One year of creating a Better Calgary
Ironically, the hardest time to blog is when I feel I have the most to say.
One year ago tonight, Naheed Nenshi was elected as the mayor of Calgary. It was an election that literally made international headlines. If you’ve visited my blog before, you know I’ve spoken about it for a year.
Tonight I met with friends and discussed our past and our future.
Sure, it may have been an anniversary of a historic win - an event that we may never see replicated in Canadian politics. What makes is so special is that it was a night we met with friends and we have actual conversations about the year that is behind us and the future that lies ahead.
I found myself flitting from table to table, having brief little discussions hither and thither. I almost felt like I had a longing to have a long, drawn out rehash of all the times and events from another perspective because I felt lost in my own thoughts. I spoke with my dear friend Lori - yes, every word of that phrase feels exactly right - about her perspective of what I wrote a year ago and I felt relief and joy and validated and confused all in the same breath. I spoke with my dear friend Marc and I feel he understands both the subtext of the jokes and the drive I feel to accomplish better. I spoke with my dear friend Trina and felt assuredness that I have both made the right decisions and have acted on them appropriately.
What is the one thing that all the media coverage in the world missed all the way up to now? The simple fact that electing Naheed Nenshi was simply an act of making Calgary a better city.
Forget the letter grades. Forget the pass / fail. Forget the rankings.
The act of electing my friend Naheed Nenshi was about our collective drive to make Calgary a better place. (For the record, calling Naheed a friend 18 months ago would have been unfathomable, not calling him a friend today would be just as unbelievable.) We believe he can deliver the change we desire. We believe he’s done a great job up to now.
My official ranking of Naheed’s first year in office shall be, “In Progress.” My official ranking of my first year of Naheed being in office shall be, “In Progress – and Trying To Keep Up.”
Thank you to all my friends, mentioned or not. Thank you to all my new friends who continue to try to make Calgary a better city. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, next week, next year. Our job isn’t finished yet. Calgary is a great city, we shall keep making it better.