[jj2424]

Calgary’s media-savvy mayor could face off this fall against another of Calgary’s popular media fixtures.

Talk radio host Dave Rutherford, whose CHQR morning show ends next month, confirmed Tuesday that he’s been approached about challenging Mayor Naheed Nenshi in the fall election.

“Well, I’m considering it,” he told the Herald.

“At the end of July, the talk show’s retired and I’ve said on the air that I’m looking at new opportunities, options open, new horizons, so who knows?”

He added that he’s not begun any serious explorations of this political opportunity

Nobody has stepped forward yet to run against Nenshi, who has enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that put him among Canada’s most-loved mayors.

A run by Rutherford, 64, could cast the contest as the veteran conservative against the younger, more progressive one-term mayor. Fellow right-leaning pundits have bashed Nenshi on council’s recent move to hike taxes by $52 million to use for undetermined purposes (or, possibly, give it back next year).

The Manning Centre think-tank has begun training some conservative candidates, though it’s decided to only working on ward contests. A clique of home builders who helped fund the Manning Centre have also signalled they’ll pump massive amounts of donations into candidate coffers, although on a leaked video recording Shane Homes’ Cal Wenzel didn’t mention supporting any mayoral hopeful.

Rutherford wouldn’t say when he’ll announce whether or not he’s running for mayor in the Oct. 21 race. He still has still has eight more weeks on air before the Rutherford Show signs off permanently,

“I haven’t made a decision on it. There’s no (campaign) infrastructure in place, so I really don’t know,” he said. “My wife will be just be kicking around options and Jason, to be really honest I have not made a decision.”

He said it was unidentified “individual contacts” urging him to run for mayor, rather than any groups.

After he announced this spring he was retiring, Rutherford said he’d essentially decided to end his contract a while before. But his resolve was strengthened after he felt his radio station’s posting for a new talk-show host was a knock at his “hard-edged opinions” style.

In Calgary’s 2010 mayoral race, another local broadcast celebrity made a run. Name recognition only took former CTV anchor Barb Higgins so far, however. She finished third behind Nenshi and former alderman Ric McIver.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Talk+ ... z2VIYCYoY5

[Lar]

I hope Dave realizes he should wait as he has no chance of winning. This would be political suicide.
My opinion is he was in our face for too many years and he should wait.
I'm not from Calgary but I like the mayor they have now.
Dave is too pushy for what it takes to be Mayor. He has to realize he can't hang up on people like he used to. No I never called in and was in that spot and was not hung up on. But I did get very errata-ted when I listened to his program out of shear boredom and found that he treated people with my way is the only way.
DAVE take a holiday regroup and get over yourself. Calgary is doing well without you!!

[jj2424]

NOBODY should get a free ride into another term. Don't kid yourself Nenshi isn't as popular as the media makes him out to be. Rutherford would probably lose but who cares?

Nenshi should have to work to be re-elected.

[Lar]

You are probably right, all I get is what the media shows. I just don't like Rutherford.

[Thanos]

This thread is two months old. Since it was started Dave's said he's not going to run. He's got a lot of retirement money and time to enjoy. Would have been fun to see him shred Farrell and Pincott during council meetings though.

[Jabberwalker]

Nobody has stepped forward yet to run against Nenshi, who has enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that put him among Canada’s most-loved mayors.

Albertans sure love their populist politicians, like nobody else in the country.

Remember King Ralph?

[DrCaleb]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Nobody has stepped forward yet to run against Nenshi, who has enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that put him among Canada’s most-loved mayors.

Albertans sure love their populist politicians, like nobody else in the country.

Remember King Ralph?

No, who was he?

The rest of Canada still hasn't learnt the lesson he taught us ethier.

[BartSimpson]

I was kind of hoping Mike Rutherford was going to run as a silent candidate.

[Jabberwalker]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Nobody has stepped forward yet to run against Nenshi, who has enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that put him among Canada’s most-loved mayors.

Albertans sure love their populist politicians, like nobody else in the country.

Remember King Ralph?

No, who was he?

The rest of Canada still hasn't learnt the lesson he taught us ethier.

You're all on a mission, are you?

[DrCaleb]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Nobody has stepped forward yet to run against Nenshi, who has enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that put him among Canada’s most-loved mayors.

Albertans sure love their populist politicians, like nobody else in the country.

Remember King Ralph?

No, who was he?

The rest of Canada still hasn't learnt the lesson he taught us ethier.

You're all on a mission, are you?

Yes. Is making Canada a better place not a worthy mission?

[Thanos]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

I was kind of hoping Mike Rutherford was going to run as a silent candidate.

Only if he has a plank in his platform that says Phil Collins is forever barred from entering the city limits.

[BartSimpson]

What's wrong with Phil Collins?

[Jabberwalker]

Albertans sure love their populist politicians, like nobody else in the country.

Remember King Ralph?[/quote]

No, who was he?

The rest of Canada still hasn't learnt the lesson he taught us ethier.[/quote]

You're all on a mission, are you?[/quote]

Yes. Is making Canada a better place not a worthy mission?[/quote]

It depends on your definition of "better Canada" and your qualifications to declare it thus.

[Thanos]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

What's wrong with Phil Collins?

Just about everything, unless you're a big fan of really bad soft-pop that's written to appeal to the sort of middle-aged women who watched Oprah every day and keep buying Harlequin romance paperbacks. Gabriel, Rutherford, and Banks were the real talents in Genesis, not their (ugh) drummer.

Admittedly, Driving The Last Spike is a damn good song though....

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

No, who was he?

The rest of Canada still hasn't learnt the lesson he taught us ethier.

You're all on a mission, are you?

Yes. Is making Canada a better place not a worthy mission?

I don't know if Klein left us better off or not. Sure he did some good things, like get the oilsands going full bore, but the social and infrastructure costs of his policies were pretty high.