Back to the Better Calgary Campaign

The Better Calgary Campaign sat out the 2010 election as the people with the passwords and email lists were all busy campaigning for specific candidates. We were happy to see so many people engaged in the issues during the election and encouraged by 54% voter turn-out.

What is next for BCC? We still believe in volunteering to make Calgary a more sustainable place to live and in doing this through impacting the political process. We're a City Hall watchdog, keeping a close eye on City Council and the decisions it makes. We champion smart growth, sustainability and vibrant communities. We foster debate and discussion on policies. We hold the politicians to account, celebrating their smart choices and casting light on the bad ones. The new council is already taking action and it's time for Better Calgary to pay attention.

Take a look at the issues page on our website www.bettercalgary.ca. If you agree that these are the six most important issues and want to work towards our vision of Calgary, contact me at info (at) bettercalgary.ca about volunteering. Or talk to me at First Thursday tomorrow night. More info on volunteer roles will be posted on the Get Involved page of the website in a few days.

Kate Easton

BCC in NYT (sort of)

A member of the Better Calgary Campaign was quoted in a New York Times article on Calgary ... we'd like to take credit, but...

If you haven't seen last month's New York Times article on Calgary
, you really should. It's certainly declassé to be all excited that the big city noticed us, but this is a really well-written piece.

Best part, though, is:

While the beneficiaries of Calgary's boom are easy to spot, it's not all good news for long-term residents. Tom Booth, a young lawyer who was buying wine on Stephen Avenue, noted that the population influx has meant a huge rise in living costs and an encroachment on the space and independence Calgarians once took for granted. Downtown parking lots charge up to $30 a day and homes in former working-class suburbs are selling for close to $850,000, pushing out the middle class, not to mention the poor. “It's forced Calgary to think about how to be a big city,” Mr. Booth said.

Tom is, of course, the Communications Chair for the BCC. We'd love to take credit for getting him into the world's most important newspaper, but he really was just buying wine when he was approached by the Times reporter. Nonetheless, we'll take it where we get it!