Riding Talk

I don't believe in having an unopposed government in power for as long as we Albertans have had. The phrase: "Absolute power corrupts..." comes to mind. It's not at all healthy for one party to hold so much power that the remaining parties are unable to manage even an effective critical voice.

Whatever we end up with, I'm crossing my fingers that we at least manage to achieve a minority government. It would be nice to see our politicians forced to negotiate and collaborate and to come to consensus agreement.

What we have now is a single party with the power to push their policies and dogma upon all Albertans unopposed.

I wait for the day when the provincial Liberal and NDP parties can come together with a single platform and responsibly and effectively mount a strong campaign against the PC power monopoly.

If not that, then at the very least, I hope to see our PC government grow a pair and start acting like real businessmen. It’s a supply and demand world. We the people of Alberta have the supply and the global demand is strong.

How is it that all this oil wealth, we’re seeing our elderly forced to live in squalor or forced to choose between food and shelter?

I’m tired of seeing provincial wealth be misspent.

Posted March 2, 2008 06:50 PM

Interesting discussion here...I'd like to share my experience with the campaign. I asked Bruce Miller what he thought of the other candidates, and he had nothing but nice things to say about them. Apparently he even knows Arlene Chapman from way back when. He argued, though, that the Liberals had the best platform and the best chance for a change in government. He kept his message positive.

By contrast, I went to Heather Klimchuk's office and talked to a worker there, who wanted to spend more time telling me how much she didn't like Bruce Miller than anything about the PCs. What a contrast.

Posted March 2, 2008 03:40 PM

Private Schools!
Under the P.C.s, private schools now receive 70% of the funding received by public schools. If parents want to send their children to schools that discriminate based on religion, special needs, and or ability to pay they should pay 100% of the cost.

Posted March 2, 2008 12:14 PM

Darlene is 100% correct, there is more than just one issue.

PC - Heather is a solid candidate, however, the PC's have been in power for a long time and I truly believe that change can be a good thing.

LIB - the best party to facilitate change without compromising the economic, social and environmental integrity of the province. How effective would Bruce be?

NDP - some interesting ideas for policy, however, many of these are difficult to implement.

Green - they need more time to mature as a party, however, I do see them gaining ground over the coming years.

Wildrose - once again, who are they? They seem too far right and seem to have a narrow-minded perspective on what Albertan's want, demand from a government.

Posted March 2, 2008 10:55 AM

Seems to be a lot of focus on housing here. I fail to see how the PC were fiscally irresponsible. They brought us out of debt, more than the rest of the provinces can claim. Why do all their residents want to move here?

As for housing prices - do you all realize it was just a matter of time before AB caught up to the rest of the country? Housing prices were drastically lower here compared to other large cities of the same size. Now we have caught up is the deal. Try buying a house in Vancouver!

NDP - no thanks. I don't want to be put into debt again.

I'm a small business owner and I've always believed the government should be run like a business. Money in, money out - some left at the end of the day. You cannot run a province into debt and think that's okay. In business you won't last long that way.

Wildrose - no nothing about them. Too much of a wild card, and a 27 year old candidate?

PC - maybe.

Jill if you really want to vote for the environment, why not vote Green? I might actually.

Anyone concerned about GM foods being allowed in stores with no labels? what about the North American Union - anyone even know what it is or what it means? How about regulations on herbal foods and supplements about to be imposed? What about raising taxes and where is that money going? What about MLA's being accountable for their spending and out of control travel expenditures? What about the cushy retirement plans of former MLAs and MPs?

Let's perhaps be a little more broad minded her folks. There isn't just one issue.

Posted March 1, 2008 02:22 PM

I don't know much about the other candidates in this riding, but I do know Heather Klimchuk.

It is quite incorrect to say she has minimal experience in the political arena. She has a ton of experience, and a long history of working in the political sphere. I know that because I hired her to work at the Alberta Legislative Assembly almost 28 years ago.

Heather has a heart as big as all outdoors, and genuinely cares about people, and has always shown a strong orientation to public service.

You could do worse, but you won't do better than Heather to represent edmonton-Glenora.

Posted March 1, 2008 12:43 PM

Marlene: I for one don't doubt Ms. Chapman's credentials. But Bruce Miller isn't lacking in them either. The roundtable you describe sounds exactly like one of Mr. Miller's town hall meetings that I attended--he listened to everyone's point of view and talked about his own experience as a member of the affordable housing task force.

As for standing up for human rights, and "a proven track record of standing up for those who can no longer stand for themselves," I'd say Mr. Miller's credentials are just as strong as Ms. Chapman's. The NDP are barking up the wrong tree attacking him.

What it comes down to for me is that the PCs are much stronger in Glenora (and Edmonton in general) this time around. Heather Klimchuk, the Conservative candidate, is rather frightening to talk to in person--but she has a lot of support among the wealthier members of the community. The NDP placed second here last time with an exceptionally strong candidate in Larry Booi and a huge anti-Ralph Klein vote. Bluntly, the NDP can't win Glenora this time around. But they can take enough votes away from the Liberals to let Ms. Klimchuk win.

Posted March 1, 2008 01:06 AM

Craig, we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I attended a round table discussion with Ms. Chapman on Wednesday evening and it was quite informative. She took the time to listen to all attendees and she even took the time to offer some background on her work with the affordable housing issue in Edmonton. Her work as Constituency Assistant for David Eggen has given her insight into the lack of support on the government side for the most vulnerable among us. Her 20+ years in Social Work has also given her insight on how best to solve these issues.

If I had to choose who I would want fighting for my rights as a human being it would be Ms. Chapman. She has a proven track record of standing up for those who can no longer stand for themselves. Add to that the fact that all of her experience is outside of the 'political posturing' arena.

Posted February 29, 2008 12:49 AM

I'm sorry, Marlene Faye, but to say that Bruce Miller has "a record of being invisible in the Constituency" is just wrong. He organized several town hall meetings in local community league halls during the affordable housing crisis in order to actually talk to and help people with their massive rent increases--and this wasn't political posturing--there were government workers from housing and social services at these meetings who were able to give some truly distressed people some real help. And that was the goal of those meetings, just to help people, not to raise awareness of his visibility in the constituency.

Posted February 26, 2008 04:51 AM

Number one issue for me is the environment. We can bicker about infrastructure and the economy all we want, but the bottom line is, if we're all wearing C02 masks and building tornado cellars in 50 years, it won't matter that much, will it? The Cowboys Fringants, a Quebec group, has a great song about this: the last man on earth, dying on a scorching, barren planet, reminisces about the days of his great-grandparents, when people lived by the rhythm of seasons. Has anyone else noticed the disturbed weather patterns in Edmonton and around the world? Are we supposed to be having a chinook in February? It's time to put some hard changes into place so that this is not our future.

The NDP candidate came in 2nd in 2004, just behind Bruce Miller. That means a lot of people are like-minded. Surely we're not going to elect a Conservative in Glenora/Westmount, and Arlene Chapman looks like an excellent candidate to me.

Posted February 25, 2008 03:04 PM

I'm not voting PC because its time to change, I'm not voting Liberal because I'm from the east and I don't trust that brand. NDP is a no also because of what they did in Ontario, BC and Jack Layton way of seeing the world trough pink glass.
what's left for me ? Green I guess.

PS Wildrose sounds kinda g** to me isn't it ?

Posted February 21, 2008 01:35 PM

Arlene Chapman is a strong candidate. But I take offence to the comment that Bruce Miller is invisible, especially on housing. He worked on the affordable housing task force and was very approachable and helped me find help when my rent went up. He doesn't get his name in the media as much as he could, but that doesn't make him invisible.

Posted February 20, 2008 02:56 AM

NUMBER 1 ISSUE? AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Albertans are paying far more for housing than can be justified by any stretch of the imagination.
The NDP is the only party that comes 'close' to understanding what has caused the affordable housing crisis we enjoy today.
The lack of sound fiscal policy by the PC government has condemned a growing number of Albertans to substandard living conditions and possibly a far greater number (of those who panic bought houses over the past few years at rediculous prices) when we enter a recession sometime late this year or early 2009.
The Liberals are laughable. Kevin Taft would lower the royalties collected on natural gas because of the low value of the commodity. What he doesn't tell you is the reason it was so low was because there was a surplus because of overproduction by the natural gas exploration companies. So should we be subsidizing a poorly managed sector with your and my money? I don't think so.
The Wildrose Alliance is a non-starter. They would reduce royalties for both the oil and gas sector, thereby refueling the already out of control housing prices in Alberta.
The Green Party has an interesting platform but have not come of age yet.
The one and most effective way to bring housing prices back down to realistic levels is for us (you and I) to tell realtors, contractors, developers etc.to take a hike and that we will wait for them to come down in price. We have the power if only we have the sense to use it.
Housing should never have become a commodity!! Shelter is a necessity to life in our country and by making it a commodity we are affectively planting the seeds that will mature into ghettos or slums!! These are the unfortunate victims of a society that is quickly moving to the dark side for the love of the almighty dollar!! Shame on us!!

Posted February 19, 2008 10:58 PM

It's great to see a woman like Arlene Chapman running in this riding. She is a long time advocate for women's and social issues in Edmonton with a great depth of experience.

Alberta needs way more women sitting in the legislature. I hope my fellow residents of Edmonton-Glenora will send Arlene there as our MLA!

Posted February 18, 2008 01:06 AM

When posed the choice between Heather Klimchuk, Bruce Miller, or Arlene Chapman the choice is clear - ARLENE CHAPMAN

Bruce Miller has been a sitting MLA for 4 years and has a record of being invisible in this constituency.

Heather Klimchuck has minimal experience in a political arena and the Conservative platform is aimed at pleasing big business.

Arlene Chapman has been involved in the political arena for decades and her work for David Eggan has proven her ability to work for others and get results.

The voice I want for Glenora is ARLENE CHAPMAN and the Alberta NDP.

Posted February 17, 2008 05:41 PM

I heard on CBC today that Edmonton is shaping up to be a two way race between the Liberals and the NDP. Given those choices the NDP have a way better plan for renters and the environment. Arlene Chapman is a great candidate and history shows they can win this riding.

The conservatives are not a threat so hopefully people will vote for what they believe, rather than attempt to vote strategically.

Posted February 17, 2008 05:33 PM

I vote Liberal because it is the only party that can defeat the PC's. The NDP Arlene Chapman may win the riding of Glenora.

Posted February 16, 2008 07:07 PM

I'm currently away at University (where it's MUCH cheaper in Winnipeg!) but would like to return to Edmonton some day. I hope voters here do the right thing and elect another NDP member to ensure life becomes more affordable in Alberta. Otherwise good luck getting any educated young people coming back to the province, we just cant afford it!

Posted February 14, 2008 02:51 AM