Sep. 29, 2010 - Issue #780 : Dave Stone

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Ward 6 forum review

A lot of candidates, not a lot to vote for

I can't begin to describe how exciting it is to be covering the Ward 6 forum because, according to the candidates for the councillor's chair anyways, Ward 6 is a ward of extremes. It's either the place where extremely dangerous crime is happening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or the place where the city is extremely run down and crumbling to its very foundations, or it's—for some reason—the best place to debate the extreme miscarriage of justice and the extreme attack on democracy in the closing of the City Centre Airport. I know a thing or two about being extreme because I drink a lot of Mountain Dew.
Unfortunately, none of the candidates at the Ward 6 forum seem to be "doing the dew" enough that they could be counted on to tackle the myriad of extreme "problems" facing Ward 6—a ward where, I just learned, it isn't safe for me to walk around at night. So, for your convenience, I have divided my review of their performances and platforms into "people I wouldn't vote for" and "people I think might destroy this city worse than the lizard creature on Sim City."

People I wouldn't vote for:

Jane Batty
Let's start with the incumbent, who was clearly the calmest person on the rostrum, but far from invigorating. Her knowledge of how the city works was, as could be expected, second to none on the night and her city-wide instead of ward-centric vision was commendable. Still, her desire for seemingly endless information gathering as a tactic against staking any sort of real position was annoying—it seemed that by the end no one knew any more about Batty than the fact that she was our current representative.

Bryan George Kapitza
This candidate performed well in the debate being generally informed about how the city works and being realistic about some of the faux issues that came up, like the jackasses who kept bringing up the airport, but Kapitza's lack of preparedness and commitment in other areas—the guy isn't printing campaign signs which, while environmentally unfriendly, are pretty much the norm—takes away from his overall message. Still, his commitment to not letting a single taxpayer dollar go towards a new arena—unless it was built in partnership with the city and the city made revenue off of it—was refreshing.

Lee Permann
I liked this guy's gruffness, his no-nonsense attitude and the way he reminded me of a cop that would give you a hard time and take the weed, but would probably let you go. His major concern was the plight of seniors in the city centre and keeping up the infrastructure to ensure their continued mobility and he would support limited arena funding ($100 million) because the Oilers play an important role in the social and business life in the community.

Thomas Roberts
A commitment to fiscal responsibility and expanded, low cost public transit seem to be the planks of Roberts' platform, though his being in favour of keeping the airport open—I thought that issue was closed—works against him. Honestly, you can't be a serious candidate if you have no idea how the process works.

People I think might destroy this city worse than the lizard creature on Sim City:

Adil Pirbhai
I have no idea what this guy stands for, other than the fact that everyone on the current council is a liar, a cheat, a bad politician, a promise breaker and a money waster. His far-from-subtle allusions to himself as Barack Obama are made ever-more frustrating when there's absolutely no substance to the "change" he's "proposing."

Cris Basualdo
Claiming that "the current city council has let distress become the norm" in central Edmonton and that there are currently "weeds as tall as trees" growing out of city sidewalks, Basualdo is a fear monger of the highest order. Her tough on crime approach is devoid of anything to back up the idea it's necessary and her one-note platform neglects all of the other issues facing the city and Ward 6.

James Johnson
Anyone remember Ezra Levant? James Johnson sure does. Johnson is in favour of keeping the airport open, tax cuts for developers, tax free business development downtown and anything else that people with a lot of money will attempt to convince you is good for everybody. His speeches drip with sanctimonious hyperbole; on the subject of the airport petition—you may remember it, it was delivered a year late and didn't have enough valid signatures—he stated that, "Democracy is at a crossroads," and, "We need to stop paying lip service to democracy, and start practicing it." He also felt that civic engagement had been trounced by council's refusal to accept the—late and incomplete—airport petition. So that's why voter turnout has been declining for decades!

Carla Frost
Frost hit home the message of Ward 6's inherent danger with particular gusto, saying she had met with over 700 people face to face and that the number one message she received from them was that the city was extremely dangerous. Turning every question into an opportunity to mention that she wasn't doing this for her but for the people, Frost displayed an uncanny ability to fear monger whether the question was about the arena, the airport, school closures or making the urban core more desirable for families.

All in all, the forum left little choice for the residents of Ward 6 who are looking for competent leadership—it appears the choice is between fear, ignorance or vapidity. I have heard that ballots taste pretty good with BBQ sauce.