>So the much anticipated election piece that Maclean Kay and I wrote together about those running for Alderman of Ward 8 here in Calgary finally showed up on the website today. You can check it out here, or keep reading.
I’m going to post it on my blog as well because I really don’t like the formatting the Calgary Herald did and I want to make it a little easier to read. So I am going to split it up.
Thanks again to the Purple Perk!
MADELEINE KING
Her Website
Maclean Kay – We met the reigning alderman first. Before she arrived, Mike wondered aloud what we should call her – Your Honourableness? After all, she is English; she probably has a fondness for titles, like Sir Ian McKellen, or Posh Spice. Alas, she insisted on being called “Madeleine.” Because we asked, she refers to the mayor as “Dave.” Saying “Dave” with an Etonian accent still makes it seem like an honourific.
Michael Morrison – My first impression of Madeleine was that she takes her coffee just like my mom, just a little bit of milk. Oh, and her accent is real. She was also able to make Maclean and I feel very comfortable, that is probably why she has no problem having the other aldermen over for dinner or meeting them at the Wildwood (post-salmonella) for a cold pint.
Maclean Kay – Besides the cold pints, she happily tells us she floats down the Elbow River all the time – without a life-jacket! Madeleine King, upper-crust scofflaw. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, but with beer drinking subbing for the French Revolution. She agrees that it’s ridiculous to legislate a waterway one can wade across without getting one’s shorts wet. Oh, and she’s been caught speeding through our fair ward’s ungodly number of playground zones. Unfortunately, aldermanic powers do not include slapping uppity traffic cops a la Zsa Zsa Gabor. If anyone on city council could get away with it, though, it’s definitely Her Honourableness.
Michael Morrison: Madeleine “Badass” King was a lot like the thousands of Calgarians she is trying to represent. She, like so many of us, does not seem to have enough time in the day. Of course, you can blame her 62-hour workweek with City Hall for that. It seems to me that depriving anyone time away from their loved ones and TV sets (it is premiere week, after all) is almost certainly enough to pull on your electoral heart strings. It was also refreshing to hear that I am not the only one who googles themselves and still cannot figure out how to send a proper text message.
Maclean Kay: She also admits to enjoying being recognized, which I can sympathize with. I was recognized once, and it felt great. She has, however, been accosted in Safeway by an angry constituent. That wasn’t all tea and crumpets. (Despite my request, she didn’t actually put it like that.) I did find it interesting that she openly admits she may not live the rest of her life in Calgary – her kids life elsewhere. Actually, she was pretty open about everything. She smiles and laughs easily, which I appreciate.
Michael Morrison: Before we let “Badass” go and watch Coronation Street or whatever British people do, I had one final question. Since Madeleine is a part-time student at the university, would she take a class taught by Ralph Klein? (Apparently they have a history, who knew?) To my surprise, she said without a doubt she would, calling him a “fascinating politician.” So with that, we sent Madeleine on her way. Maclean and I agreed, she is second date worthy — but next time she pays.
Maclean Kay: She definitely buys, unless she brings Druh Farrell and we can all roll our eyes at the suburban aldermen and their wacky ideas, which she admits to doing every once in a while. Oh, Craig Burrows, you and your quaint fondness for three-lane highways and backyards with grass and trees. Well, she didn’t exactly admit to it, but she smirked and cleared her voice just so. You have to admire a politician who can express herself without being quotable. Her Honourableness is no political virgin.
