Leibovici seeking ‘new urban agenda’ on funding front
Karen Leibovici called on the provincial government Thursday to make its municipal infrastructure grant program permanent and indexed to inflation so Edmonton can better plan future projects.
“The opportunity for real change is now. The province has opened the door … We need a new urban agenda,” Leibovici told almost 400 people at a mayoral campaign breakfast fundraiser.
The current Municipal Sustainability Initiative has a 10-year term and isn’t indexed, so improvements are needed as part of talks about revising the Municipal Government Act and introducing a Big City Charter, she said.
“At this point, our province puts a higher (funding) value on a resident of the region than a resident of Edmonton,” she said. “We don’t get our fair share, based on our infrastructure needs and our role facilitating the economy. We need to get this done.”
Leibovici also criticized her two main opponents in the Oct. 21 election, calling Kerry Diotte “a naysayer” and Don Iveson “a policy wonk.”
“Voters can choose a mayor that would move us backward, shrinking our vision to just potholes and pessimism, and voters can choose a mayor that would steer us off course with big plans, big spending and big vision, but no funding attached,” she said.
“Either of those choices ensures our city grinds to a halt. And then there’s me … hard-working, industrious, focused on getting things right, a person of integrity.”
Leibovici also raised the spectre of a “fractured council” with division between the minimum six newcomers creating uncertainty that scares head offices away from Edmonton.
“The last time we had a council, a mayor, who were unfriendly to business, we lost businesses. We lost Imperial Oil, we lost Telus, we lost Shaw. We can’t risk that again,” she said, referring to the 1990s downturn while Jan Reimer was mayor.
“To stay open for business, council has to be united by a strong mayor, a consensus builder and a doer.”
Under later questioning, Leibovici didn’t directly answer whether she’s saying Iveson is anti-business.
“I said we had in the past councils that were anti-business. … I have supported the downtown entertainment and arena district because I believe it’s a catalyst project,” she said. “If you look at my track record, I’m probably the most business-friendly candidate in the race.”
The only example she provided was the arena funding deal, which she supported from the beginning and Iveson repeatedly voted against before accepting the final version.
“If everyone had voted the way Councillor Iveson did, the arena would not be there. To vote at the end of the process doesn’t encourage that development to go along.”
But Iveson said he didn’t accept the arena finance proposal until last May because he’s a tough negotiator and pushed for concessions.
This won him the respect of leaders in the business community, which he has supported during his time on council, he said.
“I was the only one of the three of us (running for mayor) to support TEC Edmonton downtown, which is a business incubator,” Iveson said.
“My credentials there are solid … I don’t fear the new members that are coming to City Hall this fall. I look forward to working with them to further advance Edmonton’s prosperity and livability. I don’t have fear of the future.”
Diotte dismissed Leibovici’s comment as “politics.”
“If people want more of the same old, same old, they’re free to vote for her.”