Edmonton Election Update: Sept. 20, 2017

By Mack Male

Welcome to our seventh roundup of election-related news and links. We'll be publishing this kind of collection regularly right through to Election Day, which is Oct. 16, 2017. We hope you find it useful, and welcome any feedback or tips you might have.

The race is on with a record number of candidates

The list of candidates running for office in the 2017 municipal election is now official. There are 131 candidates, including:

• 13 mayoral candidates
• 70 city council candidates
• 20 Edmonton Catholic School Board trustee candidates
• 28 Edmonton Public School Board trustee candidates (including one acclamation)

Michelle Draper was the only candidate acclaimed on Monday, so she'll continue serving as the public school board trustee for Ward B. Barry Koperski had filed his paperwork to run for council in Ward 4, but withdrew his nomination on Tuesday.

A total of 131 candidates is a new record for municipal elections in Edmonton. The previous high was 120 in the 1986 election. The 2013 election came close, with 119 candidates filing their paperwork.

Andrew Knack, councillor for Ward 1, was running unopposed until Nomination Day, when three challengers came forward. "Thankfully people will have a choice in Ward 1," he tweeted. It's actually Ward 2 that has the fewest candidates for council, with just three, a significant decline from 2013's seven. In the 2013 election, Wards 4 and 9 had just two candidates each.

There are 24 female candidates for mayor or council, which is about 29 per cent, and that's up from 17 per cent in 2013. Counting all the races, 36.6 per cent of the field is female, which is up from 32.7 per cent in 2013.

Edmonton Elections has made the full list of candidates available, and you can also download it in the Open Data Catalogue.

Dave Cournoyer took a bunch of photos at City Hall, which you can see here. The Journal has shared video and photos from Nomination Day.

Other updates

• Equal Voice Alberta North has shared a detailed recap of everything it has done over the last couple of years to get more women to run in the election.
• John Brennan, former strategic adviser to Mayor Don Iveson, is CBC Edmonton's newest political analyst. In his initial take on this year's campaign, Brennan writes that "Edmontonians have seen their property taxes increase every year in the last four years and we can expect that to continue for the next four years." He calls value for taxes the "sleeper issue" of the election.
• Former mayor Stephen Mandel and former councillor Kim Krushell spoke to Ryan Jespersen on 630 CHED about the election.
• The Edmonton & District Labour Council has published its initial list of recommended candidates.
• Ryan Jespersen has a new series called "Two Minutes to Win It: The Race to City Hall," which features candidates talking about themselves and their platform in two minutes or less.
• The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters has launched its municipal election campaign called #LiftHerUp. "The campaign is a call to action to end sexist and violent language and behaviours towards women in public life – during and beyond the upcoming municipal elections." Learn more about the campaign here.
• Seven bishops from Alberta and the Northwest Territories have published a letter urging voters to make "an informed, moral choice" on election day.
• David Staples believes Iveson will win re-election and that he, "like Mandel, will be more of a force, more knowledgeable and influential in his second term than he was in his first." The question, he suggests, is whether voters will give Iveson a steamroller or a "Proceed With Caution" sign.
• The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association supports a ban on corporate and union donations at the municipal level "but only if the province allows them to issue tax receipts to people who donate to their campaigns."
• Diversity Magazine has posted a series of interviews with candidates on its YouTube page.
• The Edmonton Examiner interviewed Austen Knopp and Haroon Ahmed, two of the folks behind YEGnation, which is posting video interviews with candidates.
• Here's a recap of the nomination day event that interVivos held on Monday night.
• The Edmonton Public Library has an Election 2017 page, with information for voters and candidates. They sent a survey to candidates and are posting the responses here.
• You can see candidate responses to The Local Good's survey here.
• The latest episode of the Highlevel Showdown podcast kicks off with a discussion on the election.
• Don Iveson says that if elected to a second-term, "my primary focus as Mayor will be on writing a new economic development plan for Edmonton – so that we can stay competitive now and into the future."
• Troy Pavlek, candidate for council in Ward 11, says "our city design has an empathy problem" and advocates for getting top administrators and city council out of their cars once in a while.
• Scott McKeen, incumbent for Ward 6, shared a post tackling the issue of councillor independence.
• Chad Huculak has another humorous look at how some candidates approach their campaigns.
• Want to catch up on previous editions of our Edmonton Election Update? You can read them all in our newsletter archive.

Events

• Mimi Williams, candidate for council in Ward 7, is hosting a fundraiser on Sept. 22.
• Bridget Stirling, school trustee running for re-election in Ward G, is celebrating her birthday with a BBQ fundraiser featuring Martin Kerr on Sept. 24 at the Kenilworth Community Hall.
• Starting Sept. 25, Edmonton Elections is hosting a series of candidate forums for the mayoral race as well as each council ward. They will be webcasting each forum, too.
• From Sept. 25 through Oct. 5, Edmonton's NextGen is hosting a series of Pints, Pizza, and Politics events scheduled to take place right before the official ward forum.
• James Kosowan, candidate for council in Ward 8, is hosting a "Sweet Feast" fundraiser on Sept. 25 at Sweet Mango.
• The Oliver and Downtown Community Leagues are jointly hosting an election forum on Sept. 25 at Grace Lutheran Church.
• The Edmonton Public Library's next event in the Forward Thinking Speaker Series is Women in Politics on Sept. 26 featuring former prime minister Kim Campbell and former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan.
• The Capital Region Board is hosting two Regional 101 information sessions for candidates on Sept. 26 and Oct. 4.
• The Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA) is hosting a candidate forum focused on infill at the Hyatt Hotel downtown on Sept. 28.
• The North Edmonton Business Association is hosting a North East Meet & Greet for candidates in Ward 4 and Ward 7 at the Royal Canadian Legion on 50th Street on Sept. 28.
• Michael Walters, incumbent in Ward 10, is hosting a re-election dinner & fundraiser on Sept. 28 at the Snow Valley Ski Club.
• An all-candidate forum is being organized for Ward 4 at the McLeod Community Hall on Oct. 11.
• A special election-themed edition of Green Drinks is taking place at the Yellowhead Brewery on Oct. 12. We'll be there to discuss all things election with you!
• CBC Edmonton will be hosting an Election Night event on Oct. 16 at The Garneau Theatre featuring John Brennan, Lana Cuthbertson, and Omar Mouallem.

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