"30 years of Dedication and Commitment to renewing our communities"

Demonstrated Community Vision, Leadership, Integrity, Ability and Credentials.

Rare political experience at two levels of government.

What does this mean for you? Jon is the candidate who is "BEST ABLE to DELIVER". He has the track record so you don't have to guess - he is the one who got the jobs done that others said couldn't be done - and he did them for the right reasons.

Jon is a friendly, energetic, down to earth  "small business guy" as he likes to put it. Despite his humble beginnings, he has covered a lot of distance in life, accomplishing some remarkable successes in resolving intractable community problems and getting leading-edge ideas into action in our community, our City, and our Province.

If you want to help renew Calgary Currie, look at what he already did in helping start the complete renewal and revitalization of Marda Loop, Victoria Park, and others.

Jon has shown remarkable dedication and work in this community over the past 30 years. He volunteered many thousands of hours as Founding Chair of the Marda Loop - starting in 1985. His dedication and commitment not just to his community, but to his city, his Province and to our nation, has been demonstrated over and over again. In the Marda Loop, he first flew the Canadian flag on his business nearly 20 years ago and has flown it ever since.

"Friends, in all my years in politics across the nation, I have never met a more dedicated municipal Councilor than Jon Lord "............... Paul Jackson, Calgary Sun

When it comes to politics, Jon likes to quote Lincoln:  "He serves his party best, who serves his country first" 

 

 Political Experience 

• 2-term Alderman City of Calgary with Al Duerr
• MLA Provincial Government with Ralph Klein

 Financial Credentials 

• Licensed Financial Consultant, (Honours), Presidents Council
• Taught Canadian Securities Course. Corporate Troubleshooter
• 7 years following Global economy, venture capital and markets. Recognized in Media.

 Entrepreneurial Vision and accomplishmentg. 

• Award-winning Entrepreneur for over 30 years ( Casablanca Video)
• Finalist for Alberta Small Business of the Year.
• 10 Time winner Calgary’s Reader's Choice Award
• Experienced in construction trades, wholesale, retail, manufacturing.

Environmental Accomplishments  

• Emerald Award Nominee – Provinces Highest Honor for Environmental Achievement.
• Initiator of the City of Calgary’s internationally famous Award-winning Envirosystem ISO 14001 EMS policies.
• Dedicated and passionate Environmental Activist for two decades.

Community-building Accomplishment:  

• Founding Chairman, Marda Loop - Inventor/organizer Founding Chair of Alberta's very   first BRZ summerfesti al (Marda Loop) Founding Chair- FED-BRZ, numerous other committees.
• Founding Director of what is now Canada's oldest and best BBQ competition - BBQonthe Bow
• Initiator, Founding member Victoria Crossing BRZ - created to finally resolve the 30 year dispute over Stampede expansion (successfully)
   

In all elections, the candidates will talk about their vision and leadership and their good ideas. All will talk about what they have done in the past, (sometimes unfortunately embellishing them). For voters however, it is important to look beyond the "motherhood and apple pie" statements being made. Can they point to specific proof of having invented or recognized big ideas in the past, at a time when the ideas where not well known nor popular - and of having implemented them successfully in a manner that can be seen by all in a big way now?

 Jon has a proven track record so you don't have to guess what he might be able to do. He is a can-do, has-done type of person who just rolls up his sleeves and gets the jobs done - jobs that others said couldn't be done. 

Jon Lord is very different than anyone else in this race, as you will see. He is the candidate who can hit the ground running with substantial political and community experience - having had very successful experience both Municipally and Provincially - and having successfully won many political campaigns in past.

Such an important job as being your PC representative for Calgary Currie, in such a difficult and challenging riding, is clearly is not an entry level position - not if you want real results!  If we are to win this riding back, we need an experienced candidate with enough name recognition and local knowledge gained over a lifetime of committed work in the community to be able to successfully challenge well-established opponents. 

Beyond just getting elected however, Jon has a singularly wide diversity of credentials and background such that he can add real value to the many issues facing our government. For example: licensed financial credentials needed to drill deep into any serious financial scrutiny of the Provincial budget and add real value to the job of being an MLA.  His entrepreneurial, volunteering and academic accomplishments provide the proof that he knows what he is doing when it comes to creating jobs and dealing with the economy, building community values and stability and delivering leadership with integrity. His civic experience will make him invaluable to mediating issues between the Province and the City of Calgary.

On a personal note, Jon is very proud of his family, with four grown daughters and a 15 year old son. Partner Sheryl has business success of her own with Evolving Doors Productions and has also served many years contributing volunteer time, effort and leadership on the Board of Unity Church  http://www.unitychurchofcalgary.com/
 

For relaxation, Jon enjoys cooking, playing the piano and guitar, and also reading

What do others say? 

In the last civic election, the "Foundation for Advancement of Democracy" (FDA) team did a detailed 94 page Audit of All Mayoral Candidates in Calgary, and placed Jon Lord as Calgary's best choice for next Mayor of Calgary, based on multiple criteria, vision, and resume for the job.http://tinyurl.com/2wu85gc

 

We are pleased to report that the independant "Foundation for Democratic Advancement" (FDA) has done a thorough audit of all  Calgary and Lethbridge Mayoral Candidates backgrounds: http://tinyurl.com/2wu85gc

They ranked the candidates on Professional Credentials, Political Experience, Volunteer activities, Overall Background and Vision

Jon came out #1 on the list as the "Best Candidate for Calgary's next Mayor". They ranked Jon at 85% for resume and background

Here is a small sample of the scores in this 94 page full Audit report: http://tinyurl.com/2wu85gc

Totals for Background of Mayoral Candidates

• Jon Lord                   25.5/30  (85%)
• Richard McIver        23.5/30  (78.3%)
• Joe Connelly           21.5/30  (71.6%)
• Barry Erskine           21/30  (70%)
• Craig Burrows         21/30  (70%)  
• Naheed Nenshi       14.5/30  (48.3%)
• Barb Higgins            13/30  (43.3%)
• Bonnie Devine         13/30  (10%)
• Dan Knight                13/30   (43.3%)
• Wayne Stewart         13/30   (43.3%)

Background & Vision

• Jon Lord                      8.5/10      7/10
• Richard McIver           7.8/10     7/10
• Joe Connelly                7.2/10    7/10
• Craig Burrows               7/10    6/10
• Barry Erskine                 7/10   5/10
• Barb Higgins               4.3/10     7.5/10
• Naheed Nenshi           4.8/10    7/10
• Dan Knight                  4.3/10     6/10
• Bonnie Devine               1/10    5/10

Totals for Background and Vision:

• Jon Lord                   15.5/20

• Richard McIver        14.8/20

• Joe Connelly           14.2/20

• Craig Burrows          13/20

• Barry Erskine           12/20

• Barb Higgins           11.8/20

• Naheed Nensh        11.8/20

• Wayne Stewart        11.3/20

• Dan Knight               10.3/20

• Bonnie Devine           6/20

We thought you might like to know. Here is more information on Jon below.

 

_As Rick Bell ( Calgary Sun) has said,

"Lord is unique. No one who knows him will deny that statement.

The man has always been known for tossing out brainwaves while others would sit back and toss barbs at them from the peanut gallery. He didn’t mind standing as a minority of one. His supporters come from all over the political landscape.

Lord is tough to pigeonhole. I know. He was my alderman.

When it comes to money, he’s conservative. When it comes to people, he’s not"

 

 

 

 

 

Track Record:

When it comes to actual track record over his entire career, there simply isn't anyone like Jon. He has continually demonstrated Vision well ahead of the crowd, Leadership in determinedly starting up those initiatives and getting them into action despite all the odds against success, and doing it for the Right Reasons, as demonstrated by the upwards of ten thousand tough volunteer hours he has put in towards making the world a better place and making a big difference in Calgary communities with no pay, perks, or expectations for himself.

Business:

Jon's Career:

- he has over 30 years experience as an entrepreneur and small businessman (Casablanca Video)

- his business won FFWD Readers Choice Award as "Best in Calgary" for past 10 years

- had a business that was a finalist for Premier's Award, Alberta Chamber of Commerce, "Small Business of the Year for the Province of Alberta" ( 2007)

- Licensed Financial credentials as a Financial expert in Venture Capital, Corporate Finance, and who spent the last 5 years studying the global economy and world stock markets as a Financial Adviser.

- who was nominated as Canadian Tax Fighter of the Year (Canadian Tax Payers Association)

- with successful entrepreneurial experience in restaurant, construction, painting, manufacturing, retail, wholesale & Internet using his OWN DOLLARS -  not others.

-that has a National Small Business Award named after him (the Jon Lord Small Business of the Year Award PGIB)

- that has been written about and published nationally in multiple magazines and newspapers for over 15 years on small business issues, taxes, and Civic policies.

-who started a business that grew over 3000% in it's first 6 years

-who has taught the Canadian Securities Course, and who passed all his required Financial industry exams with honors.

Community:

Jon Lord:

- who was the Visionary, Founding Chairman, and long-standing main volunteer of the organization which named the area "Marda Loop" 28 years ago and which was instrumental in transforming and revitalizing that entire inner-City community ( the "guinea pig" BRZ) that lead the way and served as a model for many other BRZ's to follow.

-who first conceptualized and nearly single-handedly started and organized the very first Summer festival of any BRZ in the Province, (the Marda Loop Summer festival) which now draws upwards of 40,000 per year. BRZ Street festivals modelled after the Marda Loop Summerfestival, such as Lilac Fest, Sun and Salsa, Sunfest etc. now draw hundreds of thousands each year right across the Province. These festivals did not exist until Jon Lord first invented them and promoted them Province-wide.

-who was instrumental in founding and became the first Chairman of the Federation of Business Revitalization Zones, (the FedBRZ) representing approx. 4500 businesses across the Province of Alberta. This is the organization that Jon used to promote the notion of holding "BRZ Street festivals" across the Province, as one way to build community and promote small business and revitalization. BRZ's have been singularly successful in rebuilding entire communities, including the Marda Loop.

-who initiated the Victoria Crossing BRZ formation, and then created the strategy that resolved the 30 year battle over Stampede Expansion into Victoria Park - a strategy that ultimately resulted in all formerly adversarial stakeholders unanimously agreeing to work together on the plans the Victoria Crossing BRZ created and which were later unanimously endorsed by Calgary City Council in a historic resolution to the issue. Jon said he would solve this impossible issue in his first term - and he did.

- who was instrumental in founding and later became Chair of a major International Charity (WJFB) whose members went on to help create thousands of jobs in 14 Third-World countries with over 50 major projects, helped support 3000 orphans in Moscow, created the Brown-Bagging It program in Calgary that has gone on to deliver over 1 million bag lunches to hungry street kids in Calgary, built two schools in rural China, and has earned numerous accolades internationally.

-whose work was instrumental in calming down the Electric Avenue altercations and crimes and bad publicity. Jon said he would work to resolve this issue in his first term, and it was - (although Jon is quick to point out that it was only with a lot of help from the Calgary Police Service, and numerous other people including planning and zoning changes as well.) Anyone heard of any problems on Electric Avenue lately? Didn't think so!

- Jon is also the candidate in this election who brought the Community Revitalization Zone ( now called Community Enhancement Area) motion to City Council, allowing Community Associations to follow the successful BRZ model to access additional funding

- is the ONLY candidate who started (in 1996) and lead the charge to legalize secondary suites across the City and across the Province. Jon successfully lobbied for and Co-Chaired the Provincial MLA Committee which created the specifications, traveled the Province listening to citizens far and wide, and ultimately successfully got Secondary Suites into the Provincial Building Codes - thus dramatically improving safety and allowing for legalization in every Alberta municipality. (all have done so except Calgary)

-came to the rescue of a fellow small merchant in trouble by initiating and Chairing the "Steve Kesler" defense fund, which raised $38,000 nationally to successfully defend a fellow small merchant -"the Drug Store Vigilante" in a precedent-setting internationally famous judicial case.

-who is a Founding Director, championship competitor and current Chair of Canada's oldest and best BBQ competition - BBQ on the Bow.

Personal:

Jon Lord  is the candidate in this election:

- who qualified for and is a long-term member of MENSA ( the organization of people who have a genius-level IQ) (Jon says his proudest intellectual achievement, was winning the MENSA SilverAGM Treasure hunt, competing against entire teams of top Mensan's from across the nation over several days)

- helped start a Toastmaster's club ( Aimcriers) and is an ATM.

- holds 2 Blue Belts (Hap-ki-do, and Tae-Kwon-Do) was a silver medalist in Judo for the Province of Alberta, studied 3 years of Koshindo-Ryu, competed in Karate, also studied street-fighting and knife and sword techniques.

- regularly speaks in Church on a variety of spiritual subjects and learnings, met with Church Leaders across Calgary to discuss how Society can better deal with issues such as Ethics, Integrity and NIMBY and has brought in political initiatives on Ethics and Accountability.

 

 

 

Political:

Jon is the Candidate in this election:

- Who was called "Mayor of Marda Loop" for many years

- has volunteered in the community for upwards of ten thousand hours at hard, roll-up-your-sleeves, get-your-hands-dirty real volunteer tasks, (not networking luncheons and blue-chip talking sessions).

- who has served on both Calgary City Council as an Alderman, and as a Government -side MLA with the Province. Jon knows the Provincial Government as well as the City of Calgary - an invaluable asset when discussing City/Province issues.

- is the  candidate who knows officials at both City and Provincial levels as former colleagues and friends, (and numerous Federal MP's as well). Wouldn't it be nice to have a Mayor, who knows the Province this well!

- who brought initiatives to City Council, such as ISO14000, Energy Retrofits, Recycling, and Telework, that ultimately were instrumental in Calgary winning National, International and even a World Environmental Achievement Award.

- who was nominated for an Emerald Award, the Provinces highest individual Environmental Achievement Award. -who initiated a program at City Hall, (changing light bulbs and energy retrofits) that has saved taxpayers over $100 million dollars and may have met nearly all of Calgary's Kyoto commitments.

- who asked for and Chaired an MLA committee that identified the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars ( a full 25%) in building new schools Province wide using better technologies and environmental design and life-cycle maintenance approaches.

 

We invite you to compare Jon's background and track record against any other candidate in this election: 

COMMUNITY BUILDING VISION        ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION             POLITICAL VISION

Jon Lord works WITH Government , the People and the Communities, to FIX THE PROBLEMS, SPOT THE OPPORTUNITIES and get the solutions INTO ACTION.

 

Experience That Counts

As a two term City of Calgary Alderman (under Mayor Al Duerr) and another term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA), Jon has rare experience in two levels of Government.  Also well-known as a visionary community builder, multiple award winning entrepreneur and businessman for over 30 years, Jon Lord will bring extensive business, political, community and volunteer experience to the position of Mayor of the greatest City in Canada. His elected level of experience and business alone makes him unique in the field of candidates, as does his record of inventing or promoting great ideas well ahead of their time.

Jon was born in Calgary, and later raised in on an original homestead deep in rural Central Alberta. His “pioneer” upbringing helped ingrain in him the values of community, self-reliance and hard work. Graduating from high school with the highest academic average of his graduating class, at 18 he then started his first company, painting contracting. At the same time, he also made money through shrewd investing in foreign currency futures and precious metals in the stock market, highly unusual for one so young. By age 21, he had 8 employees, an excellent business reputation and a small retail paint store in Edmonton.

Recognizing that the real estate boom was likely to be ending soon, in the early 1980’s Jon enrolled in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Business Administration and Commerce, where he maintained a First Class standing while continuing to run the paint company. He also received his peers support, elected twice as Commerce Council Representative representing 800 students.

Community Development Vision

Contributor with own money:

Jon has been a life-long volunteer and contributor back to the community, with thousands of hours of selfless volunteerism given without expectation, starting long before he ever went into politics. Jon has been a leader in initiating a number of groups, as well as volunteering and contributing with his own hard-earned money to over 80 small and large community organizations, schools and charities.* As a result of these and other efforts, Jon Lord’s Casablanca Video www.casablancavideo.ca was nominated in 2008 for the Wild Rose Foundations Award of Excellence for Small Business.

BRZ Pioneer:

In 1984, (age 27) Lord was Founding Chairman of one of Alberta's very first Business Revitalization Zones, which later named the aging inner-city district "the Marda Loop"www.mardaloopbrz.com/  now one of Calgary’s  most vibrant communities. As the “guinea pig” BRZ, Jon’s group invented and lead the way in doing widely respected and innovative community revitalization work, which then lead to Jon becoming the first elected Chairman of the Provincial Federation of Business Revitalization Zones, (FedBRZ) representing over 4,000 small businesses across the Province. He also initiated the idea and was Founding Chairman of the Marda Loop Summer Festival, Calgary’s first BRZ street festival in 1985, an annual event which now draws up to 40,000 people per year and helped inspired a number of others successful BRZ street festivals as well.  http://lilacfestival.net/aboutus/ .  Later as the Alderman for the Ward 8, Jon also initiated the formation of the Victoria Crossing BRZ http://www.vcrossing.com as part of his key plan in resolving the 35 year expansion battle between the Calgary Stampede and Victoria Park - an idea that worked in his first term, accomplishing what had been considered an impossible challenge by all others that had tried for decades.

Fights for the underdog:

At age 20, Jon wrote to then Prime Minister Trudeau (and Minister Ron Basford) requesting the Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Ross Davis, a teenager convicted in a very contentious case that received wide-spread national attention. Ross did indeed get the Royal Prerogative of Mercy pardon, although it can’t be confirmed that Jon’s request was responsible. Nonetheless, it inspired Jon at an early age to think that “you can fight for right”. A few years later, in 1986, Jon initiated the Steve Kesler Defense fund which made national news headlines for months, fund-raising to help a small business owner to afford a proper defense in court after having been robbed numerous times (the Drug-store Vigilante case). The numerous times that Jon came to bat for average people having a hard time in life earned him a serious reputation for being someone who cared about people caught up in problems not of their own making, and who took effective action to resolve those issues. Get Jon on your team!

 

Visionary Charity worker:

Jon also became a founding adviser, member and Chairman of the World Job and Food Bank www.wjfb.org/history.htm which group has done very significant and visionary work in Calgary and worldwide, inventing and innovating leading edge ideas to address poverty and job creation with good success. This visionary organization has received letters of commendation from such luminaries as Mother Theresa, the Mayor of Moscow and many others for their good work internationally with over 55 projects in 13 countries. It was the WJFB that initiated and funded the start up of local success stories such as the Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids lunch program here in Calgary http://brownbaggingit.org/?page_id=6

(for more info also : http://www.makeityourproblem.ca/ )  which has created well over 1 million bag lunches to feed to homeless street kids and hungry school kids in Calgary ( initially as a way to entice the street kids to come in to Counseling agencies such as CUPS.)  

 

Diverse interests: 

For fun, 18 years ago, Jon also became a Founding Director, and is currently Chairman of the BBQ on the Bow Association, www.bbqonthebow.com/ which was Canada’s first officially sanctioned BBQ competition. He also helped found the Aimcriers Toastmaster Club and has his ATM designation.

ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION 

Jon may be best known as the founder and owner of the Casablanca Video stores which he started in 1983, www.casablancavideo.ca just as the National Energy Policy crash was occurring. Despite the economic challenges, Casablanca doubled revenues each year for 6 years in a row for an over 3000% growth rate during this major recession. Being one of the very first in several industries, recognizing opportunities well ahead of the crowd, became one of Jon’s hallmarks in business.  For example,  long before others recognized the opportunity, Jon began selling and carrying video games, eventually becoming one of western Canada's leading wholesalers selling to over 400 other stores. In 1985, Jon was already selling Compact Discs, at a point where virtually none of the big chain record stores carried any. Casablanca later went on to become the leading retail store in Alberta in selling Compact Discs – an opportunity the big established players were barely getting into at the time. Casablanca later went on to become 10 time winner of FFWD magazine ”Readers Choice Awards” click here for more info.  as ‘Calgary's Best Video Store’ and one of 4 finalists for "Alberta Small Business of the Year" Premier's Award, Alberta Chamber of Commerce in 2007. Casablanca today remains one of Western Canada’s oldest and best known surviving video rental operations.

Prior to entering politics, Jon did a bit of work as a trouble-shooter and financial consultant over several years, in one case nearly quadrupling one business’s revenues in only four months. In this capacity, Jon focused on helping both private companies and a charity restructure their organizations, helping them to avoid financial collapse. In addition to consulting and still operating Casablanca, Jon also became an award-winning stockbroker with Wood Gundy and HSBC/James Capel as well as serving a term as an instructor for the Canadian Securities Course (having passed all his industry exams with Honours standing).

Volunteer Contributions & Visionary Leadership

• Founding Chairman, South Calgary Business Revitalization Zone (Marda Loop BRZ)

• Founder / Chairman, Steve Kesler Defense Fund / Marda Loop Violent Crime Fund

• Founding Director, Chairman – “Alberta Championship BBQ on the Bow Society”

• Founding Chairman, Federation of Business Revitalization Zones, Province of Alberta

• Founding Director / Initiator, “Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone”

• Founding Member and Former Chairman,World Job Bank.

• Founding Member, Chair, BBQ on the Bow

Associations

• ATM (Able Toastmaster), Foothills Toastmasters Club

• Past President / Charter Member, Aimcrier Toastmasters Club

• Former member, Achievers Canada

• Member, Mensa

• Past Member, Calgary Council for Advanced Technology (CCAT)

• Past Member, THECIS – The Centre for Innovation Studies

• The Calgary Grey Cup Committee

Other Associations & Continuing Learning

• Liberty Foundation Level member, Progressive Group for Independent Business

• (their National Award for Small Business Excellence, is named the “Jon Lord Award”)

• Member, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

• Numerous other continuing Education courses eg. Harvard Business case reviews, Training the Trainer, Doubling your sales, etc.

 

For more in depth information on Jon, check these links out:

Financial Expertise

Elected Experience

Community Involvement