I advocated against the creation of municipal parties. I just don’t think they add much benefit. City Hall is mostly about the efficient delivery of municipal services (What is the left-wing way to fill a pothole or the right-wing way to pick up garbage on schedule?) and less about public policy, where political party ideology might matter more. Despite most Albertans feeling this way, the provincial government introduced municipal parties as a one-election pilot project for 2025 in Calgary and Edmonton only.

At the same time, the province also changed the rules for fundraising, making it much harder for councillor candidates to raise money to run a campaign unless they have a bunch of friends with deep pockets - which, sorry, apparently I don’t have - thus encouraging them to run together to pool resources such as collateral and technology. With this information, I had to decide what I would do.

When I started looking for volunteers for my campaign, I noticed most of the people I wanted to ask were getting involved with The Calgary Party. I was impressed by how much these volunteers care about their community, and the principles of the party are ones I agree with. So, in the end, when the party asked me to be one of their first candidates, I eventually agreed. This is a group of people I am happy to share costs with and brainstorm ideas with.

In addition to knowing that municipal parties are currently a one-election pilot project, my decision was made a little easier when I thought about what a party in council would look like because no changes have been made to the Procedure Bylaw, which governs how City Council operates. As a result, the ability for a party to caucus is not provided for. In addition, a whipped vote, a primary concern most people have about parties, is virtually impossible because the consequences of not participating are so much lower when you’re not part of a party that has a long electoral history. 

One benefit to running as part of a party that I did not expect was getting to spend time with other candidates. When I ran previously, I didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of who was going through something similar. Running for office is a very strange experience, and I’m happy to have others to share it with. Being a party provides candidates with the opportunity to get to know one another - our strengths, interests and personalities - which, when I think about how dysfunctional the current council is when trying to work together, could be more valuable than anyone thinks. The Calgary Party candidates have developed policy together, learned how to work together, and are ready to get to work on day one.