McCall Lake golf course teeing up as election issue

Saving the McCall Lake golf course has already become a civic election issue, but two groups fighting the closure say it’s “laughable” that Mayor Nenshi is questioning whether they have ties to developers.

An ad in Monday’s Calgary Herald includes a list of election candidates who support saving the golf course.

Mayor Nenshi says he believes the candidates are being supported by a group of builders hoping more developer-friendly candidates are elected to council.

“Let’s just say it’s fascinating that five of those six people in that ad, that is not a slate, are five of the people that are being supported by the home builders.”

Organizers of the Save McCall campaign deny builders are financing their fight.

“Why would we as a group, two groups, try to preserve the property and have land developers support us?” asks Ron Congram of “Save McCall Lake”. “It’s not sensical, not logical, so no, absolutely there are no developers, no builders, supporting our group.”

Cal Wenzel, the founder of Shane Homes, was caught on tape last November railing against certain members of city council perceived as not developer-friendly, and encouraging builders to support their own slate of candidates. Wenzel also urged builders to support the Manning Centre’s program to train civic candidates.

A second citizen group that helped pay for the ad says while those candidates might be listed in the ad, they paid their own way and builders were not involved.

“We are diametrically opposed probably to what those folks want to do,” says Tom Sindlinger of YYC Communities First. “We want to preserve the green spaces in this city and that means not building on them.”

But one political analyst wonders why an ad about a golf course, doesn’t use the word “golf”.

“There are other things that unite these six candidates besides the love of golf,” says Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University. “They are all running in ridings against alleged liberal candidates.”

The city has yet to make a final decision on the McCall Lake closure. A study will be completed in November, after the civic election.