I had previously requested a report on what Bill 203 could mean for Edmonton, as well as on changes that Calgary had enacted in the fall; on February 17, City staff provided the report. Some of the Act’s implementation details are quite ridiculous, given the nearness of the 2010 election.

The City report included a draft letter to the province articulating a number of concerns and questions, although the letter was updated considerably after debate. I can’t yet locate a copy of the updated letter on the city’s website. This was the original draft.

The revised letter approved by Council called for the outright repeal of the Act and included some additional questions and concerns about the audit requirements, about whose onus it is to establish which corporations are related for purposes of the $5,000 contribution limit, and about whether volunteer hours count as campaign contributions. I supported sending the letter, though I didn’t agree with all the points in it.

I spoke against asking for repeal of the whole Act, since I think the principles of the Act are good. Most of the contribution disclosure requirements and rules about campaign surpluses mirror our existing Disclosure Bylaw. Really the only additions are a $5,000 limit to contributions by a person, corporation, or labour group to a given campaign, and a requirement to disclose the identity of anyone whose contribution exceeds $100 per three-year period (under our current bylaw, this threshold is $300).

I spoke in support of the contribution limits and in support of the $100 disclosure threshold. Sadly, this was not reported in yesterday’s Journal story (nor the Sun story), so it appeared as if all of Council opposed the whole bill, which is not quite accurate. In any case, I had intended to observe these rules in the conduct of my own campaign this fall.

Like my colleagues, I believe there are some poor policies specific to 2010 election implementation, such as the requirement to submit any accumulated surpluses within 90 days of proclamation (that is, by May 3, 2010). The way this is written, any funds raised since the last election must also be handed to the City in trust; a candidate won’t get the funds back until nomination day, which is September 20, 2010. This could unfairly impact a campaign’s cash flow, and it will essentially force all prospective candidates — if they have raised more than $500 — to declare their candidacy by May 3.

The big issue that irks many of my colleagues–and me somewhat, but less so–is the province’s imposition on municipal autonomy. This territoriality came up when I discussed Bill 203 in May last year. To my eyes, incorporating the majority of our Disclosure Bylaw in provincial law is a testament to our city’s leadership in this area and a commentary on Calgary’s comparatively Wild West rules.

Either way, I was more or less dared to put amendments forward to our Disclosure Bylaw if I really think the $5,000 limit and the $100 disclosure threshold are good policy. So I gave Notice of Motion on Wednesday to do just that:

Councillor D. Iveson stated that at the next regular meeting of Council, he will make the following motion:

That Administration bring forward amendments to the Disclosure Bylaw as follows:

a) limiting campaign contributions by any person or corporation to (figure to be added) in any campaign period

b) requiring disclosure of contributions $100 and above from any one contributor during the campaign period, and the disclosure of the total amount of contributions below $100

So we’ll debate this at our March 10 Council meeting.

I was sworn in last week, and since have had the chance to participate in a public hearing, bring greetings to an arts group (FAVA) and a youth group (the City’s Youth Council). We’ve also had a number of informative briefings on pressing issues, like our city’s fiscal situation and the ongoing planning and coordination question unfolding in the larger Edmonton Region.

We’re finally getting through new-councillor orientation, so our days will be less filled with powerpoint presentations and veggie trays (one of which I am partial to, you may guess which). It bears mentioning, however, that I am profoundly impressed with the vast majority of the city’s staff whom I’ve met—the clerk’s office, the senior managers, the folks in the council services area, and all the others who keep city hall running—they seem a knowledgeable and committed bunch.

My office is coming together too. I’m adjusting slowly to the Windows environment, having never owned a PC before. Councillor Henderson is also a dyed-in-the-wool Mac user, and we’re both struggling a bit. On the plus side, my Blackberry is pretty amazing.

I’ll write in greater detail about the special initiatives the mayor has assigned me later, though I’ll note here that I’m excited to be leading the new Environmental Sustainability initiative in addition to joining Councillor Krushell in supporting the ongoing Youth and Next Gen initiatives. I’ve also been appointed to the Edmonton Public Library Board as well as the River Valley Alliance.

I’m told, and I’ve already seen some indication, that I’ll be quite busy for the next three years. This suits me fine as I work best when I’m kept busy.

“Life” is adjusting, though it will never be quite the same after this. Already people are recognizing me on the street, and though I was told to expect it and I am not surprised, it is a little odd to be known.

Web site revisions on the way… promise.

Yesterday (the day after Election Day) started with a visit to City TV at 6:30 am, then to CBC radio for 7:15. Following which the phone didn’t stop ringing until virtually every media outlet in town had contacted me.

Amidst the flurry, Councillor Anderson—whom I’m excited to work with—came by to have coffee in the morning to discuss a few transitional issues, and some imminent ward issues; one or two of the tv outlets were able to get shots of us chatting.

Today started with a brief meeting with Mayor Mandel, which was excellent. We discussed some of my priorities, and potential fit with ongoing council initiatives. Then we ate a wonderful lunch with returning and new councillors. I car pooled with the mayor to the restaurant.

I hitched a ride back to city hall with Coun. Krushell, who took me upstairs and introduced me to a few people. I also received my parking pass for city hall, which seemed significant in the moment.

But the real show stopper was letting myself into the council chamber to take a look. It was empty, and the new name plates aren’t in yet, but I had an overwhelming sensation of responsibility to constituents as well as a sense opportunity to do good for our city.

I went sailing with my dad for the afternoon and left the phone on shore, which was a welcome respite.

Finally, my campaign manager and I went out to finish taking down the public boulevard signs. We were out quite late, and boosted up on some of those caffeine-loaded ginseng drinks which apparently were fueling his efforts for the better part of the last month. The long and the short of it is that they work, hence my taking a moment to write this when I really should be sleeping.

Incidentally, we’re looking at what to do with this website, but rest assured we’ll do something. And I’d like to keep blogging, though I’ve been told that time will be scarce. Stay tuned.

Quite honestly, it would have been a celebration either way. I was impressed at all points with the way the core team and the volunteers conducted themselves, and I feel deeply honoured to have had so much superb help. We worked hard, and we worked smart. The campaign was fun in its own right.

Of course, I’m both humbled and excited to have gained a seat on council.

I’ll need to reflect more on this all before I can write anything else.

But thank you to family, thank you to supporters, thank you to volunteers, and thank you to voters for placing your confidence in me.

Flatteringly, the Journal sent a photographer to catch a shot of me at the ballot box—which I think is another good sign.

This afternoon I have a number of phone calls to make, and many thank you notes to write. The support from my family, my volunteers, my endorsers and my donors has made this all possible. I will never forget this experience, nor the scale of the help I’ve received.

Win or lose, I have no regrets. Speaking only for myself, it’s been worth every ounce of effort—though I expect the same is true for the many who have become invaluable during this campaign.

So tonight we celebrate either way:

@ The Underdog

[basement, Black Dog Freehouse]

10425 – 82 Ave

8pm to late

All are welcome!

Then we ate superb chili prepared by new campaign friends whose contribution to today’s big push was to feed my little army of volunteers. Speaking of whom, they all pulled together—as we all have since the beginning—and we knocked on 1889 doors today.

If we pull this off tomorrow, and I think there is every likelihood we will, it will have been the hard work and support of my indispensable, wonderful, inspiring volunteers that made the difference.

With this done, that leaves about 15 volunteers on deck today for pure door knocking. They’ll be here in two hours for a big ol’ farm-style breakfast, and then we’ll hit the doors hard until the sun goes down.

I’m sure we knocked on more than 500 yesterday, and response was amazing in all six neighbourhoods we visited on our whirlwind tour. We put out a lot of signs.

Our goal is to knock on 1,000 doors today. I’ll report back later tonight, and reflect on some of the high and low points of knocking on doors since May.

To employ a sports metaphor, it’s time to “leave it all on the field.”

My other goal was to knock on 10,000 doors, though I’m not sure if I’ve accomplished that since we lost track late in the summer. I think we’re close, but likely not quite. The volunteers have done at least as many as me though, so we’ve got to be past 15,000 doors altogether.

And, though we’ve had some serious issues with Canada Post, we’ve endeavoured to touch each household with at least one piece of literature, more than half with two, and a fifth with three pieces.

Almost everything has exceeded our own expectations—which were high to begin with.

Now simply to knock a couple thousand more doors this weekend and attempt to seal the deal.

I’m proud that we haven’t had to resort to robot dialers to reach people, and that we reached a majority of the households with volunteer power instead of Canada Post (who we employed in some of the exurbs and to reach the apartment dwellers). We’ve done so much more with so much less that the competition, and I’m incredibly proud of the hard work my volunteers and core team have put in. Nobody’s gotten paid in this campaign, self included, and that speaks to the selfless commitment and grassroots energy that can get us over the top.

Meanwhile, we didn’t snag Scott McKeen’s endorsement in this morning’s paper, but the honorable mention has adjectives as positive as anyone else in the story [link]:

Honourable mention: Don Iveson is a relative unknown, but has caught the attention of city hall insiders. I’ve had city council members quietly lobby me on Iveson’s behalf. Granted, most councillors would love to see Nickel humbled. But Iveson is legitimate. He’s poised, articulate and would make a fine city councillor.

It’s funny, McKeen and Paula Simons endorsed all nine incumbents who are running again. [EDIT: Simons endorsed Okelu and Sohi in Ward 6 over incumbent Thiele.] Makes it a little harder for credible challengers, but nobody said this would be easy. Still, I was happy to be described so approvingly in the horounable mention.

Don Iveson, a 28-year-old in Ward 5, is running one of the best campaigns of this election.

That’s a vast improvement from “slick,” which was the descriptor she applied to me after nomination day.

Though for the record, I’m certainly not running alone. There are by now more than a hundred people who’ve helped out in one way or another, and there’s a core group of people losing as much if not more sleep than I, to whom I am eternally grateful!