I was wrong. I predicted Nenshi to end up in last place, with McIver in first and Higgins in second. As you all know, Nenshi emerged victorious with 40 per cent of the vote – 8 per cent more than McIver.
How did he win?
Don’t get me wrong. As surprised as I was, it was a pleasant surprise. As a member of the liberal young population, I was also a supporter of Nenshi but really did underestimate the potential of liberal minds in Calgary. Nevertheless, we have to look at how did he win? Some people suggest that Higgins and McIver split the conservative vote. While that may be true, in a conservative city like Calgary, even a split conservative vote is usually enough to win. The true success of Nenshi lies within his success with new voter demographic groups, especially youth from 18 to 34. His tactics involved the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter.
So what does it mean for Calgary?
Nenshi’s win is truly a big step for Calgary. In the past, Calgary has always been run as a business town where people come here to work hard and then retire elsewhere for the idealist relaxing life. Nenshi represents a divergent political approach to running Calgary. He supports a restructuring of the city to make it a city for living.
So what does he plan to do?
Nenshi promised Calgary several things in his campaign. First and most urgent would be fixing a $60 million deficit in the city budget. Nenshi might have to explore deficit financing to pursue the project he has promised. Nevertheless, the 60 million dollars must be accounted for and dealt with. The second would be building much needed city infrastructure including the airport tunnel and the southeast LRT. Funding and planning will be lengthy, so they may not finish within Nenshi’s three year term. Third would be overhauling the financial auditing system at City Hall to improve efficiency and how well money is spent. This problem is very much related to the budget deficit but really more related to excessive and wasteful spending in Calgary.
What challenges does Nenshi face?
In two simple words, money and support. Nenshi must first find support from City Council to pursue some of his policies that are not necessarily popular within the council. Nenshi must consolidate his ideas and pursue them with more supporters within the chambers. Money is probably the overwhelming issue. In a year of economic hardship, government spending will be a controversial issue. While more spending will stimulate the economy, that phenomenon is really observed at the national level. Finding the money and funds to make the necessary changes will prove to be a major hurdle for Nenshi and his administration.
What does the future look like?
With a confident new mayor at its head, Calgary is ready to tackle the many challenges that currently trouble it. Calgary must deal with deteriorating city infrastructure, developing urban sprawl, exacerbating transportation flow and changing economic directions. The city is at a turning point and important decisions must be made. We can only trust in the new council we have elected in and work together to promote a better Calgary.