My Supporters/Donations to date

Supporters/Donations to date. $15,150.00.

We have a three way split: 34% from Friends and family, 36.3 % from Construction /Developers and 29.7% from organized Labour.

We are expecting (hoping for) a couple more checks and we will likely add some donations in kind which will be less than $500.00. If we were to bill for volunteer hours it would be in the Millions!!!
Still, all in, far less than the $20-$25,000 I would like to see as the new donation cap.

Please be aware that much of the donations from Developers were for tickets to fund raisers.

Bike Lanes - If we are Going to be a Progressive City, Lets Plan for 20 Years from Now

I have been inundated with questions about Bike lanes. As you know I want them added as roads are being installed so that we don't have to come back later and add them. I also want them installed in the Callingwood and Lessard bridges over the Anthony Henday.

My opinion has raised some eyebrows.

Here is my response to a letter about cyclists.

"This might take a minute, so bear with me.

Bikes are an interesting story in Edmonton. They are such a dichotomy. When I am on my bike I am terrified of cars. When I am in my car I am terrified of Bikes. Unlike rock, paper, scissors, however, when I am walking I am terrified of both.

I really believe that if Edmontonians, are going to make this a cycling city and I think that bicycle lanes are the way to do it. IF THEY ARE USED PROPERLY, bike lanes keep bikes, cars and pedestrians separate, they take up much less space than a car lane or a sidewalk and IF USED PROPERLY make everyone’s life easier. You are frustrated, as are a lot of people because you see bikes acting outside the rules. I admit that I feel the same way when I see them scoot through traffic or shoot through stop signs etc but that is no different than cars that do exactly the same thing endangering us all or pedestrian that jaywalk. The vast majority of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians stay within the boundaries of the law.

If we are going to be a progressive city, we need to try to envision the world as we want it 20 years from now. I really believe that bike lanes are part of that future. Energy costs are going up, space is at a premium and people are more aware of the physical and mental advantages of cycling. I see it like the recycling center on the East Side of town: 25 years ago people thought it was ridiculous, now we brag about how we are the number one recycling city in the world.

I admit, I have several of the same experiences as you and I also want the traffic laws enforced (for cyclists own safety) but I wonder if people said the same thing about cars 100 years ago when they started roaming the streets of Edmonton.

The world is changing. Bikes are growing in popularity. My plan to add the lanes as roads are constructed minimizes costs and means the lanes can be properly placed outside of parking lanes. If ALL streets were (from Right to left) Sidewalk, Parking lane, Bike lane, Driving lane then we could all learn the proper etiquette and I really believe that your frustrations and mine would be minimized.

Finally, although you did not mention it, many people are saying that we should not have the expense of lanes for a sport that is only available during the summer. Then we would have no soccer fields, no Commonwealth stadium and the like. Our short summers make us all the more excited about our time in the sun.

In conclusion, I want you to know I understand how you feel and I empathize but it is my opinion that the lanes are part of our future and anything we can do to move our city forward is a good thing."

Photo credit: consortiumoffools.wordpress.com/tag/bike-lanes/

My Plans to Eliminate Poverty

As you may have heard on my interview on 630 CHED last week, my goal for the city of Edmonton over the next four years is ending child poverty so I would like to concentrate on child poverty issues.

In 1943 Abraham Maslow theorized that human needs are hierarchical. I have always believed the same thing. As a result, I believe that we must work to provide for all of our children’s base needs first.  These needs include food (and water) and shelter (and heat and power). Second level needs include Personal security, employment, health and property. It is an interesting study in politics to note that cities provide for human’s base needs and Provincial governments provide higher level needs, making it harder for cities to directly control such challenging issues. In answer to your question I would like to concentrate on some immediate solutions. These solutions can help break the chain of poverty, which I feel is one of the root causes.

These are items I intend to address immediately; items that the city of Edmonton has authority over and where I will be able to make the most immediate difference.


To address Physiological needs I will:

• continue my work with the Edmonton food bank. Almost 50% of food bank users are children.  Food is the number one priority. Make it available and more importantly de-stigmatize food bank use by attending and assisting.
• remove “base cost” of city of Edmonton utilities for Low Income households, so that they only pay for usage, not infrastructure. This one is enormously important and something we can do immediately (Also my fiscal responsibility/tax restructuring in other areas of the city will take the pressure off Utilities to produce such large profits).
• continue the city’s low income housing, first home and infill programs to assist low income Edmontonians that want to become home owners.
• Make Edmonton more Breastfeeding Friendly. The simplest act on earth to guarantee proper nutrition is to support nature’s perfect food.

To address Safety and access to schooling (replacing employment) needs I will:

• Adjust cost of Transit Passes for Low Income homes.
• Work with the Crisis network and/or add direct connect to 211 from the 311 system. Empower 211 to intercede in domestic violence (witnessing domestic violence is also experiencing abuse).
• Provide quick access from 311 to the provincial health line for health and safety issues.
• Work with police to create drug and gang free zones. Add drug and gang activity (and graffiti and vandalism) to the city’s crime tracking site to assist police.
• Have the city pay entry fees for low income moms who want to join the “New Mom’s Network”. 

To reiterate, these are areas that the city has the ability to act and to make a direct difference in people’s lives. It can do so quickly and easily (I hope). Though there are many more I could address, I have always felt that a small number of attainable goals allow for solutions.

Finally, these are areas of provincial government responsibilities where, I feel, the province is abrogating its responsibilities and we need to find ways to help.

• Edmonton’s school drop out rate and high school completion rate
• Especially First Nations, Metis and Inuit
• Adult literacy
• City libraries can increase the number of programs for adult literacy
• there are creative ways to assist with adult literacy i.e. Khan academy
• Continue to provide ESL training at a reasonable rate
• Mental Health
• Find some way to force the province to increase spending on Mental Health. Much of adult homelessness is mental health related. Extreme poverty is highly correlated to mental health problems.
• Residential school abuse continues to echo through our society and survivors AND THEIR DESCENDANTS need to be helped.
• Minimum wage
• Work to increase minimum wage to a living wage.
• Work to assure equal pay for women. 

Photo credit: www.kemptvillesalvationarmy.org/foodbank

My Plans - as Promised, How I Will Keep the Arena on Budget

Firstly let me say I have learned a lot about running for politics. I cannot make outcome guarantees BUT I can guarantee that I will do everything within my power and within the scope of the office to make the arena stay on budget.


Now, how I intend to do so.

First let me say that I spent eighteen years of my life working in a Edmonton based Canada wide distribution company including several years as VP of Operations. I created internal accountability protocols; this experience and knowledge will help me reach my goal to keep the arena on budget.

Let me explain how cost overrides are caused in the first place. Here is a Venn diagram of a construction project's potential outcomes:

You want the project to arrive in the white area, on time, on budget and with the expected quality. My second choice would be the Green Area, a little delayed but expected cost and quality. Third choice is Purple, on budget and on time, last choice is blue, on budget. Any final outcome outside the blue circle is unacceptable.

Now let me outline the plan for staying blue, purple, white or green.

Keeping on Budget is about Risk Management. Since we risk cost overrides, we must work to mitigate that risk. In order to do so we need to:

1) receive regular reporting relative to expected due dates. This will allow us to assure that items are on time and on budget. As items begin to lag, we deal with the delays and their causes.

2) Learn the decision making model and hold the decision makers accountable. If one area is causing delays or cost overrides deal with it early.

3) Hold bidders to the terms of their contracts. We have agreed to costs they must live up to them.

4) Avoid distraction costs (no fighting causing delays). Agree on all items well in advance so that if disagreements occur, we deal with them before they cost overruns or delays.

5) Prepare cuts in advance. We need to move quickly and smoothly and we need to make cost cutting decisions on the fly. As an example, lets say we had silk curtains (I chose this example because we do not) and those curtains cost $22M then we know that we can sacrifice them for $2M curtains when the need for cuts arise and we can do so quickly so as to keep the project moving.

That is a small portion of what I intend to do to oversee the arena. This question requires a dissertation but I have done my best to give a concise answer.

I intend to bring a very different skill set to city hall. And I will do everything within my power and the scope of the office to live up to my promises.

Our Town by Jim Gibbon - Ward 5 Candidate Edmonton Election 2013

Our Town

By Jim Gibbon

​

Since a very young age music has been a very important part of my life, from playing Tuba in the school band to playing in local rock bands in my university days. Now, as I've become older I realize the importance of music education in my life and I strive to teach my children to do the same.

For this election I thought it would be fun to write a song about my favorite city... Edmonton of course!

I included allusions to what built Edmonton; Coal, Gold, Oil. If I made one with pictures from today Edmonton would be a much different place. Much more diverse ethnically socially, and economically. I love today diverse Edmonton but this nod is to how we got here. 

BTW all the photos, with the exception of one photo taken in Jasper, are photographed in Edmonton and are from the Gibbon family collection - however, there are many individuals we don't know. If you recognize someone in the video please let me know we would love to hear who it is. Most of the black and white photos were taken in the 1920s when Edmonton was a bustling exciting growing city.

An Alternate Solution to the ECC and Woodward Crescent Bridge Access

Upadate:  Edmonton Country Club/Woodward Crescent Roads

I apologise, upon further investigation I found out the ground along this new route would be too unstable for a road.

We will continue to promote a modest pedestrian crossing bridge to be built from the south side of the North Saskatchewan river.

If you have any comments or solutions, I would love to hear them.

Jim Gibbon