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I saw Gondek has 30% approval rating- lowest in that city's history.

And their council as a whole is under 40%. But they did just have a big tax increase.

I haven't seen any polling regarding our council.
 
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Gondek's rating is a combination of facing the same pressures as Edmonton, the political fallout of pushing residential to pay more property tax percentage wise and wildly rising rents.

The only thing she has to publicly state as an achievement is the HAF funding and the arena deal (which alienated a lot of progressives/centrists, the same coalition that voted for her instead of Farkas)

In comparison, Sohi and Edmonton's council has more items on their list that they've achieved (or attributed to them) so far (ZBR, $100 million on active transportation, Valley Line SE opening, possibly more ETS service hours in the future) that don't alienate their political base.
 
Kosy123 said:
Gondek's rating is a combination of facing the same pressures as Edmonton, the political fallout of pushing residential to pay more property tax percentage wise and wildly rising rents.

The only thing she has to publicly state as an achievement is the HAF funding and the arena deal (which alienated a lot of progressives/centrists, the same coalition that voted for her instead of Farkas)

In comparison, Sohi and Edmonton's council has more items on their list that they've achieved (or attributed to them) so far (ZBR, $100 million on active transportation, Valley Line SE opening, possibly more ETS service hours in the future) that don't alienate their political base.
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Calgary has a larger and more influential conservative political force, so Gondek faced a tougher crowd from the start. A fairly shaky performance and recent big tax increases haven't helped her.

Our mayor and council also have some serious performance issues, but not quite as high profile and they held back on the tax increase a bit more than Calgary. It will be a bumpy ride for our gang, but they probably still have a little bit more room to pull it together than Gondek does.
 
TAS said:
I saw Gondek has 30% approval rating- lowest in that city's history.

And their council as a whole is under 40%. But they did just have a big tax increase.

I haven't seen any polling regarding our council.
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This is a global trend. Many countries are seeing fully reactionary elections. Just swinging from one side to another in hopes of change. Says less about the actual leadership imho and more about the general state of leadership and society in our world today. We have shifted from a high anxiety, to a high anger culture. Protest, misinformation, and deeper polarization continue to be the trend lines. Not an easy time for anyone to lead anywhere.

I think both Salvador and Cartmell would excel in some areas and have their drawbacks as well. But either would be decent I think. Again, just 1 vote, so as long as things stay balanced. It would be cool to see a bold new candidate step up though.
 
This might be different than some people's views, but I think all politicians need to be less focused on politics, sound bites and what they say and more focused on running things well.

I get there is are big partisan divides these days, but the good thing is the city government is not set up that way. Voters want the basics like snow cleared, public safety and not big tax increases. Politicians these days seem to get distracted and go off in all sorts of tangents while not paying enough attention to the things that really matter to voters.

Spend less time on twitter and more time on running things.
 
Toronto looking at 10.5% property tax increase which amounts to an extra $360/yr for average homeowner. Is that going to increase rents even more there?

Again, despite our property tax increase in Edmonton, we're very affordable. But cities are in very tough financially.

www.cp24.com

Toronto homeowners to see 10.5 per cent tax bump under Olivia Chow's first proposed budget as mayor

The first proposed budget of Mayor Olivia Chow’s tenure includes a 10.5 per cent property tax increase, one of the largest the city has seen in years, as Toronto struggles to make up a persistent deficit.
www.cp24.com www.cp24.com
 
With Rachel Notley stepping down as leader, I wonder if she has had any thoughts for running for mayor? She has the local popularity to win.
 
YEG imagineer said:
With Rachel Notley stepping down as leader, I wonder if she has had any thoughts for running for mayor? She has the local popularity to win.
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When you add Nenshi and Iveson, there's some pretty potent political talent here in AB sitting on the sidelines with a lot of question marks.
 
For those politicians with further interest or ambition, I do think there is gap that needs to be filled Federally now or in the near future, but all the travel and spending time away from home is not for everyone.
 
Greenspace said:
Council voted 9-4 to declare a housing emergency.
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Conflicted on this. City council needs to find a way to shift responsibility to the province and federal government for this issue (especially the international drug supply and lack of housing). Making this a municipal emergency risks making it Edmonton council's problem. Also seems to take focus away from other critical issues.
 
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