Was anyone else gripped by the Calgary election news on Monday night? As I don't have cable TV, I kept track of the changing numbers on the Internet as the purple revolution swept through Calgary for Naheed Nenshi to become our new Mayor. I felt there was a touch of Obama-mania '08 happening; a young progressive non-white male using social media to get the vote in a town not known for its liberal ways. Can I say he got my vote? Actually he didn't, as I haven't resided in Calgary for six months so wasn't entitled to vote. Bummer -but there are other ways to participate and here I am.
I did accompany Doom to the polling station and tried to have a conversation with the keen young man outside that was directing people to the right booth. Happily, we were constantly interrupted as a steady stream of voters came in to have their say. And well done Calgary; 53% of eligible voters turned out, astounding for a municipal election.
Now lets keep our fingers crossed and our ears and eyes peeled that Nenshi can move Calgary forward.
I used to live in Calgary and have actually worked with Naheed at Mount Royal University so was glad to hear of his win, although slightly surprised since he doesn't fit with the typical conservative candidates usually favored by Calgarians. Thrilled to hear about the voter turn out, that's fantastic! I hope other cities in Canada follow suit!
ReplyDeleteIt seems he took many people by surprise in this town! The papers are now making a big deal that he is Canada's first Muslim mayor, which was never an issue during the election.
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