Alnoor Kassam is Running for Mayor of Calgary...Part Two! ( Warning: Creepy Colouring Picture Attached)

  Alnoor Kassam will announce on Monday June 28, 2010 that he will be running for Mayor in the Calgary 2010 Municipal Election.  Many people remember Alnoor's name and face from the 2007 ( Go Alnoor!)  election, in which he placed a distant, distant second to Dave Bronconnier.  Alnoor was a newcomer to the City and its politics then, and he shocked the public by spending an estimated $1,000,000 of his own money. ( Yes...his own money.) 

 Alnoor's press release appears to lack any vision or idea's.  In fact, there is so much attention to explaining the issues that have added to his bad press image over the past 3 years that you really have to wonder why so much attention is focused on this?  I am not an expert, but I cannot understand why his group does not focus on Alnoor's ideas and what he will do when he "take's back the City" as opposed to cleansing his media image on a campaign release?

Here are some snippets of the release...

And in a funny ( creepy?....) last page....

I thought colouring pages were standard on all Mayoraly Campaign press releases?  Is that a Bra or a pair of glasses?  Please confirm....

Good Luck Alnoor!  The more the merrier....


Shane

Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart Is Running for Re-Election in Ward 13

  Over the past few months, there has been a lot of speculation that Diane Colley-Urquhart would take a run at the Mayor's chair after 10 years as the Alderman for Ward 13.  The following press release confirms that Diane will not be running for Mayor after all and has opted to run for re-election in her current ward.

 Diane has had a ton of success in this Ward and many people feel she will be tough to beat this October.  This is likely why there have been no credible challengers announce that they will be running against her.  I imagine a few "tire kickers" in Ward 13 just realized that 2010 is not their year!

Shane

Richard Dur Enters Ward 14 Aldermanic Race

I personally think that Ward 14 will be the most interesting race to watch in the Calgary 2010 Civic Election.  Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am not a fan of the incumbent, do nothing alderman, Linda "Ghost"-Mellway.  After seeing the Facebook Page go live this week and the Calgary Herald Interview online, I was so excited to see that Richard Dur is officially in the race for Ward 14 Alderman.

I know Richard personally and think he would make an excellent Alderman.  He has an amazing political mind for his age ( he managed the successful campaign of WAP Candidate Paul Hinman in last fall's provincial by-election) and  after having coffee with him a few weeks ago, I was quite blown away by his idea's and values. He truly is a man of principals, which is often lacking in Calgary Politics. I have also seen his dedication to the community first hand through our involvement together with the Calgary Southeast Conservative Party riding association. 

 There is some controversy brewing about "Vote-Splitting" in this ward, by one of the other candidates.  I will be doing a blog post about this soon, which reinforces my theory that this will be an interesting ward to watch!

Richard has been hard at work knocking on doors in his ward and I wish him well!  I hope to do a blog interview with Richard soon, so if you have any questions you would like to ask, be sure to email me. 

Shane

2010 Calgary Stampede Parade Marshals...Jet and Cord? Who's Next...?

Remember when the Stampede Parade Marshal was someone relevant and/or important?  Me neither.....its been so long since Calgary has had a high profile person to lead the parade.  It seems that the list of parade marshals chosen just keeps getting stranger and more obscure each year.  I mean seriously, is the parade so low profile now that no famous people want to accept the position? What happened to the prestige of the Calgary Stampede Parade Marshal?

 

 Some of the past dignitaries and marshals include the following:

 

•  Robert Kennedy
• Roy Rogers
• Prince Charles and Prince Andrew
• Walt Disney
• Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
• Mickey Mouse.

 Some of the recent picks have been so disappointing, that I think that the Stampede Parade brand has been tarnished.  And as a proud Calgarian, I am embarrassed to say it. 

 This years selection, Amazing Race contestants, Jet and Cord McCoy, continue the tradition of poor choices.  I watched the Amazing Race this season and these gentleman seem like genuine great cowboys and nice guys.  But being a cowboy and appearing on reality TV should not get you on a Calgary Stampede parade float, never mind becoming the Marshal. 

 I think the Parade committee should consider the following people for the shortlist for Parade Marshal 2011...

1) Bob from Accounting?
2) An extra from episode 12 of Little House On The Prairie?
3) My friend Joe, who likes Alberta Beef.
4) Balki Bartokomous from TV's  Perfect Strangers
5) Dora the Explorer.
6) The Littlest Hobo's great great great great great grandpuppy.

Thank god we get the parade morning off because I cannot wait to watch Jet and Cord lead the parade.  I will be the one on my couch with the paper bag over my head.

Who are your picks for next year?

Shane

Friday Fun! Insert Your Own Druh Farrell Caption!

  I came across this photo of Calgary Ward 7 Alderman Druh Farrell and could not help but laugh.  The picture really is priceless!  Apart from both of them spending most of their time in space, they have both proven to really be irrelevant over the past few years.  Poor Spock.  The only thing worse would be a pic with Bronco.

 I cant help but imagine the endless "insert caption here" possibilities!

Mine would be.... " Druh, you remind me of a Klingon gal I used to know...."

Feel free to share your own! 


Happy Friday!

Shane

Who Is Running for Alderman in Calgary Ward 13? ( aka.. The Ward No One Seems To Care About?)

  Many of us are getting excited about the upcoming 2010 Calgary Municipal Election!  As a blogger I am finding that this election is going to be exciting due to the many different and interesting races that are shaping up across the city.  Taking a quick look at http://www.calgarydemocracy.ca/ you can see that there are some very interesting candidates that have come forward to contest many of the Aldermanic seats this year.  After reviewing a ton of the information, I notice that there is one ward that no one is really talking about....Ward 13!

 Ward 13 is has been represented by Diane Colley-Urquhart since they year 2000.  There is speculation that she is considering a run at the Mayor's chair this year and while I am not sure if it is authorized or not, there is even a new twitter group called 'Friends of Diane" pushing her to run for mayor.  The Twitter account states a tag line of " Diane Colley-Urquhart has served Calgary as a great Alderman. Lets get her to be the next Mayor of Calgary!" and with 9 followers, I am not sure if this is the push they are looking for.  ( However, with the recent surge in "fake" twitter accounts, I am not sure if this is even from Diane's group?)  So if Diane is considering a run at the top job, who will replace her in Ward 13?

 It would appear that nobody is even talking about this ward and I am at a loss as to why?  Usually, you will see the "sharks" circling at this type of opportunity to win a ward that may be potentially vacated by a powerful incumbent, but not this term?  I have not even heard any rumours about any candidates that were planning to run against Diane in the first place?  Perhaps most people feel that Diane has done such and excellent job that they cannot win against her?  Maybe they feel that they cannot raise the necessary funds or volunteers to compete with her longtime supporters and strong financial backing?  If you look at the history of Ward 13 elections, her popularity  ( 2 acclamation's and a sound thumping of her two opponents in 2007!) is pretty obvious. 

 Either way, I am curious to see who will come out of the woodwork if and when she declares her Mayoral candidacy.  I think that any potential replacement candidates had better get to work on their community door knocking!  If she does step aside, perhaps this will be the ward to watch.  If not, I seriously doubt that she will get any serious challengers again. 

Interesting......

Your thoughts?