'Dump Druh,' declares former Alderwoman

“Nine years of her is enough!” declares opponents
Published August 26, 2010  by Trevor Scott Howell in News

Fun, frivolity and frustration all played out at the second annual Bow River Flow.

While thousands of Calgarians participated in the “human-transportation” celebration — or crawled past in their vehicles — two protesters launched an attack aimed squarely at area Ald. Druh Farrell.

Bright yellow “Dump Druh” pamphlets were placed on several vehicles in the Sunnyside area. The literature specifically targeted Farrell for her support of the Bow River Flow, decrying the two-lane shut down on Memorial Drive and declaring, “Nine years of her is enough!”

“You’re not going to be hearing anything officially from us until we really have our campaign in full swing,” says Elaine Husband, one of the two agitators and a former Ward 7 alderwoman from 1980 to 1983.

Farrell believes the campaign stems from Husband’s opposition to a Hillhurst-Sunnyside redevelopment plan, which was supported by the community, she says. “It came up at their last AGM where Elaine tried to reverse that decision and lost,” she says. “I don’t believe she has a lot of community support.”

Email: thowell@ffwd.greatwest.ca

 


Comments: 22

officematt2002 wrote:

I was expecting more of a story than this....many of us want to see this idiot gone, I was hoping FFWD would start the movement.

on Aug 26th, 2010 at 11:03pm Report Abuse

methinks wrote:

And just what is is about this idiot that any of us should be so worked up about?

The peace bridge? That money came from a dedicated fund, didn't cost much more than a normal bridge, looks great and is a vital piece of infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians entering the core. I'm sick of people knocking it without even a basic understanding of the issue.

Perhaps it's the aforementioned Bow River Flow? Give me a break. Stampede Parade shuts down the entire downtown core and nobody says a thing. This shut down two lanes on Memorial on a friggin' Sunday and you'd think the second coming was upon us. Not to mention I've seen this road closed on more weekdays than I could count due to construction for yet more cars and nobody raises such a stink. Yet another non-issue from drab, boring, uncultured cowboy Calgarians that are living in the bloody past.

Dump Druh? Screw you. Dump McIver, Colley-Urguhart, Mar. Dump all the people that would leave us living in a boring shell of a city concerned only with a bottom line. We can still watch the bottom line while adding some vibrancy to our city.

It's too bad FFWD even wasted this limited amount of space on this two-person sham of a protest by disgruntled neanderthals.

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 10:15am Report Abuse

WatchDog wrote:

methinks seems to be oblivious to costs just like Druh. For $25 Million, 5 separate bridges could have been built across the Bow to provide access where none presently exists. The $5 Million bridges of course would have to be designed by local talent.

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 1:30pm Report Abuse

girltron wrote:

@methinks

Thank you for writing what I don't have the patience or fortitude to write anymore. You couldn't have said it better!

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 2:20pm Report Abuse

WatchDog wrote:

So "methinks" thinks Druh is watching the "bottom line"? I think she along with her fellow elected officials have been dozing off the past few years since the City debt has nearly doubled in the past 5 years to almost $3 Billion (3,000 Million) in 2009 from $1.517 Billion (1,517 Million) in 2004. So was Druh watching the "bottom line" or her "waist line" by navel gazing while Council was busy spending like drunken sailors?

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 2:20pm Report Abuse

Ron Husack wrote:

One should check out Druh's connections to developers!
Full disclosure of benefits would be quite enlighting and a review of her voting record also.
She is exhibiting the viral disease "developeritis" which this whole council is infected with!

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 2:32pm Report Abuse

sunnyside wrote:

The community has not endorsed the City's amendment to the ARP.
Druh misled council by telling them the ARP has been endorced by the community when in fact the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association specifically rejected doing this.
I believe it to be a serious lapse of ethics on Druh Farrell's part to mislead council and to mislead a reporter for FFWD.

from the Annual General meeting minutes:
"Harvey Cohen: I would like to motion for the president to set a date to review the community’s ARP and to setup a procedure for adopting a community ARP
Seconded: Faye Lukenolf

Motion NOT carried

http://hillhurstsunnyside.org/about/agm/agm-2010/

on Aug 27th, 2010 at 8:13pm Report Abuse

number5 wrote:

We can only hope that Ms. Farrell is defeated in October's election. She among others is delusional about her role as a city alderman. You are not there to dream and scheme of ways to spend money foolishly. Your job is to manage the ward within its means not serve as a social engineer. We are tired of being told how we should be living our lives. $25M goes a long way with other necessary expenditures. The blasted bridge is just one of her many pet projects that do nothing but add to our tax bill. She seems completely out of touch with reality. If you want your artsy fartsy crap, go get corporate money for that.

on Aug 28th, 2010 at 2:02pm Report Abuse

officematt2002 wrote:

Farrell is a flake, a dolt, someone stealing a pulse from a body more worthy. How can people like methinks defend this dolt who can't even put together a simple sound clip that would make her sound intelligent. It has yet to happen in 9 years. That is too long. She is self serving and a tool of the outgoing crook. At the feet of a new mayor, what will she do? Just more fawning and trying to put together an intelligent thought. She hasn't a clue.

on Aug 28th, 2010 at 11:45pm Report Abuse

Oscar wrote:

Ha! No wonder this city has a reputation as anything but a world-class city, and its people are labeled as backwater hicks.

Just a few things for you to chew on: The Peace Bridge is NOT being paid for by our property taxes. The money came from the province and was mandated to be used for INFRASTRUCTURE. If you are that concerned about the few dollars per capita that the bridge is going to cost you, then you really have your priorities mixed up. Secondly, how is the Bow River Flow considered 'Social Engineering'?? If you are that concerned about lane closures on Memorial Drive for a street festival ONE AFTERNOON of the YEAR, then, again, your priorities are mixed up. Thirdly, if you think that, by electing Ric McIver as mayor, Calgary will magically transform - overnight - into a bastion of fiscal responsibility and civic management, then you're delusional.

I am so tired of all the bitching and whining about how our city is run. Clearly, far too many people here simply love to hear themselves complain, even if they don't have any reason to complain.

on Aug 30th, 2010 at 4:16pm Report Abuse

officematt2002 wrote:

So, if the bridge was not paid for by our property taxes and by infrastructure funds from the Province, we have no right to complain? Where in fact did those dollars come from then? Some magical place? No, from our income tax dollars. We have a bloody damn right to complain how our money is being squandered, especially more so now that the 3 NE Aldermanic quacks want to pass a bylaw allowing The City to go further into debt for a rounding error of the population. Shame on them all for thinking of their legacies rather than their constituents. Maybe you should realize the "bitching and whining" is useful rather than your apathy. Only that will force change.

on Aug 31st, 2010 at 6:51am Report Abuse

bohunk wrote:

Best part is, nobody complaining here will likely vote...

on Sep 1st, 2010 at 11:25am Report Abuse

Drew Anderson wrote:

What are you basing that sweeping claim on bohunk? Granted, I haven't complained on here, but I've voted in every election (municipal, federal and provincial) since I was 18. It seems to me that people who take the time to "talk" about politics here are more likely to vote than most Calgarians.

on Sep 1st, 2010 at 11:29am Report Abuse

bohunk wrote:

And those that bitch, don't. ;)

on Sep 1st, 2010 at 11:42am Report Abuse

officematt2002 wrote:

Sure, bohunk, sure. I for one will be voting - just like I have in each and every municipal, provincial and federal election since I have turned 18 - however I am not in Moronic Farrel's constituency and therefore cannot cast the vote required to boot her out.

on Sep 1st, 2010 at 9:43pm Report Abuse

Lawrence A. Oshanek wrote:

Like I said ... “I’m running [for mayor) to protect the people of Calgary from the city of Calgary.”

Just so some here can understand ... grants coming from Edmonton can be seen as coming from the 1/2 of your property taxes Edmonton keeps and then trickles back to Calgary in the form of 'grants'.

How about the 1.4 million Ms. Ferrel spent on a single block in the East Village (8th Avenue SE between 5 and 6 Streets) and the about 1 million just spent on a short 1/2 block on 5th Street SE between 9 and 8 Avenue.

Both are paved with concrete 'paving' stones in an area filled with seniors ... I now know of two elderly woman who tripped on those 'stones' and fell. One badly sprained wrist and one broken arm ... hate to see what happens during the winter to the poor seniors!

I could tell you more and I will in due course ... if I get community support and stay the course.

Oh, just to leave you with another thought ... why is the city of Calgary bringing in truck loads of shale from Montana for placement around the East Village? The Frank Slide area is full of big blocks of shale rock quarried by nature which can be obtained for just about free (hint ... who do you think owns the trucking company?).

Sorry, you will have to elect me to fix sh*t like this because the people really and truly do not care.

Lawrence A.(I vote when they let me) Oshanek
Candidate for Mayor

on Sep 10th, 2010 at 6:35pm Report Abuse

officematt2002 wrote:

Hey Larry, tell me, I do want to know who owns the trucking company. There is a whistleblower line at the City Auditor's office (yes, very useless when they are employed by the mayor's office) and something called the press. Just say it. And I care. This administration is just brutal.

on Sep 10th, 2010 at 10:38pm Report Abuse

Lawrence A. Oshanek wrote:

officematt2002 ... tried that ... no one is interested until they find out who has power (city advertising is worth millions). I'll give you an example of press news suppression:

See this story by Don Braid from Wednesday.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/Braid+Decline+public+civility+shows+Calgary+needs+leader+with+heart/3493074/story.html

Now in this story Don decries the character of the persons running for mayor because:

"The mayor I want would have something to say about kids who think it's a good idea to bring their friends along and have sex in a schoolyard in full view of homes and witnesses. That mayor would be outraged by young vandals so twisted they topple nuns' tombstones and paint satanic graffiti on a church."

Now, on the day before, I sent this to Don Braid (and 30 others):

Lawrence Oshanek (lawoh@hotmail.com)
Sent: September 7, 2010 11:44:57 AM
Bcc: Don Braid (dbraid@theherald.canwest.com);

Press Release Attached

For Immediate Release

Attack on the Father Lacombe grave site ---- Offer of Reward for the conviction of the vandals.

Lawrence A. Oshanek
Candidate for Mayor

Now, the release was published by The Calgary Beacon on Thursday and it only omits links to quotes of police statements and the actual wording of the Criminal Code sections I quoted and the Press Release is found here:

http://www.calgarybeacon.com/2010/09/1000-reward-offered-for-conviction-of-hate-crime/

So Mr. Braid and all of the other Calgary media ignored what I had to say but Mr. Braid, in touching on the story willfully suppressed an important part of it ... because I criticized police? Perhaps, I may never know.

The whole of the release is on my FaceBook group OSHANEK FOR MAYOR in Discussions (Press Release (3)).

All we can do is our best.

Lawrence

on Sep 10th, 2010 at 11:39pm Report Abuse

troberts5 wrote:

Some of the comments are so stupid such as "@methinks" Where do you think the provincial or any government gets money? Taxpayers. It doesn't matter that they are building an unecessary bridge; its the fact that it was un-tendered and cost $25 million. Canmore is building a similar bridge at a whopping cost of $1 or 2 million. The Bow Flow thing is just as stupid by closing Memorial (with City workers getting massive OT wages) when millions of dollars are wasted on Prince's Island Park every year for its upkeep. If you are not going to use it, why bother to cut the grass. Close Kensington for Pete's sake.
Why not talk about the concrete centerline barrier with a few rocks a shrubs along Memorial, why don't you go look up how much that cost, you'll be angry.

on Sep 14th, 2010 at 9:54am Report Abuse

tinydoctor wrote:

Prince's Island Park already hosts quite a few festivals -- in fact, I'm pretty sure it's at a point where the city doesn't want it hosting any more than it already does, so that there's still enough days in the summer for people to enjoy it as a park. And if you were to walk through it on occasion, you'd notice that it's very well used.
As for the Bow River Flow, cutting Memorial down to two lanes for one Sunday out of the summer is a non-issue that's been blown so far out of proportion that I can't even begin to understand it. There has been so much maintenance of Memorial in the last couple of years that stretches of it -- the same stretch that's used for the flow -- has been cut down to two lanes on weekdays for days at a time throughout the year, largely without complaint. But you do it once for an event that's meant to encourage a sense of community and encourage alternative forms of transportation, and suddenly you're disrupting a vital artery.
I have my own issues with the pedestrian bridge, but to use the Bow River Flow as some sort of aldermanic bugbear is just ridiculous.

on Sep 14th, 2010 at 11:09am Report Abuse

Silas M wrote:

Those of you comparing the bridge to Canmores.. you do realize that the Bow in Canmore is about 20m across, whereas in Calgary it's about 100m.. and would need to be twice as wide to deal with the greater population here..

It's like when people compare a bridge over the bow to a pedestrian bridge over a road here in calgary as though they would be the same price, it's as if people have no concept of scale at all.

Also the $25 million was for this bridge, plus the design costs for the East Village one.

on Sep 22nd, 2010 at 1:31pm Report Abuse

ok54 wrote:

Never mind the bridge and try to remember all the other things that Druh did for us. Remember when she wasted time worrying about how many newspaper boxes were on street corners? Does anyone remember her complaining about the +15's (a necessity at -40c). Her complete lack of backbone about pay raises for aldermen that came when many were being laid off or even taking a stance on having the city books audited by an outside party (even Rick McIvor didn't bother to take a stance on this)! Almost anytime something "dumb" was mentioned on city council, Druh was behind it! Please, Please Ward 7 - DON'T RE-ELECT Druh Farrell.

on Oct 7th, 2010 at 4:24pm Report Abuse


Post comment: (Login or Register)


All Content Copyright © Fast Forward Weekly 1995-2011

About Us Contact Us Careers Privacy Policy Terms of Use