Donation fuss shows Nenshi in fight of his political life
But mayor released full slate of donors while Smith, Chabot won’t follow suit with theirs
Mayor Naheed Nenshi got blasted for one campaign donation, from Ottawa Redblacks owner John Ruddy.
It was a clear sign of how this mayoral campaign will be; a sustained effort to turn a harsh spotlight on the mayor’s character. His opponents are already painting him as untrustworthy and unpopular.
“I think we’ve seen a lot of examples from Naheed over the last number of years, where there’s a disconnect with what he says and where the truth is,” Bill Smith said last week, after the arena talks broke down.
Smith and Coun. Andre Chabot criticize the donation as a violation of rules that say donations have to come from Alberta companies, unions or individuals.
“Offside,” said Smith, who coaches football. Chabot said, “It should not have been accepted.”
They fail to note that this is only public because Nenshi rolled out his full slate of donors. At least he released the information that ended up embarrassing him.
Smith, by sharp contrast, doesn’t plan to report until March 2018, nearly five months after the election, as required by law.
“We don’t have to do this just because the mayor is thumping his chest,” says campaign communications director Rick Donkers.
It would be nice to see Smith’s list, if only to answer hypothetical questions such as — are Flames owners contributing to his campaign?
Chabot plans to release a list but will hold two significant names secret at the donors’ request.
Nenshi, meanwhile, has decided to hang on to John Ruddy’s donation, on grounds that it came from his firm, Trinity Development Group, which has local operations, including current work at Canada Olympic Park.
Spokesman Chima Nkemdirim, on vacation from the mayor’s office for the campaign, says Ruddy used his corporate credit card for the donation, somewhere between $2,501 and $5,000.
Therefore, “the donation should have been attributed to Trinity Developments, which does business in Alberta,” he said.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous for the Chabot and Smith campaigns to complain about our list, when they won’t release theirs.”
But Chabot and Smith go after Nenshi anyway. They want this to be all about the mayor, every day.
Nenshi does appear vulnerable for the first time, beset by problems like the weak economy, higher taxes, traffic snarls caused by runaway construction, and a view that after seven years he’s grown a bit arrogant.
Even his fundraising appears wobbly, which may explain the readiness to keep the Trinity money.
He still has support. Nearly 1,300 names appear on his list. Larger donors include establishment figures like Mike Tims, Richard Haskayne and Jim Gray.
But some of Nenshi’s store of goodwill — $285,000 worth — was depleted by donations to cover his legal bills in the Cal Wenzel lawsuit.
This was settled out of court, but it’s still expensive for the mayor. Nenshi was his own biggest donor, with $16,910.
He wrote the $285,000 cheque to the city Aug. 29. But the funding drive now hampers his election finances. Haskayne was one of the few significant double donors.
Smith’s campaign is said to be drawing in a great deal more cash than the mayor’s.
One reason may be the fundraising efforts of veteran Progressive Conservative rainmaker Bill DeJong, the prominent Dentons lawyer, who happens to be a good friend of Flames majority owner Murray Edwards.
DeJong also raised money for mayoral candidate Barb Higgins in 2010. She lost to Nenshi. Evidently DeJong doesn’t intend to let it happen again. He’s been on the Smith campaign since June.
Smith himself is well-known in conservative circles; he was president of the PC party for several years, in the troubled times of premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford.
He’s done a lot of community work, coached football, worked as a firefighter, and then became a lawyer.
Although he’s little known to the public, Smith is said to be showing above 20 per cent in polling by campaigns.
Quite soon, radio ads will start. Smith’s campaigners aren’t sure about TV yet.
He isn’t inserting himself forcefully into issues like the breakdown of arena talks, or even sure winners like routine shaming of public art. His attacks on Nenshi are based on leadership and character, not policy.
Nenshi is far from done, of course. He has the big name and claims 1,000 community volunteers.
His reach into communities is unmatched. No politician in Calgary — local, provincial or federal — works harder at meeting voters.
But there’s no doubt about it — this will be Naheed Nenshi’s toughest campaign.