Council delays decision on public vote on Olympic bid
Ex-CEO of Vancouver Games says more information key to plebiscite
As city council postponed a decision on holding an Olympic plebiscite, the former CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Games said Calgarians need to have a complete picture on the costs and risks associated with hosting before going ahead with a non-binding vote.
John Furlong, former head of VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee), said care has to be taken in crafting a plebiscite question, as well as in the rollout of the “yes” and “no” campaigns.
“I think you have to have all the information,” Furlong said.
“To put a question to people without proper information and real costs and real data — I can’t imagine that you’d put that to the voters and think that that’s acceptable.
“I think you’d want the voters to know absolutely everything if you were going to put it to a vote. Otherwise, I think you’ll get a result that is probably a bit misleading.”
Councillors voted 10-3 Wednesday to delay a debate on the plebiscite until April 10, when the city ’s Olympic project team will provide details on an engagement plan.
Some on council have been skeptical that a plebiscite would be preferable to engagement and consultation with Calgarians.
“What’s the point of having elected officials if every time a tough decision comes to us, we decide that, ‘Hey, let’s take it to a plebiscite.’
“I’m pretty sure we were elected to represent the people, so let’s represent them,” said Coun. Jyoti Gondek, who said she favours engagement to collect information from Calgarians on a number of questions, including whether they would attend Olympic events, purchase tickets and how many tax dollars they’d be willing to spend on hosting.
Councillors Sean Chu and Jeromy Farkas have been driving the campaign for a plebiscite, and there are indications they have succeeded in convincing some of their fellow councillors.
Coun. Peter Demong had previously been against a plebiscite but Wednesday said that’s the direction he’s leaning.
“I think it’s important when we’re going onto something as large and potentially explosive as the Olympics, we should get as much public engagement as we can and I think a plebiscite would be simple,” Demong said.
Chu said he wasn’t happy council voted to defer a decision on a plebiscite until next month, but said he’s encouraged by the narrowing votes on council on Olympic items.
Only Chu and Druh Farrell voted against creating the initial Olympic bid exploration committee in 2016. Last year, that number rose to four councillors — including Demong and Farkas — who voted against spending another $2 million on the process.
Tuesday’s vote on the creation of a bid corporation saw the closest margin yet, with six councillors opposed.
“All we need are two more councillors who actually think that this is a bad deal for Calgary,” Chu said.
Councillors heard earlier this week that Vancouver conducted approximately 400 town halls, in addition to holding a plebiscite on the Olympics.
I think it’s important when we’re going onto something as large and potentially explosive as the Olympics, we should get as much public engagement as we can.
Vancouverites voted 64 per cent in favour of pursuing a bid in 2003, with a record number of eligible voters participating.
The city clerk says it could cost $1.96 million to hold a plebiscite and could take six months to prepare before Calgarians go to the polls.
The International Olympic Committee is expected to invite interested cities to proceed to the 2026 candidature stage in October.