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Get Out the Vote!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Categories: Campaign News
A vision for Ward 8
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Categories: Campaign News,Videos
Communities endorsing John
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
I’m proud to have the support of my communities.
I live in Ward 8 and serve as president of Beltline Communities. This civic election, my personal endorsement goes to re-electing John Mar as Ward 8 Councillor.
Even though we Beltline community organizers had been working on it for a nearly a decade, the district’s urban way of life hadn’t fully taken hold when John was first elected in 2007. Ideas and plans were in place, but it took John’s leadership to help move things at City Hall.
Where helpful, Alderman Mar sweeps aside entrenched policies and practices. His positive focus on outcomes helps unleash Beltline’s potential to flourish as a ‘for-real’ big city district. First, policing was made far more urban-appropriate, moved out of cars, and on to the streets. Then social service agencies got support for innovation that brought a better ‘fit’ with Beltline’s neighbourhoods. John works tirelessly for new parks, better infrastructure, and higher maintenance standards as well as for bike lanes, sidewalks, and transit routes in the community. Most of all, John doesn’t just talk about these things, he makes them happen.
John is key to ongoing City support of Beltline’s growth. John’s cleared the way for our community organization to continue attracting more private investment in condos, rental apartments, creative businesses, the arts and retail. We proceed with confidence, and John is there to improve and ‘shepherd’ the many projects through the ‘hoops and ladders’ of the bureaucracy.
That Thursday night, the flood came. With the Mayor out of town on City business, Alderman Mar was first with immediate emergency action. John stood firm, organized and brought support, both material and of spirit, to the many thousands of Beltline residents who were evacuated and whose buildings were left uninhabitable by inundation. It’s been a massive effort and a long time to recover. John was steadfast, and John made sure that the needs of oft overlooked high rise residents in Beltline were addressed.
John has proven character, experience, vision and understanding. He knows what it takes to make leading-edge urban work. And Alderman Mar has established the skills, abilities and networks that will make the next steps possible for us. If you care about Calgary’s urban future, if you want a representative who can and will make ‘better’ happen in Centre City, get out and vote. Vote for John Mar. I did.
– Rob Taylor, President, Beltline Community Association
As a long-time resident of Scarboro and our community association’s most recent past president, I have known John Mar as a neighbour, friend and former board member. John has been responsive to our every need and instrumental in helping to work with the City of Calgary. I have always appreciated his openness and prompt attention to our concerns. We have been well served by him in the past and I look forward to his representation once again on city council.
– Rob Stirling, Past President, Scarboro Community Association
As the current President and long-standing board member of the Spruce Cliff Community Association, I have worked with John Mar to help to resolve our community’s challenges. He has helped us navigate City Hall and was willing to find a solution when “no” was the initial answer. He has always been responsive and approachable and has my trust and respect.
– Carolyn MacDonald, President, Spruce Cliff Community Association
Over the last 4 years I have had the pleasure of working with John on a variety of community projects. From helping to free up land for community gardens, helping to stickhandle through the bureaucracy of City Hall to the leadership he showed on the King Edward School Arts incubator project, I have always been impressed by the dedication and passion for community that Councillor John Mar has shown.
John has been a strong representative of Ward 8 and he has earned my trust and respect. His leadership on a variety of urban issues along with his strong voice in favour of secondary suites has been impressive.
The flood was devastating to large parts of the city. I can tell you from first hand experience that John rose to the challenge. From delivering cots to community associations at all hours of the night to brining people and organizations together through several sleepless nights, his efforts were impressive.
I believe his collaborative approach on council is one that has resulted in many important initiatives being moved ahead.
I have been dismayed by the false narrative that has been created in this campaign. As someone who has had the opportunity to work hand in hand with John for all 6 years of his time at City Hall, I have seen the leadership that he has brought to Council and I offer him my full, unreserved endorsement.
– Marc Doll, Community Leader, Marda Loop
Categories: Endorsements
William Hamilton
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
John Mar would be the first to tell you that no-one, least of all him, is entitled to another term on Calgary City Council.
That’s why I need to step up and say to you that as someone who also understands the Beltline and our centre-city communities, as someone who has dedicated himself to strong and effective municipal governance, and especially as someone who recognises the crucial role our public transit system plays in moving Calgarians and building neighbourhoods, John Mar has earned my trust as my Ward 8 alderman over the past six years. John has earned my support for another four years on City Council.
In addition to ward and neighbourhood issues like public safety and prudent management, transit matters to John. As one of nearly 300,000 Calgarians who chooses to take the C-Train on any given weekday, John knows first-hand how important it is to make the investments in transit infrastructure, vehicle fleets, and system maintenance that will continue to give the people of this city reliable and sustainable transportation options. John’s support at City Council for the RouteAhead thirty-year transit strategy has for the first time given our transit network planning process a tangible and official vision, direction, and scale.
Most importantly, John is the only candidate running in this ward for a City Council seat who has the insight to see the strategic implications of building transit capacity and frequency now in our inner city to support an eventual centre city streetcar system–and to understand implicitly how making this system the linchpin of RouteAhead’s Centre City Strategy will reinforce the vitality and the vibrancy of Calgary’s urban core for everyone who lives, works, shops, and plays here.
John Mar has been a strong and dedicated advocate for public transit in Ward 8 and across Calgary since 2007. He has been a pleasure to work with on these issues. I’m proud to support John’s bid for re-election to City Council. If you believe as strongly as I do that effective public transit is one of the most crucial tools we have for building better cities together, then John Mar deserves your vote so that he can continue the work that we’ve started.
– William Hamilton, Beltline resident and transit advocate
Categories: Endorsements
Emma May
Monday, October 14, 2013
John Mar is someone who really cares about his constituents and his ward.
I am one of the co-founders of the organization Calgary River Communities Action Group. We have over 800 flood impacted members and we work closely with all levels of government to help get resources, policy and infrastructure in place that will restore losses and prevent future damage.
In the first few days following the flood John was contacting me and other constituents to see how he could help. “What do you need?” was his question. Some knew what they needed. Others had no idea where to start. But John’s answer of Mission Possible was amazing. John and his group directed teams of incredible volunteers to help his constituents with the terrible dirty and emotionally devastating work of clearing homes and salvaging belongings.
John is committed to his community. He came through when we needed him most.
– Emma May, Co-Founder, Calgary River Communities Action Group and Elbow Park resident
Categories: Endorsements
Beltline Communities
Monday, October 14, 2013
I live in Ward 8 and serve as president of Beltline Communities. This civic election, my personal endorsement goes to re-electing John Mar as Ward 8 Councillor.
Even though we Beltline community organizers had been working on it for a nearly a decade, the district’s urban way of life hadn’t fully taken hold when John was first elected in 2007. Ideas and plans were in place, but it took John’s leadership to help move things at City Hall.
Where helpful, Alderman Mar sweeps aside entrenched policies and practices. His positive focus on outcomes helps unleash Beltline’s potential to flourish as a ‘for-real’ big city district. First, policing was made far more urban-appropriate, moved out of cars, and on to the streets. Then social service agencies got support for innovation that brought a better ‘fit’ with Beltline’s neighbourhoods. John works tirelessly for new parks, better infrastructure, and higher maintenance standards as well as for bike lanes, sidewalks, and transit routes in the community. Most of all, John doesn’t just talk about these things, he makes them happen.
John is key to ongoing City support of Beltline’s growth. John’s cleared the way for our community organization to continue attracting more private investment in condos, rental apartments, creative businesses, the arts and retail. We proceed with confidence, and John is there to improve and ‘shepherd’ the many projects through the ‘hoops and ladders’ of the bureaucracy.
That Thursday night, the flood came. With the Mayor out of town on City business, Alderman Mar was first with immediate emergency action. John stood firm, organized and brought support, both material and of spirit, to the many thousands of Beltline residents who were evacuated and whose buildings were left uninhabitable by inundation. It’s been a massive effort and a long time to recover. John was steadfast, and John made sure that the needs of oft overlooked high rise residents in Beltline were addressed.
John has proven character, experience, vision and understanding. He knows what it takes to make leading-edge urban work. And Alderman Mar has established the skills, abilities and networks that will make the next steps possible for us. If you care about Calgary’s urban future, if you want a representative who can and will make ‘better’ happen in Centre City, get out and vote. Vote for John Mar. I did.
– Rob Taylor, President, Beltline Communities
Categories: Endorsements
Scarboro Community
Saturday, October 12, 2013
As a long-time resident of Scarboro and our community association’s most recent past president, I have known John Mar as a neighbour, friend and former board member. John has been responsive to our every need and instrumental in helping to work with the City of Calgary. I have always appreciated his openness and prompt attention to our concerns. We have been well served by him in the past and I look forward to his representation once again on city council.
– Rob Stirling, Past President, Scarboro Community Association
Categories: Endorsements
Citizen Centric video
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The way the City came together to deal with the June flood, is an example of how thetraditional barriers and silos of City Hall come down to allow things to be accomplished in record time. We need to ensure those barriers to productivity don’t reemerge.
Categories: Videos