Western Standard - The recall legislation created by the Kenney government is unworkable

00:00:00.000 I've always been a strong supporter of direct democracy through citizens-initiated referenda

00:00:04.780 and accountability through citizen-led recall initiatives.

00:00:08.420 Calgary Mayor Jody Gondek is the worst mayor in living memory.

00:00:12.520 She's only halfway through her first term in office, and she's that bad. 0.92

00:00:15.940 She's a prime candidate for recall. 1.00

00:00:18.220 As voters have realized, Gondek wasn't who she purported to be when she ran for the job. 0.60

00:00:22.720 And we're seeing massive buyer's remorse as Gondek lurches from one disaster to another,

00:00:27.040 offending people left and right while taxes continue to rise.

00:00:31.100 Polls are reflecting a very strong majority of Calgarians want the chance to fire Gondek as soon as possible.

00:00:37.120 But with all that said, the current recall initiative launched against Jody Gondek is doomed to fail

00:00:42.580 and may actually, unintentionally, even help her.

00:00:46.980 I mean, to begin with, the bar to recall a civic politician is impossibly high.

00:00:51.520 You need over 514,000 signatures from eligible Calgarian voters,

00:00:56.460 and they need to be collected in 60 days to invoke the recall.

00:00:59.840 Anybody who actually thinks this is possible has never actually done real petitioning.

00:01:04.500 It's a slow process and takes a lot of work.

00:01:06.820 To garner half a million signatures in two months would take a massive organizational machine

00:01:11.920 that just doesn't exist out there.

00:01:13.720 You've got to remember, these signatures required aren't digital.

00:01:15.820 They have to be handwritten and witnessed on an official petition sheet

00:01:19.800 with a name, address, and phone number of the person signing

00:01:22.920 so the signature can be verified later.

00:01:25.380 A lot of people aren't going to be comfortable sharing that information with a petitioner,

00:01:28.480 even if they support the cause.

00:01:30.300 Many signatures garnered as well are going to be rejected later

00:01:32.540 because the name or the address might not be legible

00:01:34.900 or the person's residency couldn't be confirmed with the electors' lists.

00:01:38.720 The petitions you see are checked when they're submitted.

00:01:40.440 That means the real number required, if you were going to be realistic,

00:01:42.640 would actually be more like 550,000, 560,000 signatures.

00:01:45.740 Now, a hardworking, effective petitioner going door-to-door, a really good one,

00:01:51.520 could get perhaps 100 signatures a day.

00:01:53.860 So think about it.

00:01:54.560 It would take nearly 100 people working full-time hours,

00:01:57.580 seven days a week for two months,

00:01:59.460 assuming all those 500 and some thousand are existing out there,

00:02:02.260 to round up the required signatures in time.

00:02:05.060 Coordinating that many workers would require management personnel,

00:02:07.980 transportation, some kind of office to ensure they aren't overlapping territory.

00:02:10.960 They'd need to track where they've been to do second and third rounds

00:02:15.160 in neighborhoods to catch the people who weren't home the first time.

00:02:17.940 I mean, petitioning in public places like malls, events, transit stations,

00:02:20.900 it could be effective, but it won't be enough.

00:02:22.400 It has to be door-to-door.

00:02:23.800 So to put it in perspective,

00:02:24.980 only 390,000 people even bothered to vote in the last mayoral race.

00:02:30.320 Even if 100% of those people were now opposed to Gondek,

00:02:34.680 you'd still need more than 100,000 on top of all that to sign the petition,

00:02:39.300 and you've got to find them to make the recall work.

00:02:42.880 The legislation guiding citizen-initiated referenda isn't much better.

00:02:47.340 The creation of the Recall Act was the final straw, actually, for me,

00:02:49.780 when it came to supporting former Premier Jason Kenney.

00:02:51.780 I used to be a strong supporter of his,

00:02:53.180 but that was a cynical nod to those who voted for him

00:02:56.920 based on his campaign of accountability and citizen empowerment.

00:02:59.940 Kenney promised recall and referendum legislation to Albertans,

00:03:02.940 and he purposely crafted the legislation to make it useless

00:03:06.680 and impossible to invoke, as we're seeing today.

00:03:09.300 He misled people when he promised that legislation.

00:03:11.980 He had no interest in letting citizens hold their elected officials to account,

00:03:15.600 but he didn't hesitate to promise that to win the votes in the first place.

00:03:19.380 I despise that kind of bait-and-switch type of politics.

00:03:22.100 Either support citizens' referenda or don't, 0.94

00:03:24.420 but to give this garbage legislation to us was a slap in the face of the supporters.

00:03:28.640 So the people behind the petition to recall Gondek, 0.94

00:03:30.620 I mean, they're well-meaning,

00:03:32.360 that fellow who's gotten that going,

00:03:33.940 and I don't doubt I agree with them on almost everything, probably.

00:03:37.600 But the efforts would be better spent putting pressure on UCP MLAs

00:03:40.500 to fix the broken recall legislation.

00:03:42.560 They're the only ones who can do it.

00:03:44.000 Once that's done, then they can get to work on a recall.

00:03:46.960 Otherwise, they're pissing in the wind.

00:03:48.760 Guys, you're wasting time and energy.

00:03:51.100 Further, when the petition fails, and it will,

00:03:53.760 Gondek and her few supporters are going to claim

00:03:55.560 it's because Calgarians actually support her.

00:03:58.080 It'll be actually a public relations win for the mayor

00:04:00.600 who really hasn't earned a win in her entire time in office.

00:04:04.320 Also, those who signed or worked on gathering the signatures for the petition,

00:04:07.760 they're going to have built up cynicism and apathy, 0.73

00:04:10.660 and it's going to entrench it more.

00:04:11.660 They're going to be tired.

00:04:12.640 They're going to feel like it was a wasted effort,

00:04:14.420 and they're going to be less inclined to participate

00:04:16.060 in democratic exercises in the future,

00:04:18.040 even if the legislation gets fixed.

00:04:20.580 Look, I hate crapping on good grassroots efforts made by citizens.

00:04:23.820 We need to see more of it,

00:04:24.840 and I admire the gumption among those

00:04:26.360 who have gotten the petition to recall Gondek going.

00:04:29.180 I've got to call it as I see it, however,

00:04:30.860 and it's an initiative that won't lead to a productive outcome.

00:04:33.960 I hope the folks involved redirect their efforts

00:04:36.200 to helping Albertans get the legislation they need.

00:04:38.680 Then they can, and I can,

00:04:40.680 get fully behind those recall efforts

00:04:42.340 against those politicians that have earned those efforts.

00:04:44.780 Until then, though, they're just wasting good shoe leather

00:04:47.460 going out there getting signatures for something

00:04:49.420 that's just not going to change.

00:04:51.000 So either way, sorry to poop on the parade, guys,

00:04:55.000 but it's just not going to go anywhere.

00:04:56.360 Thank you.

00:04:57.000 Thank you.

00:04:59.180 Thank you.

00:05:02.240 Thank you.

Western Standard - February 08, 2024

The recall legislation created by the Kenney government is unworkable

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