This is what you want, this is what you get

I want to vote for Bob Hawkesworth for Mayor of Calgary.  I need to vote against Ric Mciver.

I'm a progressive, with the exact opposite social and economic positions from the far right extremism of Mciver, I'm a trade unionist and  Mciver has unambiguously expressed anti-union views, I'm a worker at the city owned utility company that Mciver has explicitly threatened with breaking up and selling.

With Hawkesworth polling in the single digits a vote for him becomes a protest vote, certainly not the first I've cast, but the same polls show that Higgins, a moderate compared to Mciver is easily within striking distance of a win.  Nenshi is polling a distant third and at least some of his supporters and those of the other trailing candidates can be expected to throw their support to Higgins come election day - while the supporters of far right candidate Craig Burrows, thankfully crashing and burning as he deserves, can be expected to defect to Mciver.

David Climenhaga makes the case for a strategic vote for Barb Higgins, and much as I may wish otherwise, he makes it well.

UPDATE: Bob concedes that he can't win.

UPDATE 2: Bob endorses Barb Higgins.