MAYOR: DON IVESON

ActivatED ENDORSES: DON IVESON

Don Iveson is a thoughtful, articulate leader who can think through complex issues and come to well-reasoned and fair decisions. He wants to improve consultation, enhance regional cooperation, and create a more inclusive, sustainable city.

He has advocated for more sustainable transportation options including bike infrastructure and expanded LRT (Iveson, 2013c). As the Chair of the Regional Transit Committee on the Capital Region Board he has pushed for a more integrated regional transit system (Iveson, 2013d). He has championed a regional transit pass and wants to see increase efficiency and enhance rider experience through improved transit technology (Iveson, 2012a). He wants to have pedestrian and cycling infrastructure that is safe and convenient (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013). He can be seen leading by example, riding his bike around Edmonton.

Iveson wants to preserve agricultural land before it’s slated for development. He wants to promote and increase regional cooperation, resulting in better planning decisions and more preservation of agricultural land (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013). During the public debate on the development of the Horse Hill land, Iveson initially voted against the development, though he thinks some of the ideas in the plan, such as food hubs, are good initiatives (Iveson, 2013f).

He voted in favour of using a public-private partnership (P3) to get funding for the Millwoods LRT, stating he saw this as the only way to get the money needed for the project (Kent, 2012). However, he was skeptical of the loss of public control that comes with a P3, and would prefer that the city retain operation of the line (Kent, 2011). He thinks that the phased P3 design of the SE LRT is risky (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013) .

Iveson believes Edmonton needs to build denser neighbourhoods to be sustainable and that sprawl at the edges isn’t a model we can keep doing (Stolte, 2012; Iveson, 2012b). Iveson supports infill development that is family friendly and  appropriate to the neighbourhood (Iveson, 2013e). He believes in a balanced approach to development and thinks Edmonton should work with the Capital Region Board to increase growth standards for the region . He would like to see barriers to infill housing reduced in connection with good community consultation (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013). During the debate on “The Way We Grow” Don successfully changed the language to set 25% infill development as the minimum. (Iveson, 2010a).

He is critical of consultation processes currently used by the City, and sees room for improvement (Iveson, 2012c). He wants to see communities and stakeholders involved earlier in the process and given the chance to be part of decision making, not just told what is going to happen (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013). Iveson also supports citizen panels as a form of active democracy to engage citizens on contentious issues (Iveson, 2013a). He thinks the city should learn from citizens and include affected communities in decisions that will impact them, especially groups that are typically marginalized (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 12, 2013). Iveson laid out his vision for the city when he announced his candidacy for mayor this year and stated he wanted to work out the details of that vision through active consultation with the community (Iveson, 2013b)

Iveson wants an inclusive city and understands some of the barriers faced by citizens. His partner’s family experienced Canada as immigrants, and Iveson faced criticisms when elected as the youngest councillor in City Hall. Iveson says he is open to learning from others with different backgrounds. He is involved in a mentorship program for women interested in municipal politics and says he thinks he learned as much as the women he‘s mentoring, including gender dynamics in City Hall (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 4, 2013).

Iveson has pledged to release his funders for the mayor’s race prior to election day (Stolte, 2013). He voluntarily disclosed his campaign finances one week prior to election day in 2010 (and 6 months before the deadline) demonstrating his leadership in campaign finance reform (Iveson, 2010b). Iveson said he would support spending caps (Iveson, 2009). He believes that candidates would need a broad range of support if caps were instituted (D. Iveson, personal communication, September 4, 2013).

ActivatED is excited to endorse Don Iveson as a forward-thinking voice committed to building a better Edmonton – not only for this generation, but for the generations to come.

For more information on Don Iveson:

Website: http://doniveson.ca/

Twitter: @doniveson, @electdoniveson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonIvesonForMayor?fref=ts

Sources:

D Iveson. (2013c, February 22). Bike lanes and the big picture. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/?s=bike+lane

D Iveson. (2009, May 29). Campaign finance fuss (bill 203). Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/?s=disclosure+of+contributions

Iveson, D. (2013f, February). Closing remarks. Special City Council Public Hearing on Horse Hill Area Structure Plan. Conducted from Edmonton City Hall, Edmonton, AB

D Iveson. (2012b, May 9). Costs of business-as-usual growth. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/2012/05/09/costs-of-business-as-usual-growth/

D Iveson. (2010b, October 15). Disclosure of contributions: 2010 campaign. Retrieved from

http://doniveson.ca/?s=disclosure+of+contributions

D Iveson. (2013a, April 16). Energy and climate citizen panel. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/?s=energy+and+climate+panel

D Iveson. (2012a, November 1). Intelligent transit fares for ETS and the region. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/transit/

D Iveson. (2013b, June 20). Launch reactions. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/?s=launch+reactions

D Iveson. (2013d, April 4). Mayor’s 2013 state of the city address. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/2013/04/04/mayors-2013-state-of-the-city-address/

D Iveson. (2013e, August 14). Street-oriented brownstones: housing choice. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/2013/08/14/street-oriented-brownstones-housing-choice/

D Iveson. (2012c, March 27). Surplus school sites to be developed in Ward 10. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/?s=surplus+school+sites+

D Iveson. (2010a, February 23). The way we grow up: remarks on the MDP. Retrieved from http://doniveson.ca/planning/page/3/

Kent, G. (2012, May 26). Southeast LRT will be P3 project; Council to seek provincial help with 1.8B plan. Edmonton Journal, p. A1.

Kent, G. (2011, Jan 21). City mulls LRT deal for LRT expansion; private company would build, run line. Edmonton Journal, p. B3.

Stolte, E. (2013, June 23). Only some Edmonton election candidates pledge to publish donor dollars. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Only+some+Edmonton+election+candidates+pledge+publish+donor+dollars/8568032/story.html

Stolte, E. (2012, May 11). $1.2B price tag for suburb growth set to stir debate; it’s time for serious conversation on city’s future, Iveson says. Edmonton Journal, p. A5.