Calgarians rallied and signed a recall petition

Calgarians who support the mayor's recall petition gathered in front of City Hall on Saturday for a celebration called “Calling Out Mayor Gondek.”

Disillusioned with Gondek's policy, people queuing up to sign it say the single-use law was one of the triggers.

“At the time, I was just getting started. If nobody buys it all, I will,” petition organizer Landon Johnston told CityNews.

“At first I was going to do it. No one contacted me. Nobody asked me to do this. It's like I just wanted to do it because I thought it was the best way to get my voice heard.”

More than 100 people came to sign the petition, most of whom left soon after, police said.

Their goal is to collect as many signatures as possible on a petition to remove the governor from office. They have less than 55 days to gather the necessary signatures.

Under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), the petition requires more than 500,000 signatures, representing 40 per cent of Calgary's population.

So far, Johnston says there are two thousand of them.

“We've had people sign up all week, so as they start coming in, I'll update… Twitter and I'll update the website. , the way they're going, I mean who knows what we're going to get,” Johnston said.

Asked about the response to the petition, he says, “It's been overwhelming.”

“It's weird because it's great, but at the same time it's sad that so many people are upset with the city, you know what I mean? Either way, you expect the best for your city. But just the number of people who are unhappy with the current leadership … says a lot about the city,” Johnston said.

“I think now might be a good time to show the councilors that we still have a voice, don't you?” “Even if you're elected, we still have a voice, we still have control over what happens in our city.”

Gondek says the notice to the petition is “a little annoying,” adding that his biggest concern is the collection and use of personal information through the recall process.

“Now you've got this recall where people reveal their personal information to an individual, and I don't know how confidential it is or what happens to that information,” he told reporters earlier in the week.

Johnston said he has as big a problem with the process as the mayor, saying he is “working to expose the absurdity of the actual process.” He also adds that he will follow the guidelines and if there is a problem, the government should make changes to the MGA.

“The government needs all this information, so we have to comply. So if they're upset with the process, those are the people who can change it,” he explained.

If a plea is filed and found sufficient, Gondek could be fired. If the application is found to be insufficient, further recall applications for the same councilor will not be accepted.

Also, the petition can only be signed in person and online signatures will not be accepted.