Upon the re-election of Naheed Nenshi, the neoliberals have a message for Canadians who haven't gotten with the program:
Not everyone was happy about Naheed Nenshi being re-elected to a third term as Calgary's mayor Monday night — including some members of the Calgary Flames organization, which recently broke off talks with the city regarding construction of a new arena for the NHL team.
Sean Kelso, director of communications and media relations for the Flames, voiced his ire on Twitter soon after the results were made public, saying Nenshi being re-elected mayor is worse than Donald Trump being president of the United States.
The tweet was deleted minutes later, but not before being captured and shared widely on social media.
Flames communications director tweets some ungoodwill about Nenshi. h/t @CarrieTait pic.twitter.com/SHQkllRMBK
— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) October 17, 2017
Now what is that old saying? Vive la resistance.
UPDATE: Brent Rathgeber has some interesting reflections on the changing nature of Alberta politics:
The Flames organization wants a new arena. Talks with the city on building one haven’t gone well; the team’s ownership organization pulled out of what it claimed were “spectacularly unproductive” negotiations within days of Nenshi announcing his campaign for a third term. Nenshi’s just one vote on council but his public disagreements with Flames ownership over who should pay how much to replace the Saddledome made him a political target in the eyes of many.Despite those efforts, Nenshi won a decisive victory:
Flames vice-president of marketing Gordon Norrie actually urged people on his Twitter account to vote for Smith. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman publicly suggested that the mayor would be indifferent if the team were to relocate to Seattle or Quebec City. After Nenshi won, Flames communications director Sean Kelso issued a tweet (later deleted) that said Nenshi as mayor was “worse than Donald Trump being president.”
It all proves what I’ve been saying for years: Alberta is changing. The province’s population is increasingly urban and demographically mixed — and much more progressive than many outsiders believe. That said, there’s still tremendous brand recognition in the name ‘Conservative’ and many Albertans still believe that’s what we are — even though that may not be as true as it once was.
Some people just don't understand why some of us, after 40 years of it, and having to hopefully get a job as a Walmart greeter, in our "pension" years,
ReplyDeleteDon't think that socializing the costs and privatising the profits, is a sustainable model.
I think that those who 'have', Jay, are quite content to live in willful ignorance of those who 'have not'.
DeleteThey don't give up. They are always seeking and edge.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, in this particular instance, the people were apparently too well-informed to swallow the bait, Owen.
DeleteWe need laws that prohibit political activity by outsiders and, by that, I mean corporations and especially religious organizations. If they're entitled to meddle in our politics we are entitled to meddle in their business. Religious types need to be made to understand that there can be no freedom of religion without freedom from religion just as corporations must be made to accept that private sector privileges are based on steering clear of public sector issues, especially our elections.
ReplyDeleteTisa consummation devoutly to be wished, Mound, but given the neoliberal bent of our bent politicians, I don't see it happening.
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