Iveson publicly releases five key issue transition memos for future council to help inform Edmontonians before heading to the polls

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Always wanted an inside look into the role of Edmonton’s mayor?

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Leading up to the October election, outgoing Mayor Don Iveson has publicly issued transition memos on five key priorities the next leader will need to focus on in an effort to better inform Edmontonians before going to the polls.

Releasing the memos on his website Friday morning, Iveson said the idea of this “open transition project” is to provide insight to candidates and the public on the key issues facing the city going forward and what council’s responsibilities will be. Iveson focused on supportive housing, the city plan, fiscal policy, the energy transition strategy and regional economic development.

The memos outline the progress made as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for council’s consideration on each issue.

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“After I announced my intention to not run for re-election, I received many inquiries asking if I could provide Edmontonians with a background on key policy issues they should keep in mind as they considered their options for a new mayor and council,” Iveson said during a media availability Friday.

“These transition memos are meant to provide the public and future civic leaders with background on key files that will shape the direction of our city, like climate change and our financial situation, so that they can make informed decisions moving forward.”

Typically these transition memos are released post-election only to the incoming elected officials, but Iveson said he wanted to be open and transparent about these key issues to ensure citizens are as informed as possible before casting their ballots.

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“One of the strengths of local democracy is how open and transparent it is and how much information is shared with citizens to inform debate,” Iveson said. “This open transition project is consistent with those democratic values and I hope these memos support informed debate before and beyond election day.”

Not giving any names, Iveson said he thinks the candidates best suited to address these priorities are those who look at the complexity of issues and take all factors into consideration before making a decision.

“I think the inquisitiveness and the humility to look at them and the willingness to debate them and test them and come up with alternate suggestions,” Iveson said of the qualities of candidates best suited to address these issues. “The capacity to deal with complexity, I guess that’s the biggest thing.”

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One area in which Iveson is skeptical of success for the next council is a positive relationship with the provincial government. Supportive housing is a key priority as the city’s homeless population has increased by more than 1,000 since the start of the pandemic, but Iveson said the city is at an impasse with the province on getting funding to provide the embedded social supports.

“I’m not sure it’s possible to have a functional relationship with a dysfunctional government and at this point the situation Alberta finds itself in is endemic of that,” he said. “There will be an opportunity for the next mayor to try to reset with the Government of Alberta, but from my perspective, despite many attempts, it has been very, very challenging to work with them. So I don’t have a prescription for that this election.”

In his supportive housing memo, Iveson pitched an idea to the next council of betting the province that investing in supportive housing will save them money in the health-care and justice systems. If it doesn’t, the city would backstop any additional costs in an effort to de-risk the province’s investment.

All five memos can be found on the mayor’s website. Edmontonians will go to the polls Oct. 18.

duscook@postmedia.com

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