LorneGunter

Today is election day which will determine who will have their hands on the city's controls. Will it be more of the same with many of the old council or will there be some new faces with new ideas?

In his latest post, Lorne Gunter expresses his opinion about the candidates who associate themselves with "Working Families", which by the way are many of the old council.

Now that we’re only a little more than a month away from election day the lawn signs and banners are popping up like mushrooms. Lorne Gunter's article (below) on banners attempts to help understand who's behind the banners and what are they all about. Gunter's article and the previous posts on voting records help shine some much-needed light on a very important election.

Lorne Gunter has a suggestion for the city counsellors and developers who support the current infill bylaw. His suggestion is that city counsellors and developers in favor of infill allow eight-plexes to be built on either side of their home before they issue any further permits for the same elsewhere. In other words city counsellors and developers should change NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) to IMBY (In My BackYard)

Lorne Gunter has been a strong voice of common sense regarding the infill bylaw and has written about the issue numerous times before today.

Lorne Gunter opined publicly what many think privately about how to solve the infill problem created under the current city council's watch - vote out the whole council and start anew with some fresh faces and ideas.

What was supposed to be a public hearing on Monday seems to have been City Council's version of "bait & switch". The bait was giving the public opportunity to express themselves regarding the residential zoning bylaw. But sensing the prevailing opposition to the by law Council used some procedural trickery and switched the hearing to the end of summer hoping opposition anger would cool down.

I appreciate anyone who is willing to share their opinions, thoughts regardless of how they may differ from others. Lorne Gunter does that frequently, and his thoughts about the latest "downtown revitalization plan" need to be considered and discussed. The "downtown revitalization plan" depends on taxpayers funding so hopefully some of those who are running as candidates in the upcoming civic election will begin touting it as part of their platform.

Lorne Gunter thinks that Trump and Slump (the NDP's) are playing into the LIberal's hand and are the prime reason for their surging popularity.

Anyone who drives in Edmonton should be able to relate to what Lorne Gunter opines about our city streets. Beyond writing about the ruts and lack of lane visibility, he questions why snow clearing in a winter city such as ours, does not warrant higher priority and concludes the main problem is not the weather, it’s the bureaucratic mindset.

Jeff Gunter In his usual manner looks at an issue from a contrarian perspective which is often accompanied by some poignant and important questions. In the case of the most recent iteration of the Public Spaces Bylaw he wonders, as do I and probably many others, what's the purpose, who benefits and what real difference will it make to our City?

Last week several organizations released "The Downtown Investment Plan" which was based on solid statistics and practical research. Lorne Gunter thinks "The Downtown Investment Plan" presents a key argument as to why the City should no longer use taxpayers money to supporting downtown revitalization. Regardless of the City's expenditure on improving the downtown core on the surface, it appears to have had little quantifiable effect.

Many times over the years I've been reminded of a common sense colloquialism I first heard decades ago. The saying was "no matter how thin you slice it, baloney still has 2 sides" meaning there is more than one way to consider something. Whether one agrees with Lorne Gunter's columns or not, he often brings a contrarian perspective (another side) that is worthy of consideration, such as he expressed in his latest column below.

Lorne Gunters latest column is bound to raise the eyebrows and hackles of many, while at the same time many Edmontonians who agree that homelessness is a big problem. An even bigger problem that communities across North America and beyond are grappling with what should be done about homelessness and who is responsible to do it. Failing to address root causes perpetuates problems so even if Lorne Gunter's comments frustrate some they also serve to focus our attention on root causes, not just the symptoms.