Calgary Mayoral Race Re-Cap

First off Dave Bronconnier announced he wasn't running again.

This left Ric McIver and his sizable ($700 000) campaign war chest as the front runner. Ric is reported to have been raising money since 2007 - doing "constant fund raising".

Barb Higgins quit her position as local CTV news anchor to run for mayor. Having been on TV almost every night for 20 plus years she has amazing name recognition.

Conventional Political wisdom says municipal politics comes down to money and name recognition, money helping you buy name recognition. This should have been a battle of two titans.

But...

Here we are with three days to go and it's a three way race, McIver, Higgins and Nenshi.

Naheed Nenshi was at the back of the pack at %4 support when Higgins entered the race. He didn't have her name recognition, and he doesn't have McIver's war chest. So what's going on? He's beat conventional wisdom by working out side of the traditional system. He's engaged with his supporters beyond just asking them for money. His web site had content and ideas on it! (what a crazy idea) He showed supporters how they could spread the word via their social networks. He asked tough questions about the Police budget. That upset the Chief of Police, though the chief couldn't say why Nenshi was wrong. That exchange got Nenshi coverage. Also it showed him asking tough questions. That is worth way more than saying you know how to ask questions.

Defying conventional wisdom by doing more with less; that's the type of thinking we need at City Hall.

Don't forget to vote on Monday!

- Peace