Get to Know Who's Running: Brian "Breezy" Gregg (Mayoral Candidate)

By Emil Tiedemann


There happens to be a Municipal Election coming up in Edmonton on October 18, 2021, and I think it's important for locals to get to know the City Council candidates running for their particular ward (as well as their Mayoral candidates, of course). I chose to get more involved in the election this year and so wanted to give each candidate a chance to tell us a little about themselves, their vision, and why you should vote for them. I have sent a 10-question questionnaire to each of the 2021 Edmonton Municipal Election candidates and will post their responses (100% as written) here as they come in. With that said, let's get to know...

Mayoral Candidate

Brian "Breezy" Gregg


My name is Breezy Brian Gregg and I’m on a Quest to become the next Mayor of The City of Edmonton. This Quest is about getting big money out of politics here and everywhere. Remember Katie Oppen’s Zero Money Campaign in 2001? This is a Zero Money Quest. I will ask for zero monetary donations. I will have no signs. No paper brochures. This web site, www.briangregg.com is my virtual brochure. And one of the things I am promoting in my Quest … Well first of all I have to say that I’m a Hippie and I believe in peace and love. Love and respect for everyone. And what I want to promote is a new public service, a communication service I call The Digital Public Library, a place online where we can go and access all content."


*The Questions:

IE/ Why do you want to run for Mayor?

Brian "Breezy" Gregg/ First I feel I have some insights to offer society regarding the importance of communicating naturally instead of forcing ideology on voters with paid advertising that is intended to manipulate and influence their political choices. Running for Mayor and even more so serving as mayor allows me to bring this vision forward.


IE/ Can you tell us about your past or current experiences that you think could possibly benefit/ translate to your position as a member of City Council?

BG/ I am busy but I intend to add to what I say after this, that I was a competitive athlete in grade school. From age ten until seventeen no one in my school could run as fast as me. I did track and field, basket ball and football but was injured in football and left competitive sports. I learned team work and the importance of practice. I learned to love winning fairly. 

Media:

Breezy’s first job was in media. He worked as a paper boy for the Edmonton Journal.

Retail Business:

Next he worked in the food services industry for Ravine Tomboy where he eventually did almost every job; delivering groceries, taking phone orders, order picking, cashier, shelf stocking, and placing orders with the wholesaler.

Manufacturing:

For his first summer job he was a metal fabricator at Edmonton Iron and Wire.

Entertainment Arts:

He joined the Edmonton Musician’s Association in 1967 and began working in bands. He performed with his first pro-band (Angus Park blues Band) to open for Led Zeppelin at the Edmonton Gardens in 1969. 

We hear politicians say that we should run government like a business. Breezy disagrees. Why are 20% of Edmontonians living below the poverty line? He thinks we should run government like a Rock Band. In a Rock Band taking care of business is important but most important is that we are all having a good time. Are we going to take care of everyone so we can all have a good time? Yes!

Vote Gregg for Mayor October 18, 2021

Precarious Gig Work:

Edmonton’s live music industry has been boom and bust for a variety of reasons so although live performance was his preferred vocation he diversified out of necessity during the bust times. Cab driver, high school teaching assistant, book shop clerk, guitar teacher, busker and janitor.

Technology:

Breezy has worked in the civil service. For seven years on and off he worked as an Engineering Technician for the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Alberta. There he became skilled in carpentry, TIG welding, plumbing and pipefitting. His main work there was to build and run custom equipment for student labs and Professor’s research. He advanced into being the Department Chairman’s research technician, and as such managed and conducted contract research for STELCO Canada.

Small Business:

For fifteen years he led The Big Dreamer Band. During this time he negotiated thousands of contracts and created jobs for three and often four other musicians. In this time he promoted the sale of several small lakes full of beer to live music fans in the bars and clubs of Edmonton.

Property Owner and Landlord:

Breezy owns a 1906 duplex and rents out one half while living in the other half.

Childcare:

Traditionally the unpaid and unaccounted for essential work of home care and childcare is done by Mothers but Breezy chose to be a stay at home Dad, seeing his two sons through their infancy and early years.

Recording Artist:

World class guitarist, song writer and recording artist credited with producing four albums of original songs and collaborating with many other Edmonton Artists on their recording projects.

Volunteer work:

For almost 20 years Breezy Brian Gregg was the volunteer host and organizer of a weekly musical open stage in Rossdale: Little Flower Open Stage. For the past six years he has volunteered for the Alberta NDP and the Federal NDP. He nominated David Shepherd and volunteered for both of David’s Campaigns. Federally he volunteered for both Reakash Walters and Gil McGowan in 2015 . He is now past president but as president of Edmonton Centre Federal NDP Breezy helped nominate Katherine Swampy and volunteered on her 2019 Campaign.

Approach to Politics:

  • Independent but partisan: It should be noted that although he volunteers and Cheerleads for the NDP he does in no way take direction from the NDP nor does he have any special power or influence in the Party.
  • Open to suggestions: He likes to consider advice from everyone and is especially interested in why those with ideas he opposes, refuse to talk about the reality that we live in a society that runs on partial socialism.
  • Not afraid to ask a seemingly dumb or difficult question: He wants to hear why those he opposes in this race like to use terms like red tape, taxpayer dollars, hard working taxpayer, and the bad businessmen’s favorite neoliberal fairy tale that is so often so lovingly referred to: Free Enterprise. All these terms should be exposed as weaponized rhetoric serving to shut down public conversation about income and wealth inequality.
  • Breezy wonders why so many people in politics are reluctant to speak about love.

Self Employed Self Care Specialist:

Breezy works hard at taking care of himself, making sure he pays attention to the basic things he needs to keep himself balanced. Besides going forward with this Quest at this time he has managed to avoid in the last 23 years being arrested by the Edmonton Police Service on a mental heath warrant. Yes Breezy while running for Mayor of Edmonton in 1998 was arrested and held for 30 days. He had to finish his race talking daily to an Edmonton Sun Reporter from a payphone on a locked ward at Alberta Hospital, where he was (probably correctly) diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder. Not that he would wish it on anyone but it is his opinion that elected officials who manage and direct police services could gain perspective on how it feels if they had the opportunity to temporary lose almost all of their privilege by being arrested and confined.

(Lock them up. Lock them up! just kidding) Brian (Breezy) Gregg



IE/ What do you think are the 4 or 5 biggest issues facing Edmonton right now that you want to focus on most?

BG/ I think we have to focus on more than just 4 or 5 issues. I have 14 that I feel important and that are interrelated.

Building a Caring Economy with love and respect for everyone and our planet

How can every one have a good life when we have an economy that depends on cheap labour and low taxes?

  • Getting big money out of politics read how
  • Affordable Housing
  • Free Transit read why
  • Free WiFi
  • Development of a Commercial Green House District to ring the City
  • Promote the development of local businesses and industries to serve local needs for goods and services
  • Promote the unionization of all essential workers
  • Strengthening Public Library Services
  • Enhanced public services to help lift people out of poverty
  • Freeze the Police Budget and invest in alternate strategies to reduce crime and deal with problems arising from addictions and mental health
  • Closing the door on infrastructure P3s : Public Private Partnerships 
  • Speaking up for being granted more revenue from provincial and federal transfers 
  • Speaking up against the provincial government plebiscites being piggy backed on our civic election
  • Love and Respect for everyone 


IE/ What are some of the city/community initiatives that you are/were against, and what would you do differently?

BG/ I am against privatization and public private partnerships.


IE/ Do you think elected officials, such as City Councillors, should be able to block people on social media sites like Twitter?

BG/  I could care less what anyone does on social medial .. I used to but I don’t get sucked in by it and I don’t go there. As soon as you connect on the internet to a commercial platform you are connecting to a robot that works for those who want to profit at your expense … I am not going to try an tell anyone who they should and should not block on social media. I am only going to recommend that people should protect themselves by staying away from it. I have a great solution to the problems we face with social media platforms but there is not time to explain that tonight.

IE/ When it comes to COVID-19 restrictions, what do you think we got wrong (if anything) as a city or province, and is there anything you would want to do differently (municipally OR provincially)?

BG/ We should have locked down hard until the numbers were so low we could track where the infections were being spread.


IE/ What is your favourite thing about living in Edmonton?

BGIf you are gregarious which I am, after 71 years living in the same place you have a giant community of long time friends. They are my advisors. We know we love and care for each other.


IE/ Can you describe yourself in 5 words or less?

BGSolutions expert kind passionate wide-minded.


Thank you, Brian! 

Follow along with the candidates on Twitter HERE
Visit Brian's website HERE
Contact Brian HERE. 

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