More Ink, Sort Of

It’s not quite ink, in the sense that it’s not in the paper, but we’ve been noticed again—this time by Edmonton Journal city hall reporter Susan Ruttan on her blog [link]:

One of the slickest campaigns in this election is that of Don Iveson, a 28-year-old who until recently worked for the University of Alberta Students Union. This young man has campaign stationery, business cards, website, fundraising events, Facebook page, and a big fancy brochure with endorsements from people like MLA Raj Pannu and former MLA Don Massey.

Are the current councillors of the southwest Ward 5, Bryan Anderson and Mike Nickel, worried? Do they feel young Don nipping at their heels? Perhaps not. Incumbents rarely lose in civic elections, unless they’re complete duds.

I had coffee yesterday with former councillor Jim Taylor, now of the Downtown Business Association, who was among the crop of surprises the last time incumbents were ousted, which was 1995. Jim showed me an imposing stack of results and analysis of Edmonton municipal election results going back decades. It turns out that conventional wisdom about incumbent invincibility is really only three elections old.