| There’s something afoot at city hall – or so they say. If you don’t know about it yet, don’t feel bad. It’s seemingly top secret; no one is supposed to know.
Rumour has it there is a civic election coming up. That means that one day in October – October 18, to be precise – Calgarians are supposed to head to the polls and elect aldermen and a mayor.
Now, it so happens that Edmonton is having an election at the same time as Calgary. In fact, the nomination and election days are the same for both cities. The difference between the two is that in Edmonton, you can actually tell there is an election. And it even seems like a race! Billboards could be seen around Edmonton for mayoral and councillor candidates as early as August, weeks before the nomination deadline. In Calgary, prior to the September 20 nomination deadline, I only spotted a few billboards urging us to re-elect Dave Bronconnier as mayor.
When it comes to electoral excitement, the city of champions definitely puts Calgary to shame.
The city of Edmonton’s website has a link to election information right on the front page. Once you click on it, you’re swimming in information about candidate forum times, voting locations, maps and other useful information. On the front page of Calgary’s website, there is merely an announcement that Calgarians who can’t vote on election day or in advance polls can vote by mail-in ballot. When I first saw it, I found myself wondering if it was a freak announcement created by accident. But I soon discovered that there is, in fact, a civic election in Calgary next month. If one digs deep enough in the online mire that is www.calgary.ca, this badly-written confirmation can be found: "The next municipal election day is Monday, 2004 October 18."
So just where have all the signs been? The campaigns? The pamphlets? The endless admonitions to vote for this or that always-smiling candidate?
Much of the silence comes from a lack of candidates. Voter apathy is nothing new on any level of politics in this country, but generally there are a good number of people to vote for if one should choose to. But this isn’t an option for many Calgarians. Four aldermen – Bob Hawkesworth, Druh Farrell, Barry Erskine and Ric McIver – don’t even have anyone running against them. They’re automatically in for another term. Granted, these individuals may have proven their competence in council in the past few years and unseating them would be a challenge, but it’s absurd that no one decided to run in those four wards.
So where is the media in all of this? Before the federal election earlier this year, we had to listen to countless stories about such-and-such a college student who doesn’t vote because "it’s a waste of time" and "no one represents my views." In June, voter apathy was spotlighted by the media and, in a strange way, almost worshipped. The cynical non-voter, with his condescension towards politicians of all stripes, was repeatedly pointed to as evidence of a failing and ineffective political system. As a result, it became trendy not to vote.
But as we gear up for an election that so far is as exciting as watching rush hour traffic crawl along Glenmore Trail, that same media is strangely silent. Not wholly silent, mind you, but those that once seemed to care so much about voter apathy now have very little to say. Thing is, now is the time that their words might actually be productive in letting people know that there is an election, never mind that they ought to vote in it.
Now that the election has officially kicked off, one has to hope that there will actually be some meaningful discussion of issues important to Calgarians. Will there be the usual pre-election rhetoric that’s charged with vision: the promises, the ideas and the strategies? In Edmonton, mayoral candidates have been battling for months for the trust and confidence of the public. They discuss policies, issues and the future of the city.
Here in Calgary, we have plenty that should be discussed by those who want a term – be it a first term or a third – in city hall.
Roads are obviously a major concern for most people, but what about Calgary’s lagging and often frustrating transit system? Property taxes are an important issue, but what is going to be done about the growing problem of homelessness in this city? How will the city expand, and how will new developments affect those both inside and outside the city? These are just a few of many important issues that ought to be discussed in the run-up to election day less than four weeks from now.
But whether or not they will be discussed during what may be the most boring civic election in the city’s history remains to be seen. |
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