Mayor enlists social media in suites battle

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is hoping to mobilize the same tech-savy, socially networked supporters who were key to his election last year to help in his push to legalize secondary suites.

Nenshi has been reaching out on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, asking Calgarians to tell their alderman to back his proposal for relaxing the rules around the basement apartments.

Nenshi got international attention for making maximum use of social media in last fall's civic election.

Now the mayor said he thinks those same tools will help win the controversial debate about legalizing secondary suites.

"I think this is one of those strange debates where the city has done surveys, and we've done scientific polling, that some 80 per cent of Calgarians are in favour of this change," Nenshi said.

"But a lot of the folks who have their alderman on speed dial are the people who are not in favour. So, it's important the public get more engaged in that debate."

Whether people support or oppose secondary suites, they need to let their city councilor know, Nenshi stressed.

A long-time commenter on municipal politics, Shane Byciuk - who writes the blog 'Calgary Rants' - said he thinks Nenshi's latest online appeal will likely resonate with the people who elected him.

And he predicted Nenshi's efforts could change the minds of some aldermen.

"If enough people are actually emailing them, or tweeting them or sending messages on Facebook, it may impact how they think," said Byciuk.

Social media influential

Ward 4 Ald. Gael MacLeod said the "best public policy choice" is her primary consideration when casting a vote at city council. But she admitted that social media does inform her thinking and decision-making.

Ward 6 Ald. Richard Pootmans also said social media influences his decision-making.

"I find myself opening my Facebook and Twitter accounts before I open my e-mail accounts," he said.

And he'll be paying close attention as the mayor tries to use those cyber tools to build support for secondary suites, he said.

Ald. Ray Jones, on the other hand, said he wasn't aware of the mayor's efforts to mobilize support for secondary suites using social media.

The veteran representative for Ward 5 said he's a bit more old-fashioned when it comes to decision-making.

Jones said his opposition to secondary suites was influenced by phone calls and conversations with constituents and community association presidents.

Council is expected to vote on whether to legalize secondary suites on March 7.