Jul 10
29
Ward 12 Council battle
My neighborhood is about to change. From a political standpoint anyway. Millwoods is changing and the southeast corner of the city is being divided, industrial areas removed and becoming a lump of residential with the new development and rural areas south of Ellerslie Road.
This I don’t mind, though there are some interesting effects of this change.
Our ward is losing the residential and industrial sectors to the west of 50th and north of 23rd ave, in addition to the industrial sectors north of the Whitemud. This places us in an interesting position (my own home in particular being the northernmost residents of the ward backing onto the ‘mud). Our ward is changing to a completely residential ward. With the exception of some retail areas, there is virtually no industrial area remaining. It will be interesting to see what priorities are identified in our ward and how they might differ from the past.
Signs have been springing up in our ward already. The new ward system doesn’t come into play until election day October 18, almost 3 months from now, but signs (one sign, many copies) have been up for over a month already.
Vikram Bagga – a local Jeweller has by all appearances thrown his hat into the ring for mayor. Nomination papers are due on September 20, 2010 so to date, assuming our incumbent we have 2 ‘confirmed’ candidates in our ‘neck of the woods’ – Amarjeet Sohi and Mr. Bagga.
One thing is clear. Ward 12 is a very multicultural district with notable Sikh, Hindu, and Islamic populations (as well as Christian, other theist and atheist residents of all colours) and I am concerned that citizens are going to be sending people to city hall based on race and birthplace, not platform.
Let me make this clear so that any potential mudslinging is nipped right up front. My concern is most certainly related to cultural relevance, but is certainly not prejudicial. I proudly put my support behind Mr. Sohi in the last election based on his platform – and I personally see no relevance in race, religion or skin tone as they relate to the issues of a ward in this city. [ED Note: This isn't completely true where crime and education are impacted by cultural makeup. Rather - my point is that to me - any candidate would recognize the cultural needs of their citizens, regardless of skin colour.]
What is my concern? My concern is the number of people supporting Mr. Bagga, when not a single alternative has been announced. These cannot all be associates or family members of Mr. Bagga so if not culturally motivated I wonder where his support is generated.
Regardless of the cultural support Mr. Bagga may be receiving, I do not fault him. He is running for office, and that means getting your support from wherever it stems. I have not met Mr. Bagga formally, though he spends some time with a friend of his that lives a few doors from me. He has knocked on my door asking for my families support this election – but sadly I wasn’t able to speak with him directly to get his position on things that are important to me and my family (because I was tending to the smelly bottom of one of them).
Youth crime, community policing, infrastructure funding, taxation, personal privacy, accessible technology, green space – these are things that matter to me. They also tend to be balance points between candidates. It is hard for me to accept that I’m being asked to support someone who has not yet put forth his concerns, plans and platform against as yet unknown candidates… but more than a few have.
So I ask this question. To those individuals and families currently supporting and promoting Mr. Bagga as an alternative: Why?
I don’t suggest that Mr. Bagga is not capable of the job. Indeed – he’s been in harrier situations than most of us, and has a unique perspective on small business – but just what is it? Because of his experience is he going to focus on small business issues? Policing issues? Where will his time be spent – and will it represent the real issues of you and your family? I only ask because I still don’t know the answer.
Regardless – I do wish Mr. Bagga well. I believe that it is a noble and respectable desire to stand for your community in government to make changes that will positively impact your constituents. But rather than trying to rally votes with signage – why not meet with your community and talk about issues and platform, and how you plan to represent their concerns?
