Mayor’s 2013 State of the City Address

Mayor Mandel never fails to get the City’s attention with his annual State of the City address. This one was noteworthy as much for what wasn’t said as what was.

The most complex issue the Mayor raised was regional planning and equity. Elise Stolte from the Journal wrote a blog post which includes the text of the regional section.

I’ve been working with the region on one of the few files that’s made some genuine progress, which is regional transit. I brokered a consensus to jointly purchase a smart card system for handling fares, including sharing the cost with St. Albert and Strathcona County – just working on the paperwork now. And we’re midway through a project looking at whether delivering transit in the region would be more effective and efficient if united together in a regional services commission. It took two years to get to this point, but as Chair of the Regional Transit Committee I’ve been proud to show that diplomacy and cooperation can work in the region. It’s the kind of thing that we couldn’t have imagined when Mayor Mandel first made the call for a formal Capital Region in his 2007 State-of-the-City speech.

That said, I support the Mayor’s call for the province to take renewed interest in strengthening the region’s framework for cooperation, planning for growth, clearer prioritization of regional infrastructure and a way to achieve fair sharing of the costs and benefits of growth. He made the case that Edmonton is disadvantaged, and I think he’s right – for example, in the counties the major roads and interchanges are built and maintained by the province – in Edmonton developers and the City pay for this infrastructure. Examples like this go on, from inequitable policing grants to shouldering disproportionate burdens like homelessness. The City Charter work with the province is supposed to address some of these special circumstances, and Tuesday’s speech should create new urgency for the province to show results on the City Charter. Diplomacy will be required to deliver results in the long run.

Unexpectedly, the Mayor blasted the province for cuts to Post-Secondary Education, a key sector of Edmonton’s economy. I’ve long argued that the quality of learning and research happening here is an under-emphasized key competitive advantage for our city. It was wonderful to hear him speak so eloquently about our schools’ importance to creativity and human advancement, as well as the economic importance of research and technology commercialization. I too am very concerned about what these deep cuts could mean for Edmonton – and for our whole province. The ideas and solutions developed at our Post Secondaries are key to sustaining our progress as a city. They support improved resource development, spur investment and guide us in addressing social issues, just to name a few. His advocacy was consistent with the work I’ve spearheaded with our Post Secondaries, School Boards, EPL and others toward positioning Edmonton as a “City of Learners”. It was great to see learning and discovery emphasized with the full force of the Mayor’s influence.

As for the deferral of the mayor’s announcement of his intentions for this fall, it’s a shrewd move. It will put a lid on succession jockeying for a while, which is probably a good thing as Council works through arena details, budget revisions and government relations strategy over the coming weeks. Plus, standing for public office is a big decision for anyone, and so I respect that the mayor may need some more time to decide.

As for my own decision making, since I got asked a lot about it this week: yes, I continue to give strong consideration to running for mayor. I have already decided I won’t run for my Ward 10 Council seat again, and that stands. I have also said I won’t run against the mayor if he runs again. There are many factors in play, so this delay provides some more time to weigh them all carefully.

13 thoughts on “Mayor’s 2013 State of the City Address

  1. Thanks for your viewpoints and candour as always and for your continued great work on council. I hope to have the chance to vote for you as our next mayor :)

  2. . . . thanks for your comments on the Mayor’s State of the City Address . . . lucid and to the point . . . you will make a great mayor one day . . .

  3. Don, thanks for this analysis. Mayor Mandel threw down some rather weighty content, which needed to be heard. Spurring society’s conversations is never comfortable, and I’m pleased he took this opportunity to give the discourse a shove.

    I’m truly happy that you’re considering running for mayor, and I know that this is subject to Mayor Mandel’s decision. However, municipal politics in this city would have a huge hole in it, if you were not to be a part of it. Thanks for all you do.

    Joey Hundert

  4. Councillor Don:

    1. Well stated and articulated, which you do so well;

    2. Your read of the major issues is 100% accurate;

    3. Stating your political plans in the midst of uncertainty is HIGHLY commendable.

    Thanks Don for your leadership qualities and unwavering commitment to Edmonton.

    Rick Preston

  5. Don, I am happy to hear that you are considering running for Mayor. I think that having a progressive perspective for our city will serve us all well. I hope to be able to cast my vote for you again soon!

  6. I am also happy to hear you are considering a run. I used to live in your ward and I appreciate what I have seen of your work. And this transit cooperation is also important – I went to take the bus to Spruce Grove the other day and was shocked to learn it was 6 dollars! It doesn’t sound like a lot but to me having all of these separate systems seems silly. People in surrounding communities can buy bus passes and use ETS, but don’t have to pay taxes towards the system (or many many other services in the City which they can use as part of the Edmonton area). Thanks for your great work Don, and I hope you run for Mayor. You would have my vote!

  7. Good analysis Don. My initial thought was that the mayor assembled 2000 people to announce his decision and then decided not to, which seemed to be a let-down for the huge group of 2,000 business people, politicians and media assembled. However the mayor raised some very good points and perhaps the biggest benefit is the slow-down of politicking during this election year.

  8. Don, I appreciate your hard work and commitment to bringing sound thought to City leadership. Thank you for being a great leader in my Ward, and I would love to cast my vote for you as Mayor!

  9. You should run whether the mayor does or not. You would get my vote.
    Christine Bennett

  10. I hope you run for Mayor but was disappointed to see how strongly you support the current mayor. I’m tired of hearing Mayor Mandel insult the intelligence of citizens as he did several times this year when there was honest disapproval of the arena decision. I am tired of the focus on window dressing when critical infrastructure is crumbling and we are supporting a billionaire and his pro sports team at the expense of families and services that all will benefit from. It is time for a change. The last mayoral campaign I worked on was Laurence Decore’s – now there was a mayor!

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