Calgary's mayor reflects on the complexity of the recall petition

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is speaking out for the first time since a recall petition was launched to end her more than two years in office.

“It was unexpected and, you know, I wouldn't be human if I didn't say it stings a little bit when you see something like that,” he told media outside the council chambers on Tuesday.

Calgary resident Landon Johnston is behind a campaign that, if successful, would oust Gondek as mayor.

Johnston is frustrated with the city's spending and tax hikes, while many struggle with affordability.

He said the city's single-use plastics law was the last straw.

“I am warning all councilors that their jobs are not safe. We'll see what they're voting for, we'll see what they're bringing to the people, and we'll see how much money they're wasting,” he told CTV News. Monday.

“This, I think, exposes a lot of what's going on at City Council, and I think it's time for change, you know? I don't want to wait two years to hold another election.”

Gondek says Johnston has never visited his office directly, but he is open to discussions with him and other Calgarians.

“Whether it's positive or negative, it's always a moment of reflection. … The work is complex. The decisions we make are incredibly complex. We're excited to engage with the public at every stage, and we'll continue to focus on that,” Gondek said.

“I think Calgarians are frustrated with a lot of things right now. I think people are in an affordability crisis. I think people are in a housing crisis. We have a lot of people struggling with public safety in our public spaces. .

District 13 Councilman Dan McLean, who has clashed with the mayor in the past, says he has nothing to do with the petition and has no plans to sign it.

But it is not surprising that he has reached this point.

“Many residents are upset with this advice. “Our popularity is at an all-time low,” McLean said.

Johnston has 60 days to collect the signatures of 514,284 Calgarians in person.

10th Ward Councilman Andre Chabot says it's an impossible task.

“The statute of limitations is so demanding that there is no way to achieve it,” he said.

“There will be some more theater in the next 60 days. At the end of the day, it doesn't change anything.”

Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, says there's a reason the bar is so high.

“We don't want it to be just a small group of disgruntled voters removing people and running a rerun because they don't like the results,” he said.

Even if the petition fails, Williams says it could hurt the mayor.

“If it gets into the hundreds of thousands — with that kind of motivation and dissatisfaction expressed — it's going to make it harder to resist,” he said.

“This may encourage others to try this process to improve their organization for success in future situations.”

Gondek isn't the only mayor in Alberta who recently launched a recall petition against them.

Medicine Hat Mayor Lynnsey Clark faced a recall petition late last year amid concerns about her effectiveness in the role.

The person who started the petition said Clark had failed to respond to many concerns about high utility bills and council disruption.

The petition failed because it garnered about 7,900 signatures of the roughly 25,000 required.

This is the first time the take-back legislation has been used in Calgary since it was introduced in 2022.

Gondek says he is concerned about how people's personal information will be used in the process.

“I don't know how secret it will be or what will happen with that information,” he said.

“What we do know is that the legislation allows data to be collected for any purpose that is necessary or likely to be used beyond the possibility of retrieval.”

People have until April 4 to personally sign the recall petition.

For more information, contact Johnston at [email protected].