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Municipal Politics

thommyjo said:
He was the safe vote vs Nickel for most. And all other “leading” voices were ok, but none amazing.

Cartmell and Salvador are like the next few terms unless a new player hops on the scene and makes a splash.

Puneeta…?
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Before taking on the Mayor's job, I'd prefer that Puneeta McBryan works a city councilor first. She can run for Ward O'Day'min to replace Anne Stephenson, who's been an OK city councilor but not someone who I'd necessarily vote for again.

As for the Mayor's job, I like Sohi and I wouldn't lose any sleep if he runs for Mayor again, although if Ashley Salvador ran for Mayor then she'll have my vote. I liked some of Cheryll Watson's ideas and I seriously considered voting for her but her anti-LRT stance turned me away. I'm not a Cartmell fan.
 
Gronk! said:
Before taking on the Mayor's job, I'd prefer that Puneeta McBryan works a city councilor first. She can run for Ward O'Day'min to replace Anne Stephenson, who's been an OK city councilor but not someone who I'd necessarily vote for again.

As for the Mayor's job, I like Sohi and I wouldn't lose any sleep if he runs for Mayor again, although if Ashley Salvador ran for Mayor then she'll have my vote. I liked some of Cheryll Watson's ideas and I seriously considered voting for her but her anti-LRT stance turned me away. I'm not a Cartmell fan.
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Heh, I remember being a strong supporter of Cheryll Watson right until she said she'd cancel the West LRT. Really, any candidate who opposed the LRT expansions we've got in place automatically lost my vote. That was a linchpin issue for me in that election.
 
I was intrigued by Watson too, but noticed that LRT position which really put me off and seemed at odds with other things, so didn't end up supporting her.

I thought it might be an attempt to grab onto some populist anti LRT support, or as a way to get attention for a campaign that wasn't getting much of it. Either way, not impressed.
 
SarcasticMarmot said:
His willingness to bypass council by politicking with the UCP on policing and road expansion in his ward is deeply concerning. Having strong principled fiscal conservative voices on council is an important balance to represent the whole city and keep us progressives accountable. However, Cartmell's willingness to act , what is in my opinion, unethically to get what he wants which makes me very concerned about him being mayor.
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I corrected that for you. Conservative can mean many things. I agree with you he is a backroom UCP/Federal Consv type that plays politics before constituents and city needs.I believe Cartmell is out of touch with the majority of Council and city wide voters.
 
I recently tried to connect with him on a couple of things and was disappointed on the lack of response.

I would say that is not a good sign.
 
Kosy123 said:
edmontonjournal.com

Edmonton taxes may rise 7% in 2024, police salary key to jump

Edmonton property taxes could jump seven per cent next year if city council passes the recommended budget later this fall.
edmontonjournal.com edmontonjournal.com

I swear to god we better get higher EPS effectiveness with the money we've thrown their way along with this salary settlement decision.
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I don't know if this is just part of the usual budget song and dance routine and they will find cuts or savings to bring that down closer to the previous increase.

But if they don't, I feel a number of people on council will not get re-elected. People are already fairly unhappy, unless those on council are really clueless they must already sort of realize this.
 
David A said:
I don't know if this is just part of the usual budget song and dance routine and they will find cuts or savings to bring that down closer to the previous increase.

But if they don't, I feel a number of people on council will not get re-elected. People are already fairly unhappy, unless those on council are really clueless they must already sort of realize this.
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If I remember reading right, they probably will dip into reserve funds? I think it was from Urban Affairs that I got that info (https://urbanaffairs.ca/edmonton-ish/how-did-the-city-pile-up-a-73-8-million-deficit/)

Either way, it's probably going to be the usual budget song and dance routine. I'd argue a lot of Council is more politically minded than given credit for, so they'll probably dip into reserves, especially as most of this is attributed to a one time increase in cost (the EPS settlement)
 
That may be the way it turns out, but there are still political dangers from high rates of spending. It may not look responsible to deplete the reserve funds further and that could also reduce their room to maneuver in the future, closer to the next election. So it may be a very short term solution that doesn't work well beyond that.

I do think the police budget needs to be better controlled and monitored, but council is afraid to do this. I don't think most of them are politically naive, but if the public gets a sense they can't reign in or control things enough, there could be a political cost regardless. There may not be any good/easy answers here.
 
7% jump is only a couple percentage points away from inflation. It's like a ~3% increase in normal times. point being it isn't much of an increase, people have to start understanding how inflation works.
 
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