The Green Room (an IFSSA Initative)

Engaging Don Iveson

facebook.com/thegreenroom.ifssa
On Tuesday, September 24th, mayoral candidate Don Iveson visited The Green Room for an intimate and substantive conversation. What appears below is a brief summary of his responses to selected questions. Quotes have been paraphrased, please do not cite verbatim. Farah: If something similar to the Quebec Charter were proposed in Alberta, how would you respond? Don: I would say they should shove it. I think the line between culture and religion is so blurry, so how would you even enforce it? Especially from the viewpoint of the lawmaker, its ridiculous; its clearly an attack on people who have a particular set of traditions. I dont think this would happen in Alberta despite it being conservative. There is this libertarian streak, where you can worship what/who you want to worship--as long as we can do business together thats fine. Adrian: As it stands a small group of developers shower select candidates with cash. Its not difficult to see how this leads to a conflict of interest, urban sprawl and planning for the city of yesterday. How would you address this? Don: Ive been the strongest voice for campaign finance reform was given a hard time behind the scenes for my stance. In my first campaign we raised a modest amount of money primarily from friends and family who believed in me, and in 2007 a few businesses supported me too and wanted to help out but more because they knew me. Nobody expected anything in return. I'm partial to some of the municipal campaign finance rules you see in Ontario, where total donations are limited. I think this levels the playing field by reducing the influence of large donations In the past few elections there have been candidates who had primarily developer support. In our case we had private donors chip in and not corporate donors. In our second campaign we didnt fundraise, we didnt ask for money and $47,000 showed up. We turned down some cheques as we didnt approve of where the money came from. We just released our donation list this morning. Weve raised 319,000. If you look at it youll see a mix of developers (because they think that Ive treated them

I fasted for one day during Ramadan and was invited to an iftar. I felt how difficult it was to fast on that first day in. I did it because I wanted to have a common experience so that when I broke the fast I could have an understanding

fairly), professional firms (lawyers who have no skin in municipal government), tech companies (that support my vision), and others. We have less money than Mandel in his last campaign, but have had more donations than Mandel. Were happy to have a diverse group of donors with depth. Omar: Why did you make a run for mayor? Don: First being personal reasons, its about where I am in life at the moment. My wife thinks this is a good idea. I would not be standing here before you today without my partner Sara. It isnt unconditional support, there are conditions but theyre reasonable. Even though we have young children were able to balance it out despite it being in an unconventional way. Also, for city building reasons. With Mandel retiring theres a giant vacuum in the city. Are we going to go backwards or go forward? This city is aspiring in comparison to what it was eight/nine years ago. Meadowlark library for example, the Mayor said that Edmonton has changed. Eight or nine years ago they wouldnt build a building this gorgeous. We dont want to see our aspirations diminish. We dont want to skip a beat, I see that theres work to do though I see a good city. The roads are a mess, we need to fix it (check out his site for information concerning road maintenance). Theres unfinished work to do in the region. Its an uneven playing field with our neighbours in the region and Ive been working with them as a diplomat (as a part of the regional transit committee). There are still a ways to go with planning, even if its to do with agricultural planning or roads, etc. Finishing the LRT system in my lifetime is a priority; I want to get it done faster. I want to build a fair and inclusive city, to tackle issues such as poverty, homelessness, racism, especially that targeted towards Aboriginal peoples. I want to set a tone that changes such things, also with immigrant and refugee communities who struggle to be included in the success of this city.

Omar: What would you like to learn about Islam and Muslims? Don: Id like to learn more about Muslims, to understand the particular challenges you deal with in the community and with the municipal government. Examples of issues include parking on Fridays, the community refusing to receive gaming funds which other communities have accepted. This puts Muslim groups at a disadvantage but I commend the ethical stance. I would also like to know how can the city be accommodating, bureaucratically along with culturally. In other words, through the use of open dialogue, not just here tonight but one that is ongoing. Im not just interested in talking but am also interested in understanding the practices, rituals, symbols and the meanings behind them. Experience with Fasting I fasted for one day during Ramadan and was invited to an iftar and understood how difficult it was the first day in. I wanted to have a common experience so that when I broke my fast I could have an understanding. My wife told me that the most interesting thing for her was that she saw me change that day as I typically talk a lot, because its my business, but that day was an interesting change of pace because I got very tired. I had to stop and reflect on my limits and capacity. I had to meditate the questions of humility and the suffering of others. It was helpful for me as I needed a bit of a break and a reset and I got that from fasting. Im interested in learning about other cultures as it expands my own wisdom. Im interested in thoughts about how the city could be more accommodating and inviting.

!"#$%&'($)*$%(+,-$.*,($ +/*0)$102%&.23$)*$ 0-#(,2)+-#$)4($ 5+,)&60%+,$64+%%(-7(2$ 8*0$#(+%$9&)4$&-$)4($ 6*..0-&)8$+-#$9&)4$ )4($.0-&6&5+%$ 7*:(,-.(-);$

Anas: What is Edmontons biggest failure in encouraging civic engagement: The failure is in assuming that it will find a solution on its own. We need to go into communities, search people out and provide them with mentorship to invite people in. Im part of a venture with the Faculty of Extension that is targeted towards youth. You cant put up a poster and be disappointed when no one shows up. You have to reassure people that its valuable for them to participate. You can explain that you did hear them and explain what youre going to do or not do anything about it. You need to have an open and clear line of communication with them. You have to find people where THEY are. Where we have had success (some of this is intergenerational), if you want people to get involved in civics youll need to have programs for translation. When you go into first-generation families, one thing thats working well is connecting young leaders into programs like the Edmonton Youth Council. Relationship with Mustafa Ali and the Youth Council Mustafa Ali was a part of the youth council. Mustafa tells me that I have inspired him to run for office, though I feel inspired by him. The youth council is the most diverse board and the same has to be done with other boards and councils. We need to publicize that these opportunities

are here, get them to apply and write a letter of recommendation and branch out, not to just represent the community. Experience on the Library council Theres an Aboriginal woman and a Muslim man on the library council. The quality of our decision-making is way up because youre tapped in to people who use such services (in this case being the library). Having diverse thoughts at the table enhances the decision-making. Certain sectors (such as Edmontons Fire Fighters) appear to be somewhat of a closed group, we need to tap into such groups to allow and nourish diversity and have people feeling empowered. Meg: What is different about Make Something Edmonton? Its a bottom-up initiative. There was wide consultation with lots of different people to find common threads between them. Why do people live in Edmonton? Its a progressive, collaborative, kind of entrepreneurial place but not cut-throat. Its more cooperative. And people dont only want to build things for themselves but also for others. Its a practical kind of entrepreneurship which doesnt only resonate with myself but also with others. I hope that key storytellers in the city will tell such stories to others. Between such a network we hope to help build an identity for ourselves, its a call to action but NOT a slogan. Were seeking an identity that we can all share and buy into, and repeat. I want to live this story and embody it for Edmonton which is the best chance for Edmontonians to get attention so that people attach Edmonton to their identity. This is a source of pride for me, if we have that then we have something unified to present to this work and to attract investment and culture and creativity to this city. Its a really positive message to tell which also happens to be the truth.