Edmonton Election 2013: Update #6

We did not host a #yegvote Hangout last night, but we’ll be back next week with a special Nomination Day episode, so stay tuned!

Here’s my latest election news roundup:

• Monday is nomination day, but until then be sure to check out Dave’s list of declared candidates. It’ll be interesting to see how many more people show up to City Hall on Monday. Ward 6 is up to 14 candidates now that former candidate Carla Frost has thrown her hat into the ring. Ward 10 candidate Zack Siezmagraff has withdrawn from the race due to his health.
• Wednesday was the final Council meeting for the current City Council, and it was filled with emotional goodbyes and tributes to Mayor Mandel. Earlier that day, Mayor Mandel had released a letter to citizens. I wrote about Mandel’s impact on Edmonton back in May.
• Some interesting news from Ward 5 yesterday! Dan St. Pierre has decided to withdraw from the race and will instead be supporting rival Michael Oshry. “While [Dan] feels that he is a strong contender, he believes there are others who are not and that his continued presence in this campaign may allow those individuals to benefit from a vote splitting situation.”
• Karen Leibovici has released her campaign donors list and is encouraging her rivals to do the same. Thus far she has raised an impressive $365,000.
• Kerry Diotte continues his attention-grabbing approach, first announcing a tax freeze and then releasing an awkward video on the arena deal:

• Here’s one humorous response to the video. Here’s what the Sun wrote. Here’s a response from David Staples.
• Diotte’s approach notwithstanding, we’re starting to see some policy announcements. Don Iveson yesterday announced goals around how we fund Edmonton today and in the future. “Property taxes are inherently unfair and regressive,” he wrote.
• Don Iveson also tackled restrictive covenants this week, with support from EFCL.
• The three top mayoral candidates took part in another forum last night hosted by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. CBC has a recap here.
• Here’s a look at how the top three mayoral candidates differ on money issues.
• Hey Edmonton, use your braaaiiinnns! The Vote Zombie Wall! campaign is picking up steam. Watch for “Citizen Zombie” to file his nomination papers on Monday.
• In case you missed it, here’s my recap of the OCL/DECL Ward 6 Candidate Forum that took place on Tuesday night.
• David Staples is planning to meet with councillors from the most hotly contested wards, and has begun his investigation with Ward 10. He’s also been writing about the public relations battle.
• The Gateway published an article this week alleging that Karen Leibovici had ties to Daryl Katz. They were forced to retract it.
• Councillor Sohi has released a slick video as part of his re-election campaign:

• Here are some new responses to The Local Good’s questionnaire: Alla Ternikova in Ward 5, Bev Esslinger in Ward 2, Hafis Devji in Ward 10, Richard Feehan in Ward 10, and Michael Walters in Ward 10.
• Shocker: ActivatED has endorsed Don Iveson for mayor. They also endorsed Andrew Knack in Ward 1 and released statements on Ward 4 and Ward 11.
• Ryan Hastman has a couple of new profiles: Scott McKeen in Ward 6, and Bev Esslinger in Ward 2.
• Stratyos has been conducting a questionnaire for candidates with seven questions. He’s got ten responses so far.
• Ward 3 candidate David Dodge wants to start a winter festival in Edmonton.

Great fall photo of Edmonton by Paul.

You can follow Edmonton Election news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegvote and you can see my coverage here. Also be sure to check out the #yegvote flipboard for curated election-related stories on a daily basis.

What have I missed? Let me know!

Disclosure: I’m actively volunteering for Don Iveson’s mayoral campaign.