By Markham Hislop, Editor
All Saturday long my Twitter account hummed with Tweets from the CivicCamp get together at the Epcor Centre. At the #civiccamp hash tag (hash tags allow a Twitter comment, called a Tweet, to be posted to a special web page dedicated to a particular topic), those who couldn’t attend were begging those in the know for regular updates. The excitement was palpable.
In today’s story on CivicCamp, organizer Peter Rishaug called it a “democratic movement.” Pretty heady stuff, really. The last movement to come out of Alberta was Reform, and while it never formed goverment in Ottawa, it had a profound effect on Canadian politics.
So, if CivicCamp really is a movement, what are we to make of it?
CivicCamp is a healthy expression of Calgary’s democratic culture, which to those on the outside looking in, too often appears to be a conservative monoculture, fields of Tory blue as far as the eye can see. A Liberal weed pops up now and then, such as former radio personality Dave Talor, but it’s usually not long before Calgary voters uproot the intruder and replant with that familiar “blue kudzu,” the indestructible political plant that smothers opposing species.
Calgary municipal politics are pretty sleepy as a rule. Once in a while the citizenry is aroused, over the last budget, for instance, but on the whole the slumbering giant that is the civic voter snores on. Mayor Dave Bronconnier may as well have been acclaimed last election for all the serious candidates presented to voters.
That kind of apathy just isn’t healthy in a democracy, which requires competition between opposing ideas and political agendas to flourish. It’s ironic that in the Canadian city which most embraces free-market capitalism and the virtues of competition, there is so little competition in the political sphere.
But CivicCampers seem to care, they don’t like the status quo and they think it’s time for a change, for new ideas, new ways of solving our city’s problems. I like that.
The issues CivicCamp is grappling with may be non-partisan, but they have a definite progressive tinge to them. No one is asking that City services be privatized or that taxes be frozen or bureaucrats’ wages be frozen. Instead, attendees discussed protecting the environment , sustainable public transportation, creating more public spaces, supporting local food production, and respecting diversity and human rights.
Does that sound like a conservative agenda to you? Not to me, either. Frankly, it’s a pleasant change.
If CivicCampers do decide to try to influence the 2010 election, what effect might they have? Elections are all about organization and a team of motivated CivicCampers could be a real force.
If they’re loud enough and influential enough, they might force the leading candidates to modify their platforms. Bronconnier is accused by some of being a Liberal/liberal, with Plan It and other seemingly progressive initiatives introduced on his watch, so he might cozy up to CivicCamp and try to co-opt its organizational energy. But Bronconnier is also suspected of close ties to the real estate development industry and that might make it tough for CivicCampers to get on board, since Calgary’s land development is a key issue for the group.
Ward 12 alderman Ric McIver is widely rumored to be taking a run at Bronconnier next election and while he may not appear the most logical recipient of CivicCamp support, he might surprise. McIver’s rep is tax-cutting, value for money conservative, but talk to him for any length of time and he comes across as more enlightened than one might expect, especially on the environment. He’s a big fan of recycling and has pledged to work with the restaurant association to pressure fast food joints to reduce waste and recycle more. McIver could be a dark horse candidate for CivicCamp support.
Or CivicCamp could back another candidate, even run one themselves. Progressive-style mayoral candidates don’t have a great track record in Calgary, but maybe a strong team of organizers 2010 could be different, especially if Bronconnier and McIver split the vote, allowing a weaker candidate to run up the middle.
As far as Council goes, I’m only familiar with SE aldermen, which includes McIver. I can’t see CivicCamp supporting Linda Fox-Mellway in Ward 14. The comments I’ve seen have her pegged as a fellow traveller of the developers.
Joe Ceci could benefit, though. He identifies himself as a progressive, treks out regularly with his “clean team” to pick up trash in the city core, and probably is more comfortable with a CivicCamp agenda than any other alderman. If Ceci is targeted by McIver supporters and a strong candidate is put up to oppose him, CivicCampers could earn a valuable ally by helping keep Ceci around for another term.
These are all pleasant musings for a lazy Monday afternoon. CivicCamp is just organizing itself; it may become a force but it could just as easily fizzle and be a dud. Even if it coalesces quickly, it’s impossible to predict how its members will be feel about active participation in an election. That’s the beauty of “democratic movements,” leadership is diffused and decentralized. We’ll have to wait and see what kind of leadership develops and if CivicCamp becomes an organization, with structure and resources.
But if I was involved in CivicCamp, I can tell you what I would be recommending: get involved in 2010. The next election is a glorious opportunity to gain influence for a political agenda. If McIver runs, he will be the first serious candidate Bronconnier has faced since his first mayoral run. This will be a vicious fight that will likely extend into the wards because whoever is mayor still needs a majority on Council. The spoils will go to the victor – and those who helped him along the way.
Here is a three point strategy for CivicCamp over the next year:
1. Get organized. Democratic movements are wonderful things, but organizations are better. If you can bring money, people and organizational know how to an election campaign, you bring a gun to a knife fight. And at the end of the day, implementing a progressive campaign requires political support. Here’s a chance to earn some.
2. Develop a platform. Saturday’s event appears to have been a bit of a cacophony, different voices piping up to be heard. That’s great; it’s early days and everyone needs to be listened to. But sooner rather than later the Socratic debate has to give way to practical, hard-headed policy. What does CivicCamp want to achieve and how? A clear agenda is much easier to sell to the next mayor and Council than a wooly-headed one.
3. Pick candidates. One mayor, an alderman in each ward. Do it well in advance of the election. Then get the troops organized and ready to pitch in when the campaign starts.
Don’t get me wrong. I love CivicCamp’s emphasis on grassroots democracy and sustainable development. Calgary would benefit greatly if those and other progressive ideas were promoted and implemented from the community level on up.
But at the end of the day, it seems to me that CivicCamp’s mission is to implement change at City Hall. And there is no way to do that without wading into the political muck that is a municipal election. 2010 is a great opportunity. Hopefully, CivicCamp won’t waste it.
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