Pubdate: Tue, 21 Sep 2004
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Andrea Sands, City Hall Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjparty.htm (Canadian Marijuana Party)

THE RACE IS ON

A knife salesman, a past Marijuana party candidate, a former provincial MLA 
and a commercial refrigerator mechanic will all be on the civic election 
ballot this October. A total of 88 civic election contenders officially 
filed nomination papers at City Hall yesterday morning, vying for a total 
of 29 spots on city council and the public and Catholic school boards.

Mayor Bill Smith, 68, was flanked by office staff and relatives, with his 
four-year-old grandson, Will, in tow as he arrived to pay his $500 fee and 
file his paperwork.

"I feel energized," Smith told reporters. "I'm as excited about it as back 
in 1995. You have a much more experienced mayor that's going to run again 
and we want to keep the momentum going."

Not everything went totally according to plan. Will wasn't interested in 
holding onto grandpa's nomination papers or joining him in a thumbs-up sign 
for the cameras.

And a four-metre tall mobile campaign sign asking voters to re-elect Smith 
and "Keep the Momentum Going" got a parking ticket, after the van it was 
mounted on sat for hours outside City Hall at an expired meter.

A total of eight mayoral candidates filed nomination papers yesterday, 
including Smith's main challengers, lawyer Robert Noce and west-end city 
Coun. Stephen Mandel.

"It's about leadership, and I'm the only one who can become a leader," 
declared Mandel, 59, who complained the recent smoking-bylaw spat between 
Noce and Smith has turned the mayoral race into "an embarrassing soap opera."

Yesterday was the next step in a long haul for 37-year-old Noce, who's been 
campaigning since January. "It is simply the day in which people will 
finally know all the names of the candidates, but from our perspective, 
it's just another day in the campaign."

A few lesser-known challengers for the mayor's chair officially confirmed 
their candidacy too, including 65-year-old Dieter Peske, who blasted the 
Sun for ignoring his election campaign. The former masonry contractor who's 
now in the drycleaning business acknowledged he has no previous political 
experience, but says he knows all about getting value for dollars.

"I sure do know how to take care of my house. City Hall is my house, and 
the people at City Hall are just the people who are hired to spend my money 
wisely," Peske said.

Dave Dowling, a former Marijuana party candidate, also entered the mayor's 
race and vowed to push for the repeal of marijuana laws which are "a 
blatant waste" of taxpayers' dollars.

"Most of the other candidates are for more police, more taxes, more white 
elephant projects, and that's wrong," said Dowling, who wore a camouflage 
jacket and sunglasses which he refused to remove for photos, stating his 
eyes are sensitive to light.

Mayoral challenger Tilo Paravalos, a 26-year-old commercial refrigerator 
mechanic, said he's eager to give back to the city. "I'm not preaching to 
you that I know everything about city council, and maybe that's a good 
thing," Paravalos said.

Among the myriad of council contenders is former provincial MLA Linda 
Sloan, vying for the Ward 1 spot left vacant when Mandel decided to run for 
mayor, and 20-year-old Kyle Balombin, a part-time knife salesman and former 
Grant MacEwan education student who insisted he's a "serious candidate" for 
Ward 3.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager