By Jeff Samsonow
‘sup?
It’s been awhile since we took a look all around Edmonton for news of the election. That will mean two things: lots for you to read and lots for me to work on. I don’t like that second one.
First up, that airport.
Yes, Envision Edmonton handed over 90,000+ signatures on a petition to have a plebiscite question on our election ballot about keeping the City Centre Airport open. That’s probably enough signatures to cover a failure rate (signatures that are unreadable, duplicates, not Edmonton residents, etc…). That would only leave the question of legality. (Whether they had to have it in withing 60 days of council’s decision.)
Either way, this will be an election issue. Two incumbent councillors voted against the closure last year, Envision Edmonton’s got money for a campaign for the airport to remain open, or against councillors who voted to close it. Or both. (Though there aren’t a lot of pro-airport council candidates with name recognition.)
I hope you like hearing about the airport.
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It’s interesting to think about one of the reasons we wanted to create this website. People don’t know about politics. Oh sure, they see the fighting and headlines, but after school they (we) just don’t get into the nuts and bolts of how our various forms of government work.
Read More Post a comment (1)By Jeff Samsonow
Woo doggy, you‘d think that just because it’s summer, and the election isn’t until October, that things would be slow. No way, it’s still busy.
Especially if you want to consider the downtown arena proposal from the Katz Group as an election topic.
Over at the edmontonian, I linked to a bunch of news coverage the day after the big Q&A at City Hall.
The latest news is that city councillors have submitted 140 questions (140!) to the Katz Group, Northlands, and city administration about the proposal for a downtown arena and entertainment district, and downtown arena in general.
This one likely won’t have many answers by the time we’re marking ballots (Monday, October 18) but it’s one to watch, and one to ask candidates about on your doorstep, or at forums, BBQs, and anywhere else you can find them.
There’s also a new blog that should be going head-to-head with the Katz Group’s website for online debate supremacy. Ok…it’s just a new place to get info on downtown arena information, here and from other cities…it’s not as fighty as I made it out to be.
Yet?
Read More Comments OffYeehaw!
I was just reading about the Ponoka Stampede, so forgive me if you’re not in a cowboy kind of mood.
But here’s what I can see is going on, election-wise, as the summer rolls along.
I should note, I’d be nothing without Google Alerts. Love you, Google!
This post from Michael Janz (A guy I’m going to coerce into writing for us, or give up trying.) makes me wonder if we shouldn’t try to get you a blogroll of the candidates running in Edmonton. Most of them have a website already, and the rest will likely have one once they’re really running. That’s going on the to-do list.
(We do have Twitter lists of the city council and public school trustee candidates.
By Jeff Samsonow
After looking at the councillors, candidates, school board trustees and school boards, let’s kick around all of the issues that will dominate election(s) 2010. And issues worth talking about. And issues that might come up.
And stuff that is important but might not come up but you could still talk to candidates about when they come door knocking.
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Big ones
You know what’s probably going to be an election issue, even though it’s not really part of candidate’s platforms? The downtown arena project. All that arena talk has been hot. There’s been zoning, there will be questions of money, who guarantees what cash, and how it fits with the city’s vision for downtown. Candidates will likely be asked where they stand on the development, and who pays. Oh, and there would be the question of what to do with that little building we call Rexall Place.
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I don’t want to come across like a one-trick pony but if you’re familiar with my daily headlines over at the edmontonian I’m going to look like a one-trick pony.
But I think there’s quite a bit of value in putting all kinds of stuff in one place. I do that with Edmonton news over there and I’m going to do it with election news and information over here.
So, I present to you pretty much everything I could find about the Edmonton municipal and school board elections, so far.
If you are familiar with my usual headlines you’re going to find one big difference here at EP.com. I’m going to include online items in this aggregation.
That’s right, blogs are in! Also, this also won’t be daily, since things are going to come in dribs and drabs over the summer.
I’m going to split this into two parts. Today we’ll start with people and schools. Then, later this week, all the issues you’re going to hear about, might hear about, or could bring up during the election.
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