A 28-year-old newcomer has humbled one of Edmonton's best-known politicians
Tonight I joined Daveberta and the Don Iveson campaign for Ward 5 Councilor at the Black Dog on Whyte. What a party. The gang that ran his campaign are all young, university students. They cajoled him to run, they knocked on doors they ran his campaign and in doing so they trounced an incumbent; Mike Nickel the Stickman.
The Stickmen, were anonymous (wink, wink, nudge ,nudge, everyone in the media knew who they were) sleazy political backstabber's. Led by Nickel and a couple of other rich business pals, they attacked and slandered former Mayor Jan Reimer (Edmonton's first woman Mayor who was also an NDP mayor) with anonymous billboard campaigns that managed to get her defeated, narrowly, by their pal Conservative tire salesman and city booster Bill Smith.
Nickel aspired to be Mayor, but settled with being City Councillor last election. His claim to fame as a councilor has been as the mouthpiece for his pals in the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on city council and his biggest cheerleader is Kerry Diotte at the Edmonton Sun.
Wanna build a bigger better art gallery? Forget about such a waste of money says Nickel fix the potholes, forgetting that potholes will have to be fixed again in two years. NYC has potholes too, but nobody cares cause they go there to see the Guggenheim, MOMA, the Empire State building, edifices of culture and architecture. No one comes back from NYC and says wow their streets are paved.
City councilors gave themselves a pay raise. Nickel and his CTF pals and Diotte launched a very public campaign to have council reconsider the raises. Wow using the Sun and all their pull in the city they got a few thousand signatures. Mike gets some press and the issue dies. Oh yes and Mike accepts his raise.
Substance was never Nickel's big suit. Political opportunism, partisan politics, and cheap shot sound bites attacking his fellow councilors to get in the news are what he was all about.
And he lost tonight. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
He lost because his was the politics of protest, right wing protest. Offer no alternatives, no solutions, just bitch and complain, and say look at me.
Don Iveson and his crew of youthful activists ran a campaign of substance and one based on creating a sustainable city. They should be congratulated. No slimy anonymous billboard attacks by them. No slagging their opponents. No grandstanding. Just good old door knocking, leafleting, and getting signs on fences and lawns.
Nickel ran on his laurels, which folks in Ward 5 found lacking. He was all about the politics of Me, and not the politics of community. Which is why he is crying in his beer tonight while those of us at the Black Dog are toasting a victory.
Hey guys and gals congrats. Ya stuck it to the stick man.
SEE:
Municipal Elections
Tags
Edmonton, Alberta, Don Iveson,Mike Nickel,stickmen,Civic election, Redmonton, Ward Five,
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