Don Iveson

Don Iveson
Edmonton City Councillor Ward 10
In office 2010 – present
Preceded by	New ward
Edmonton City Councillor Ward 5
In office 2007–2010
Preceded by	Mike Nickel
Succeeded by	Ward abolished
Personal details
Born	May 30, 1979 (1979-05-30) (age 32) Edmonton, Alberta
Spouse(s)	Sarah Chan
Children	Dexter Iveson[1]
Alma mater	University of Alberta
Occupation	Non-profit manager

Don Iveson (born May 30, 1979) is a Canadian politician and a municipal councillor in Edmonton.

Early life

Don Iveson grew up in Edmonton's Parkallen neighbourhood, the only child of Margaret, an education professor at the University of Alberta, and Bob Iveson, a sculptor.^[2] As a child, Iveson loved books, both fiction and non-, reading C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series by seventh grade.^[2] He was also active in scouting and debate.^[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta in 2001.^[3][4] While there, he served as managing editor of the Gateway, the university's student newspaper.^[4] He did the last year of his degree on exchange at the University of Toronto, and stayed in Toronto upon his graduation to serve as president of the Canadian University Press for a year.^[3][4] Two years as business manager of the Gateway followed before he took a job as advocacy director with the University of Alberta Students' Union.^[3][4] There, he played a leading role in negotiations with the City of Edmonton for the development of a Universal Transit Pass for University of Alberta students.^[3][4] He left the position in 2007, and entered politics shortly thereafter.^[4]

Political career

Iveson first sought political office in the 2007 municipal election, when he ran for the Edmonton City Council in ward 5.^[5] Both of the ward's incumbents, Bryan Anderson and Mike Nickel, were seeking re-election.^[6] His campaign stressed improved transit services, densification of housing, and increased affordable housing,^[5][7] and won endorsements from former councillors Larry Langley, Janice Melnychuk, Michael Phair, and Gene Dub, and members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Don Massey and Raj Pannu.^[8] In a result that media sources called the election's biggest surprise, Iveson finished more than two thousand votes ahead of Nickel (although more than one thousand behind Anderson) to capture the ward's second council seat.^[6]

After taking office, Iveson was assigned the environmental portfolio by mayor Stephen Mandel.^[4] In this capacity, he attended the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. He has also endorsed a municipal tax on plastic bags and a reduction of cosmetic pesticide use,^[9] although he stopped short of endorsing the ban called for by the Canadian Cancer Society.^[10]

In response to the news that municipal spending would necessitate larger than normal property tax increases in 2008 and 2009, Iveson expressed support for maintaining levels of spending, saying that he was "tired of this city cheaping out".^[11] He later clarified that he was referring principally to needed infrastructure investment. He advocated a more progressive taxation scheme that better matched household impact, possibly substituting more stable fee-based revenue for property taxes that were subject to variation based on fluctuating property value.^[12]

Personal life

Iveson is married to Sarah Chan, a music teacher,^[3][4] and lives with her and Dougal, their border terrier.^[2] He has a son named Dexter.^[1] He is an avid sailor, and once taught the sport at Lake Wabamun.^[5] He is also a fan of Star Trek and Arcade Fire.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nomination day, the great leveller". Edmonton Journal. Septebmber 21, 2010. http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=39d8f925-846d-4042-a96c-bb2d70141af1&p=1. Retrieved 2010-10-06. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Gregoire, Lisa (September 2008). "Rookie of the Year". Avenue Edmonton. http://www.avenueedmonton.com/articles/page/item/rookie-of-the-year. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Don Iveson campaign biography". http://www.doniveson.ca/bio/. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Don Iveson biography, City of Edmonton". http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_360_251_0_43/http%3B/cmsserver/COEWeb/don+iveson/. Retrieved 2008-06-03. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Survey Says: Don Iveson". Edmonton Journal. 2007-09-20. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/civicvote/story.html?id=07a8a425-4609-44f8-af98-93c694c24750&k=58235. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Ruttan, Susan (2007-10-16). "Newcomer Iveson knocks Nickel out of the ring". Edmonton Journal. 
7. ^ "Don Iveson platform". Archived from the original on 2008-03-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20080315112650/http://www.doniveson.ca/platform/. Retrieved 2008-03-15. 
8. ^ "Don Iveson endorsements". Archived from the original on 2008-03-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20080315100630/http://www.doniveson.ca/endorsements/. Retrieved 2008-03-15. 
9. ^ Waugh, Neil (2008-04-25). "Council must sack this bag-ban idea". Edmonton Sun. http://edmsun.canoe.ca/Comment/Commentary/2008/04/25/5381551.html. Retrieved 2008-06-03. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Thomas, Nicki (2008-05-23). "Call to ban pesticides for that perfect lawn". Edmonton Sun. http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2008/05/23/5646966-sun.html. Retrieved 2008-06-03. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Tax hikes on the way for 2009, Edmonton council warns". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-05-29. http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/29/edm-tax-debate.html. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
12. ^ "Councillor Connection: Clarifying past comments". Edmonton Examiner. 2008. http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1088780. Retrieved 2010-10-06. 

Persondata
Name	Iveson, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1979-05-30
Place of birth	Edmonton, Alberta
Date of death
Place of death