Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart told me this morning that she doesn't want to be interviewed by me anymore. The reason: this story, which was critical of Colley-Urquhart, Ald. Ric McIver and a few other aldermen (we jokingly labeled them "grandstanders" on our cover):

Last April, Colley-Urquhart told the Calgary Herald that those who think the city spends recklessly are wrong. By November, before city council dissected the budget line by line, she was saying something very different. The city is “spending and spending” and facing a “tax revolt,” she said; “people have had enough of this.” Colley-Urquhart decried the existing three-year budget process and complained to the Herald that “there’s no desire down here at city hall to be lean and mean.” She started a petition calling for a one-year instead of a three-year budget.

Colley-Urquhart didn’t mention, however, that she supported much of the spending that she was now attacking. “She voted for almost everything that was in the draft budget throughout the year and then came out as this budget fighter,” says [Better Calgary Campaign's Chima] Nkemdirim. “And so it just kind of shows, ‘Well, what did you think when you were approving this? That there was no cost?’”

Anyway, Colley-Urquhart said the story was "unbalanced" and she didn't like where I went with it. That's fair enough. In fact, I welcome the criticism. But I do have a problem with her response to the story — shutting me out entirely. It seems petulant and unreasonable.

Funny thing: a few minutes after I called Colley-Urquhart, McIver returned my phone call and I interviewed him for the story I'm working on. He didn't whine about the grandstanders story, even though it was critical of him as well. Instead, at the end of our conversation, he challenged me on some of what I wrote and directed me toward a few relevant city documents. I said I'd look into it, we thanked each other and hung up.

You can say whatever you like about McIver's political positions, but at least the guy doesn't shy away from debate. He can take criticism, and instead of sulking and slamming the door when someone writes something he doesn't like, he spars with the writer. Good on him, I say. That's a commendable and productive response for both parties. Colley-Urquhart should learn from McIver's example.

On the plus side, Colley-Urquhart has probably learned a bit more about Fast Forward, which will hopefully save her from asking certain silly questions. (When I first accosted her outside council chambers while writing my 'grandstanders' story, she said: "Fast Forward. Is that with the Herald or the Sun?")

To be clear, Diane: Fast Forward is the local alt-weekly paper. You know those grey boxes sitting outside the building where you've worked since 2000? That's us. We cover local arts and culture and news. We've been doing that for almost 15 years, actually. Quite a while now. We're not an insert in the Herald or the Sun, and often we come at things from a different angle than those papers.

I'd recommend picking up our paper and reading through it every Thursday. Or if you like, you can read it online instead. Either way, reading Fast Forward would probably be good for you.