We've been very lax about blogging, but very busy with the campaign overall.
Lots of media coverage all over the place, on big issues like diversity and transit to horse races in the individual wards. No less than three mentions in today's Herald:
Story on our endorsements
Bob Remington column on Ward 3
Editorial on diversity
The endorsements, the rationale for each, and every candidate's survey response in full, are posted on our website here.
We should note that, while we stand by our endorsements, we neither expect nor desire people to take them on blind faith. We are publishing all surveys in full so that those who wish to do so may read them and make up their own minds.
Our job right now is to get this message out to everyone who is interested in the campaign. We're using Internet tools to do this as well as we can, as well as media, but we encourage everyone reading this to forward it around, paste it on your Facebook, publish it on your blog, and let people read these surveys.
6 comments:
You've done a great job at this, and it makes for some very interesting reading.
Now to get this blog (and your organization) out there so that Calgarians can contribute to the conversation.
I came across a mention of your organization in the Herald and decided to have a look at your endorsements before making my decision (I'm voting in an advanced poll today) and I'm glad I did! The questions you asked candidates reflect many of my own concerns and were a great help in deciding who to support.
You've done a great service to voters and I hope initiatives like this help spark more interest in municipal government and encourage more people to get involved!
Why would we want to lend undue legitimacy and credibility to an organization that is simply a gong show that represents individuals within the city who want to put forward their own economic interests before the values of true Calgarians?
It wouldn't matter how candidates answered these surveys. "Better Calgary" already had its endorsements picked out before it even wrote up these daft and ill-conceived questions. You want better answers? Ask appropriate questions.
I want a better Calgary. But I also expect a better "Better Calgary" before I take any of this seriously.
Anonymous:
I didn't know we had economic interests. Does that mean I don't have to pay for the pizza and pop at our meetings anymore?
And, boy, I wish that we had already known he we were going to endorse before we sent out the survey. Would have saved a lot of hours of work, that's for sure.
And those of us who fought hard for candidates who were not endorsed wouldn't feel quite so bruised.
More seriously, we really have no ulterior motive behind a love for the city. If people want to disagree with us, well, that's why we posted all the responses in full, and why we asked for input on the questions (see a few posts down).
And feel free to bang the gong at any time.
I am thankful for the kind comments by Better Calgary, making Jeremy Zhao a special mention for the mayoral response. I still would have preferred Better Calgary take a non-partisan discussion approach rather than endorsing any candidate. I believe Better Calgary can do better, but with the endorsements, I am very cautious about this group now. Is Calgary about endorsing people or is it about listening to all voices equally?
Jeremy Zhao, Mayoral Candidate
I disagree with Jeremy and even though Better Calgary's endorsements might be a bit different than mine, I applaud them taking a position. Our polite conversations and correctness have left us without vocal opposition in Calgary, Alberta and Canada. Do your research, make a decision and take a stand to make Calgary better.
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