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Municipal Politics

If you would like to watch the mayor's debate from last week, here it is.


Although it says video not available, it should work when clicking on link. If link not working, when in youtube just search Beyond2021 KV capital and it should pop up.
 
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Watched the whole video tonight. Cheryl was the clear winner for me. Oshry was a bit combative, but I like that he's a reasonable alternative to Nickel and could win over some of that crowd. Sohi disappointed me a lot. And krushell had lots of buzz words, but not a ton of details. Cheryl also had the best speaking skills and presence I'd argue. And she had unique vision and ideas. Oshry was 2nd on the vision meter for me, but more from a critical and brash style.

Overall, im interested to see how things pan out. I think Cheryl could be the dark horse if she gets in front of enough people. Hard to not like her as a personality, policies aside.
 
thommyjo said:
Watched the whole video tonight. Cheryl was the clear winner for me. Oshry was a bit combative, but I like that he's a reasonable alternative to Nickel and could win over some of that crowd. Sohi disappointed me a lot. And krushell had lots of buzz words, but not a ton of details. Cheryl also had the best speaking skills and presence I'd argue. And she had unique vision and ideas. Oshry was 2nd on the vision meter for me, but more from a critical and brash style.

Overall, im interested to see how things pan out. I think Cheryl could be the dark horse if she gets in front of enough people. Hard to not like her as a personality, policies aside.
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I agree. Watson was impressive - not just for having the most policy ideas, which I hear doesn't tend to win elections, but that she's well spoken, accomplished and very likeable.

Sohi definitely tried to emphasize all he did for Edmonton as federal minister. I don't buy that
the pipeline wouldn't have happened without him - it was well on it's way to being approved after a lengthy process before he came into the picture near the end.
 
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From the Watson campaign... (remember you heard it here first)
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Watson for Mayor 2021
​
​
Cheryll participated in the KV Capital Mayoral Forum BEYOND 2021.
Cheryll was incredible. She was relaxed, confident and strategic. Her answers were practical and honest. She easily won the room and we are all so proud of her!
You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgueZzL425Q
This was a game changing debate for us. The feedback has been incredible.
It’s clear Cheryll Watson is the right choice for Mayor. We need your help to get her across the finish line on October 18. Donate today and make a BIG impact.
Thank you!
Alex Hryciw,
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Cheryll certainly sparkled and stood out in a very positive way. She was confident and calculated.

Sohi was calm, cool, collected and sat back a little bit but reminded us of his broad experience in areas few others could touch.

Oshry was saying much of the right things, but is not a politician. I'd love to see what he could do in the City Manager's office though.

Kim seemed less prepared than I would have expected and came across poorly.
 
I'd love to know your rational with Kim there.

I quite like Kim and enjoy our conversations but believe that she would be a better Councillor or business leader versus Mayor.
 
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^^^^ Yes, as I suspected, you have pre-conceived notions all-'round. I have known Kim for years and apart from a strong resume and powerful tech connections in California's silicon valley and the successful start-up more recently of two tech companies of her own, she came across as self-assured in this "non-debate" with an idea of how to reactivate the downtown and work to put Edmonton back on the map. She and Amarjeet shared a Council term and she was more animated and activated by far in on-going council business particularly in the early stages of encouraging a down-town location for a new arena -- efforts that have certainly paid off for downtown activation (pre-COVID). Amarjeet is a nice guy but he is not engaged with the same kind of intensity that Kim displays. I'll go even further in my non-debate assessment -- on a scale of 0 to 10 -- Cheryll 9.5, Kim 8, Amarjeet 5, Michael 2, Mike (no-show) minus 5.
 
preconceived notions all around are one thing but campaigning on things that are in fact not even legal - even though they make for nice sound bites - is foolish.

buy local? i get it and when i have a personal choice i walk the talk. but for a government - even a municipal one - to think that those kinds of barriers are appropriate shows a large disconnect. firstly, there are numerous agreements from the canada/us/mexico trade agreement to tilma that says you can't do what's being proposed. secondly, those things are a two way street. how would she feel about an edmonton contractor or service provider not being allowed to bid on projects in st. albert or leduc or vancouver or toronto or austin texas? is she really talking about those kinds of roadblocks for pcl and stantec and clark etc. being acceptable? anyone seriously wanting to be mayor should know better than to campaign based on windmill tilting - it's a waste of time both before and after the election that would be better spent focused elsewhere.

i don't believe either kim or cheryll demonstrated other than a superficial understanding of how things really work - or need to work - if they're going to be successful.

and while i like michael, i don't think there are enough "quick wins" to be sustainable over the long term (although i am quite supportive of "deemed approvals" resulting from undue delays).
 
^^^^ brings to mind the most recent winners for the 5 selection spots for the design of Edmonton's Warehouse District Park -- no landscape design selections from Edmonton (none... zero... nada... nicht... nein... nyet), one from Calgary, one from Vancouver, one from Toronto, one from NYC, and one from Boston/L.A. I think Kim's point was that we shouldn't be so insecure about our own City that there should be no local representation at all in big-City decision making. Little wonder that real talent leaves the City looking for greener pastures.
 
^

it's hard to comment on the selections made without knowing the bidders seeking.

it might be more telling to know who didn't submit - and why - than who wasn't chosen.

as an example, i doubt whether you'll see perkins+will bid on any more edmonton work whether it's part of a design competition or not.

it's not fair to say it's "not buying or supporting local" when the issues are much deeper and more complex than that (as noted in some of your comments elsewhere including the touch the water initiative).
 
^^^^ this might sound like sour grapes, Ken, but really it isn't because we found a way around the City inanity. We submitted a proposal with Douglas Cardinal on our team (19 honorary doctorates and a citation for excellence from from ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) and an honorary lifetime membership thereon), with Georgina Lightning on our team (many-times honored film-maker), with Laura Powell on our team (world-renowned vertical planting design aficianado), with representation from up-and-coming Edmonton-based landscape firm -- Invistec) and many others with outstanding recognition in their various fields. So good was our team that we self-scored into bonus territory over and over again by City reconning standards. Que sera sera -- we still expect to win.
 
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archited said:
^^^^ this might sound like sour grapes, Ken, but really it isn't because we found a way around the City inanity. We submitted a proposal with Douglas Cardinal on our team (19 honorary doctorates and a citation for excellence from from ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) and an honorary lifetime membership thereon), with Georgina Lightning on our team (many-times honored film-maker), with Laura Powell on our team (world-renowned vertical planting design aficianado), with representation from up-and-coming Edmonton-based landscape firm -- Invistec) and many others with outstanding recognition in their various fields. So good was our team that we self-scored into bonus territory over and over again by City reconning standards. Que sera sera -- we still expect to win.
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You can stack a team with as many award winners, doctors, famous professionals, etc., but you could still lose out on a bid if you don't hit the RFP's requirements exactly. I have reviewed many consultant proposals where team experience is highly touted and noted in the hundreds of years but they failed to meet some of the requirements in the proposal and eventually lost out to another bidder.

Government procurement is very tedious, it has to be given the public dollars that will be paying for the services required, and in effect there are very specific requirements for any consultant bid requests.
 
^^^^ @Avenuer I have to call BS -- when does it matter what is best for the City! City Planning is the least aware of what is best for the City; at some point I am going to have to rescue you from a career of non-significance and ensconce you on the avant-garde side of the equation that makes a real difference for society.
 
I had a scheduled chat with Cheryll Watson today, which is open and available to anyone that you can book on her website. She was willing to discuss issues that I felt were pressing for the city and she provided well thought out responses backed by examples and anecdotes of what she has done. While she alluded to her lack of political background, I do not feel that that is a weakness given we have seen career politicians (Iveson, Nickel, for example) and what they have, or haven't accomplished.

I was quite satisfied with our chat, I encourage all to reach out regardless of if you support her or not just to hear her thoughts on matters important to you (see bottom of the link for appointment scheduling):

https://www.cheryllwatson.ca/platform
 
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