Ward 6 City Councillor Joe Connelly threw his cowboy hat in the ring for mayor this week. On one hand I was really surprised, but on the other hand I was not. Connelly’s role is not to become mayor, but to move City Hall’s agenda further to the right.

Connelly is a piece of work. Though he is not the most ignorant (that award goes to Ward 3 City Councillor Jim Stevenson), Connelly is definitely the biggest dick on council. He is a brute. The arrogance of this man knows no bounds.

Front and centre on Connelly’s platform is to run the City of Calgary like a business. What I am assuming is that Connelly is hoping to bring ‘efficiency’ and ‘low cost’ to City Hall. He proudly proclaims on his website that he personally delivered $1 billion in new infrastructure to his Ward. He voted for a $500 million tunnel to the airport and against Plan It, a plan in its original form that would have saved the City billions of dollars in infrastructure costs. Connelly wants more roads too.

The problem is that Connelly votes for motions that bloat the City budget, yet he seems incapable of understanding this. Or does he? I think he focuses on the small potato costs of the Peace Bridge ($25 million) to distract citizens from the really big ones. He disguises these costs with Cowboy Ethics and classical economic rhetoric. Connelly is aware that his job is to siphon as much money from the City Hall gravy train into private hands as possible.

Connelly uses phrases ‘run like a business’ and ‘Cowboy Ethics’, but there is no substance to them. He provides no suggestions on how to create efficiencies or what living by cowboy values at City Hall even means. This is a guy who held a fundraiser for suburban housing developers right before the Plan It Calgary hearing to reduce urban sprawl. Connelly’s values put pigs to shame. Can you say pork barrel?

Connelly is not only morally bankrupt. He talks the fiscal Conservative talk, but walks the drunken sailor talk.  He likes to spend other people’s money. After beating incumbent Craig Burrows in the 2007 City election, Connelly was $17,000 in the hole. This guy is fiscally bankrupt too.

Connelly says that “I believe in leading and running government like a business, with Calgarians as our shareholders”. Based on his record he means racking up costs to benefit businesses who get City contracts. Interestingly enough, he complains about the City Parking Authority’s high cost of parking. Connelly doesn’t grasp that the Parking Authority is run like a business to make as much profit as consumers will bear. Because of people like Connelly wanting City departments run like businesses, they are. Earth to Connelly, they are just doing their job stupid.

Businesses are run to make money. The most profitable of them cut costs, not usually by increasing efficiency, but by skimping on wages and quality. The most ruthless and successful are the ones that externalize as much of their costs as possible onto others (ex. taxpayers).

Citizens should not be like shareholders. Those with the most shares, the most money, have the most say. Only those who can afford to pay $200 a plate for a dinner fundraiser matter in a dollar democracy. Like in business, if a citizen has no money, they don’t exist. This is Connelly’s dream world.

The one idea that I actually do give kudos to Connelly for is in regards to community associations. Connelly says, “A city that recognizes the invaluable contribution of community associations – giving them all a voice and a place at City Hall instead of marginalizing their volunteer commitment and contributions”. As a community association President I could not agree more. Connelly doesn’t mention how though.

Anyway, on Connelly’s electability, things don’t look good. He may be in tight with developers and other businesses, but in terms of popularity Connelly doesn’t stand a chance against Ric McIvor. I am sure his polling has shown him this. If Colley-Urquhart runs too, the Conservative end of the spectrum will be awfully crowded. Though I think McIvor is a lock, there is hope that someone from the mushy middle will sneak through.

I hope Connelly gets his big fat white ass beaten in the City election in October (sorry for the visual). Sadly not even that will probably bruise his ego. Even Connelly knows that he is not there to win the mayoral election, for he has no chance. I am sure his business donors have a fat cat job waiting for him after the election. What he is there for is to push the political spectrum to the right, much like the Wildrose Party’s role is in Alberta politics. This moves the mushy middle farther to the right. In this, Connelly and the Conservatives have all ready won.