If only Sandra Bullock were mayor of Calgary.
Her divorce last week from bike dude Jesse James shows decisive action, based on principle. Sure, it would have been easy to go through the gymnastics of couples therapy. Pray, cajole, bury your pride — hope for change from the barnyard dog.
But the actress cut the marriage loose. She knew priorities. And this is something sorely lacking at city council. Bullock shows a nice aptitude to reassess after something thought hot — was just not.
So as summer flows in … Bullock veto action is needed for the following:
Cease the Calatrava Bridge to nowhere and divert $25 million to repair and extend our bike paths.
Bring in fired city auditor Tracy McTaggart to teach life lessons at the city hall school for kids.
Eliminate single-source contracting.
Send dry cleaning bills and golf lessons charged to taxpayers back to aldermen.
Keep chickens out of our backyards.
Stop ticketing cyclists (c’mon!).
Restrict the hordes of bylaw officers on Sandy Beach in Elbow Park.
Outlaw libraries with neon signs.
Remove 311 as the shield for every inquiry to city hall.
Make all city staff job titles and phone numbers public.
Build a new line of the LRT to the northeast, the fastest growing quadrant in Calgary.
Close down Memorial Sunday mornings for a true street party through all quadrants. Replicate party on Stony Trail.
Commission a public panel: Why are no women running for mayor in this city?
Extend the hours of the city’s free summer playgrounds so working parents can use them.
Make community association finances public.
Rebuild the bike pathway to the Calgary airport after the new runway is installed.
Give fines from speed cameras to the communities that live with the speeding.
Publish the voting records of city aldermen in plain language on the city website — in a large font size.
Make parking free every Sunday in the summer.
Make it free to get married on city hall steps.
Keep our foreign workers recruited during the boom.
Follow the science on pesticides.
Promote water conservation.
Recognize all the social work done by faith-based groups.
