How much do you know about the proposed change to ward boundaries that is before council right now? Up until a few days ago, my own answer was ”very little”. Oh sure, it’s been in the news on and off but when it caught my attention this week and I realized I needed to understand this better, I found information very hard to come by in the public domain.
This morning was the first time I was able to view a clear map of the proposed new ward boundaries in relation to large physical barriers such as the airport, Deerfoot trail, industrial areas, etc and I was shocked to see ward boundaries that divide some communities, orphan others and group communities together that have no relation to each other and are separated by vast physical barriers.
Not only do the proposed ward boundaries divide and orphan communities predominantly in the north and northeast, but they are being changed without public input and these changes, once approved by council, will be with us for the next 2 to 3 municipal election cycles. When Highland Park Community Association learned of the changes last night at their regular meeting, they immediately passed an emergency resolution to oppose the changes. Will that resolution have any weight? I certainly hope so. At least they were informed of the changes and could take action.
I’m not going to go into great detail on how we got here. For that I recommend CivicCamper DJ Kelly’s blog. But I am going to give you some suggestions for some simple actions you can take if you’re as concerned as I am. Alderman Bob Hawkesworth will be bringing a motion to Council on Monday that recommends sending the whole shootin’ match back to the electoral officer (where it belongs) for some minor changes to ward boundaries that will be sufficient to meet requirements for the 2010 election. The issue of major changes to ward boundaries can then be revisited prior to subsequent elections.
Letters of support for re-opening the debate on ward boundaries need to be sent immediately, to Alderman Hawkesworth and all members of council. Their email addresses are included below. The motion Monday morning needs 10 votes to succeed and if this gerrymandering of ward boundaries concerns you, then we urge you to let council know you want this debate reopened.
And for good measure, let’s make this another Blue Monday in council. Dig out those CivicCamp Blue shirts, pin on your CivicCamp buttons and pop into council chambers for an hour at 9:30am Monday, June 1. Although the public will not be given the opportunity to step up to the microphone on Monday to register our concern, our very presence will speak volumes.
Alderman Bob Hawkesworth <bob.hawkesworth@calgary.ca> , Alderman Dale Hodges <Dale.Hodges@calgary.ca>, Alderman Gord Lowe <gord.lowe@calgary.ca>, Alderman Jim Stevenson <jim.stevenson@calgary.ca>, Alderman Ray Jones <rjones@calgary.ca>, Alderman Joe Connelly <joe.connelly@calgary.ca>, Alderman John Mar <john.mar@calgary.ca>, Alderman Joe Ceci <joe.ceci@calgary.ca>, Alderman Andre Chabot <andre.chabot@calgary.ca>, Alderman Brian Pincott <Brian.Pincott@calgary.ca>, Alderman Ric McIver <ric.mciver@calgary.ca>, Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart diane.colley-urquhart@calgary.ca, Alderman Linda Fox-Mellway <linda.fox-mellway@calgary.ca>, Alderman Druh Farrell <Druh.Farrell@calgary.ca>, Mayor Dave Bronconnier <themayor@calgary.ca>
