Edmonton Election 2013: Update #8

Tonight our guest on the EdmontonPolitics.com #yegvote Hangout was mayoral candidate Kerry Diotte! It was a great opportunity to dig into some key issues with him, including the arena, debt, and taxes. You can watch the archive here:

Thanks for joining us tonight Kerry!

These updates are starting to get pretty long as the election heats up! For ongoing news items, be sure to check out my #yegvote Flipboard.

Here’s my latest election news roundup:

• For the list of candidates complete with contact information and social media links, check out ShareEdmonton. You can also find out about upcoming events and more.
• Every day it seems there are multiple forums happening, and the official City of Edmonton ones are well underway now too. Turnout has been great, and you can watch them live online too. Failing that, all of the archived video is available online. Here is Global’s piece on the first mayoral forum.
• If you’re planning to watch more of the forums, be sure to play Edmonton Election Bingo.
• In a pretty surprising turn of events, Edmonton Sun columnist Lorne Gunter all but used the word “endorse” in his latest piece on Don Iveson. Gunter wrote: “Don Iveson is the only candidate with the intellectual heft and personality to be mayor of Edmonton for the next four years.”
• The election took a negative turn this week as Karen Leibovici went on the offensive. She called Iveson’s tax increase plan flawed, and at a fundraiser this morning she said Edmonton will “grind to a halt” if either Iveson or Diotte is elected mayor. Earlier this week a 14-year-old article written by Don Iveson when he was at The Gateway made the rounds online. Don laughed it off as satire, but Kerry said he has “to do a bit of explaining there.”
• Karen Leibovici also talked about polling station cuts for seniors, bringing diversity back to City Hall, and released her resume online, “applying to Edmontonians for the job of Mayor of the City of Edmonton.”
• Don Iveson posted this week about smart cards, parking, pride, and downtown revitalization, about prosperity for the Capital Region, and about building our LRT network. He also posted his second week in review and debuted a new video:

• In comparison with his primary competitors, Kerry Diotte had a relatively quiet week. He did share his speech from the mayoral forum and posted a number of photos from events.
• From the Edmonton Journal: Ballot-box blues. Nice visualization of voter turnout.
• Global Edmonton is wondering about the importance of social media in political campaigns.
• Changes to polling station locations for those in assisted living have caused some concern.
• Have you been enjoying the Edmonton Election Tumblr? It’s written by the very funny Tim Mikula.
• Former City Councillor Alan Bolstad says Edmonton is “growing in an unsustainable way” and says we need candidates with new vision.
• Dave Cournoyer wrote about some comments that EPSB Trustee Orville Chubb made about the LGBTQ anti-bullying policy.
• Here are some new responses to The Local Good’s questionnaire: Andrzej Gudanowski in Ward 6, Dennis Gane in Ward 11, mayoral candidate Kristine Acielo, and mayoral candidate Don Iveson.
• David Staples wrote about the strong business candidates vying for the Council seat in Ward 5.
• Ryan Hastman wrote about St. Albert candidate Cathy Heron.
• Here’s a recap of the interVivos event that took place on Monday.
• Omar Mouallem asks a question that many have wondered about over the last few weeks: could Karen Leibovici and Don Iveson split the vote?
• Here are six awesome reasons to run for municipal office.
• Can Twitter be used to predict the outcome of the election?
• If you’re looking for something a little lighter, here’s a look at the fashion and style approaches of the three main mayoral candidates.

From Edmonton Elections, here’s everything you need to know about voting:

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.