2007 Calgary municipal election

The 2007 Calgary municipal election will take place on 15 October, 2007. This will be a joint election with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 1. There is one position opened for mayor and 14 ward positions for aldermen. All but one of the incumbents are running again in this election (Barry Erskine, of Ward 11, did not seek reelection). Two incumbents will be returning via acclamation. Elections will be held across the province. See Alberta municipal elections, 2007.

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. 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

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 candidates is running. For school board nominees, the electors must be members of the appropriate school district.

Issues

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

Crime

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

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.

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.

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.

Transportation

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

Voter participation

Voter turnout in the previous Calgary municipal election was 19.8%, while in the 2001 municipal elections it was 38%.

Candidates

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

Mayor

• David Bertram. (David Bertram campaign website)

• 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). (Dave Bronconnier campaign website)

• Elizabeth Kaur Fielding is a a private business contractor and issuer of share certificates in addition to various inner city short term assignments. She was campaign manager for Harry Dhillion in 2004. (Elizabeth Fielding campaign website)

• Allan Foster is a retired 55 year old pipe inspector, foreman and inspection superintendent. (Alan Foster campaign website)

• Harry Heck is a real estate agent in Calgary, working for the Bungalow Boys. (Harry Heck campaign website)

• Sandy Jenkins is a seismologist and geophysical consultant living in the inner-city Hillhurst district. (Sandy Jenkins campaign website)

• Alnoor Kassam is a local businessman and entrepreneur. (Alnoor Kassam campaign website)

• Jonathan Joseph "JJ" Sunstrum has been an owner and manager of restaurants and pubs. (Jonathan Joseph "JJ" Sunstrum campaign website)

• Jeremy Zhao - A student at the University of Calgary studying engineering and political science. At 19 years of age, he is the youngest candidate in the city. (Jeremy Zhao 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.

Ward 1

• Jennifer Banks is a 35 year old social worker. (Jennifer Banks campaign website)

• 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. (Dale Hodges campaign website)

• Normand Perrault is a 57 year old retired general contractor.

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

Ward 2

• Terry Avramenko is the president of the Ranchlands community association. (Terry Avramenko campaign website)

• Daniel M. Del Re is a 44 year old machine operator.

• 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. (Gord Lowe campaign website)

• Biagio Magliocca is a 42 year old airport consultant. (Biagio Magliocca campaign website)

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

Ward 3

• George Chahal is a 32 year old working in the construction industry. (George Chahal campaign website)

• 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. (Helene Larocque campaign website)

• Jim Stevenson is a Calgary businessman. He currently sits on the city's subdivision and development appeal board. (Jim Stevenson campaign website)

Ward 4

• Richard Evans is a self-employed husband and father of 2, and a conservative. (Richard Evans campaign website)

• Bob Hawkesworth was first elected to city council in 1980. He left in 1986 to pursue provincial politics. He returned to city council in 1993. (Bob Hawkesworth campaign website)

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

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. (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.

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. (Rosemary Berglund campaign website)

• Craig Burrows was first elected in October 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in both political science and history from the McGill University. (Craig Burrows campaign website)

• Joe Connelly is the president of Screen Giant Media and a former director of Tourism Calgary. (Joe Connelly campaign website)

• James Donald Istvanffy is a 43 year old leadership consultant.

• James Kohut is a 43 year old City of Calgary employee. (James Kohut campaign website)

Ward 7

• Jag Aithal is a 40 year old graduate student in military and strategic studies. (Jag Aithal campaign website)

• Barry Eldridge is a 49 year old self-employed tradesman.

• 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. (Druh Farrell campaign website)

• Merle Terleski (alternate spelling: Terlesky) is a 42 year old supply management worker for the Calgary Health Region. (Merle Terleski campaign website)

Ward 8

• Steve Chapman is a former Calgary police officer, motivational speaker, business owner and national president of the conservative business lobby group Progressive Group for Independent Business He previously ran for election in the ward in 2001 and 2004. (Steve Chapman campaign website)

• 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. (Madeleine King campaign website)

• Lindsay Luhnau studied at the University of Calgary and currently works for the Clean Calgary Association. (Lindsay Luhnau campaign website)

• John Mar is the current president of the Scarboro community association. He is also a business owner and a former RCMP officer. (John Mar campaign website)

Ward 9

• Joe Ceci was first elected as alderman in October 1995. He worked as a community work for the City of Calgary's Social Development Department. He holds a graduate degree in social work from the University of Calgary. (Joe Ceci campaign website)

• 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. (Al Koenig campaign website)

• Stan Waciak is 52 years old and self-employed in the construction industry.

Ward 10

• André Chabot was elected in a 2005 by-election after incumbent Margot Aftergood resigned from the 2004 vote rigging scandal. (Andre Chabot campaign website)

• Nargis Dossa is a 53 year old social worker.

Ward 11

• Dave Matthews is a 73 year old retiree.

• James M. "Jim" Murray is a 57 year old lawyer. (Brian Pincott campaign website)

• Jim Rockwell is a 43 year old catering company owner. (Jim Rockwell campaign website)

• Evonne Whelan is a 42 year old small business owner. (Evonne Whelan campaign website)

Barry Erksine has announced he will not run for re-election.

Ward 12

• Nick Halfyard is a 21 year old political science and history student at Athabasca University, working as a Mcdonald’s manager. (Nick Halfyard campaign website)

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

Ward 13

• Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart was re-elected to Calgary City Council by acclamation. (Diane Colley-Urquhart campaign website)

Ward 14

• Linda Fox-Mellway was re-elected to Calgary City Council by acclamation. (Linda Fox-Mellway campaign website)

Controversies

• Closure of 6 Avenue downtown for construction.
• Campaign finance.

Regarding specific candidates

• Dave Bronconnier’s fundraising has raised concerns about the impact of funding on the campaign.
• 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.
• 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.
• Merle Terleski (Terlesky) (Ward 7 candidate) unsucessfully tried to get the Kamloops Women's Resource Centre’s funding removed, because he believed it provides support for gays and lesbians.

External links

• 2007 Calgary General Election Information
• Official Candidate List
• Official maps of Calgary’s City Wards