Entrepreneur Support & Small Business Growth
Policy in brief Small and medium sized businesses employ a significant number of Edmontonians and they contribute to the diversity and resiliency of our economy. Encouraging the next level of growth...
View ArticleProsperity for the Capital Region
Policy in brief Edmonton is not an island. The municipalities comprising our region play an important part in the economic and social prosperity we all value. As mayor, one of my key priorities will be...
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Building our LRT network
Policy in brief LRT expansion is a major priority for Edmontonians. Council must continue to drive significant development of the full network, but it needs to be paced well and engineered in a way...
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Final thoughts on the Election
While exploring the idea of a run for mayor, I made presentations to business groups, arts organizations, clubs, gatherings of social leaders, community leaders — really any group of Edmontonians who...
View ArticleSnow dilemmas: windrows, oatmeal and blading
This month we’ve received half of our annual average snowfall. In November. It’s not even technically winter yet. I’m doing my best to be excited about it, because we’re embracing our winter city...
View ArticleBuilding our One Stop Shop Downtown
After a thorough competitive process, today the City announced a decision to go with the Edmonton Arena District (EAD) First Street Building Corporation proposal. This move will enable the City to...
View ArticleThe Hole Story
2013 was a record-setting year for potholes in our city, and it tested our patience as a City. Crews worked around the clock through the spring and summer to fill 750,000 potholes, well above the...
View ArticleReflections on the Galleria
Sometimes politics is like playing a game of chess. Other times it’s more like making sense of a 1,000 piece puzzle. And on rare occasions – like last night – you feel like you’re doing both...
View ArticleBuilding a triple bottom line into Blatchford
There used to be a time when we would see the words ‘scaled back’ next to a city-backed project and applaud City Council for making a prudent decision. So when a few headlines bubbled up last week that...
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Edmonton’s Growth Invites New Provincial Partnership
Last Friday’s census announcement — that we have grown by more than 60,000 people in just two years — is evidence that we are really growing up, and fast. As the City’s Chief Economist noted, Alberta...
View ArticleBorrowing to build
In July of 2013, I wrote a blog that outlined why smart borrowing can be employed to help in our city building efforts. Much of what I wrote then remains true, but as we enter into budget deliberations...
View ArticleEdmonton speaks as one
On November 10, I hosted the inaugural Mayor’s City-Building Summit here at City Hall. The Summit gathered leaders from the health, K-12 education, post-secondary, business and community safety...
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Running our city more efficiently
With ‘Budget 2015’ deliberations well underway, Council has already made some important decisions (*pending final budget approval) that will have a dramatic effect on the look and feel of our city. Our...
View Article2015 Budget wrap: delivering value
Whether we’re buying a new treadmill or a box of oranges, we inevitably ask ourselves the same question: is it worth what I’m paying? Just before budget deliberations, Edmonton’s Insight Community...
View ArticleThe Day After
Given all the foreboding comments Premier Prentice had made in the weeks and months leading up to yesterday’s provincial budget announcement, we were all bracing for the worst. Instead, we got...
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Efficiency and opportunity – Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy
Climate change and energy security are topics that garner a significant amount of attention, but they are issues that have become clouded with noise. To see the real gravity of the these issues,...
View ArticleNext steps on Galleria
There are very few projects that have conflicted City Council as much as the Galleria. Our hesitancy has sent mixed signals about whether Council believed this project was a good idea or not. But there...
View ArticleUnpacking the Metro Line delay
Disappointing. Aggravating. Infuriating. There are a lot of words I could use to describe the Metro LRT Line project thus far (many of which are not family friendly). Thankfully, today’s release of the...
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Our Evolving Infill Story
In a lot of ways, widespread infill development across our established neighbourhoods is a new concept to Edmonton. While traditionally we’ve seen small scale infill occur (i.e. replacing one older...
View ArticleBudget Restraint
This year’s three-year Operating Budget binder is exactly 734 pages long, and over the past week I’ve been over it numerous times looking for ways to reduce what Council is asking you to contribute to...
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