A “Recall Gondek” petition has been opened for business

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About a dozen people, some with banners reading “Recall Mayor Gondek,” lined the sidewalk outside Calgary City Hall on Saturday, urging others to sign a petition to oust him.

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Holding a signed sign was CJ Fitz, 81, who expressed his displeasure with the city's recent fiscal decisions, including a 7.8 percent property tax increase.

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“Mine went up to $60 a month,” Fitz said, adding that the increase was even higher after the city raised the value of his property, a feature common to other municipalities.

“I earn a steady income. This is really insulting to me. After all, I have to cut somewhere else.”

He also criticized the city's climate initiatives, one of which was the approval of an $87 billion strategy, which a recent report found made little progress in reducing emissions.

“(Remembering Mayor Jyoti Gondek) will stop him throwing money around,” Fitz said. “My God, he spends, spends, spends.”

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The petition was submitted by 13-year-old Calgary resident and HVAC business owner Landon Johnston.

Johnston said he came up with the idea Friday night after he became frustrated with the single-use law, which charges a consumer 15 cents for paper bags.

The law, which the City Council has since voted to repeal, was the “last straw” for Johnston.

“He's the face of the city,” Johnston said. “It should bring people together. He must hold the council together. That's the kind of person he should be. And it's a performance check. He is now a failure in his work – people are not happy with him.”

The petition has captured the imagination of many Calgarians who are unhappy with the mayor's performance. Critics say the backlash is part of a backlash against the progressive initiatives of the center's leaders, which people are taking at their expense.

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Disappointment was reflected in Mayor Gondek's approval rating, which dropped to 30 percent, one of the lowest in recent history. According to a recent poll by ThinkHQ, those who disapprove appear to be mostly older men living in stable communities and households with incomes above $125,000.

Recent densification legislation, including the removal of single-family zoning, has also drawn criticism among Calgarians in designated areas.

In some cases, the beating had sexist overtones. Gondek said in a recent interview that someone told her that “climate activists were able to get into her underwear.” People also showed up at her house, and in one case a man left a latex horse head and an anti-vaccine sticker outside her house.

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A protester in front of City Hall on Saturday told Postmedia, “(Gondek) acts like she's the queen of the castle, but she's not.”

“They feel like you're an object, not a person, and you're somehow their property because you're an elected official,” Gondek said recently. Globe and Mail interview.

The petition is unlikely to succeed, Mount Royal University political science professor Dwayne Bratt said in a recent interview with Postmedia.

“It won't pass, not even close to pass, but that doesn't mean it won't have some value,” Bratt said.

Johnston said raising awareness about the issue is the goal of the petition.

“Whether I'm alone here or I get 10 signatures, I'm going to do it,” Johnston said. “Because I'm passionate about what I believe in. And my mother told me: “If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything.”

At a news conference Tuesday, the mayor suggested that Calgarians with concerns about local government should first turn to council.

“I think it's a little strange if you haven't necessarily engaged with a council member and you're moving on a recall without understanding their position on something,” he said.

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