonton Public School Board election is one of the most important votes this city will have. There are 70 public schools on the chopping block. This, after a handful has been closed in recent years.

A school board of new trustees, with new visions of how the schools can be run, could save these older schools as the city attempts to boost its core populations. A same-old school board will see neighbourhood schools closed and kids shipped off the ‘burbs. The subtle lesson there is that they have to drive to get anywhere.

One note from the Catholic side…the Archbishop of Edmonton doesn’t want Edmonton schools bringing in money through casinos, or any kind of gambling gains. This could set up the Catholic School District to be in a financial crunch for any extras or perks. You’d think a provincial government, responsible for education, would be funding schools…

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Former Edmonton Sun columnist Kerry Diotte’s been in the race for some time now. We have our second entry from the journalism world with Scott McKeen running Ward 7. This, even after McKeen’s written about how it’s about the last job he’d want.

Should we take that as a hint as to the stable future of paying journalism jobs and just begin our campaigns for 2013 now?

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There’s still going to be an arena debate. So you should probably keep updated on what’s happening. Here are a couple of sites to check on: for and against.

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Of best laid plans…

Remember back in May, when we said:

We’ll be online with words, photos, and videos. There will be straightforward reporting on wards, candidates and issues. But we also want to have fun and offer satirical and sarcastic takes on the same. There will likely be plenty of opinion thrown around, but lots of facts too.

Well, you know how life gets in the way of your best intentions. And, you’ve probably noticed, we haven’t exactly been lighting the Internet on fire (is that possible?) with post after post.

Plans to replicate some of the usual media coverage just didn’t come together as we had hoped. But you should still pop in, because there’s still going to be stuff like this roundup, Alex’s candidate rankings, Dave’s opinions, and we’ll still be out and about during the run-up to October 18.

And since we’re big on transparency we figured you should hear it from us before you asked why we were slacking.

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But let’s end on an up-note. How about this husband and wife team vying for spots on the two different school boards?!

One of the worst-kept secrets in the Edmonton election — and in some ways simultaneously surprising and not-surprising — is that Edmonton Journal City Columnist Scott McKeen will announce his candidacy in Ward 7 this morning. This election, already pretty damned compelling after city council’s airport decision on Wednesday, is going to be a good one, I think.

If you’re Tony Caterina, and you didn’t see this coming — I’d like to say I did, but I’d be lying — you’ve got to be a little pissed off. McKeen spent the last three years criticizing Caterina (some recent examples for you here and here), and though they’re soft-ball blows, they clearly aren’t friendly to Caterina.

This makes for three candidates, that we know of, running in Ward 7, some of which covers the Highlands and Alberta Avenue areas. Caterina, McKeen, and Brendan Van Alstine will duke it out. A few ideas I’ve heard lobbed out there include:

• Van Alstine and McKeen will split the vote on one side, allowing Caterina to take the Ward — but probably by a small margin all the same.
• McKeen’s got name recognition, and despite some of his more silly articles in the Journal and his constant references to his scooter, he’s actually a sharp guy and will take the ward.

I like McKeen as a columnist. And as a columnist I believe he’s been able to watch and assess how city council’s done over the last little while. Hopefully he’s got some fresh ideas and insights he’d like to share now that he’s on hiatus from the Journal.

Now we just need to come up with a clever hashtag for McKeen… Any ideas?

Update: you can view McKeen’s election website here.