A few thousand people went to the Calgary Municipal Building to sign copies of the petition to have Mayor Jyoti Gondek recalled. “Like a lot of people, I was upset with the direction the city’s been going,” said petition organizer Landon Johnston in a Saturday interview. “It wasn’t just one single issue.” .Organizers collected signatures at the back of the Calgary Municipal Building, but some volunteers had a separate area at the front. People had to put down personal information such as their names and addresses on the forms and confirm they were Calgary residents. It started off in lines, but the number of people made it too tough to keep them structured. A few people used the opportunity to protest Gondek, holding signs such as “RecallGondek.com” and “Gondek — Selected not elected.” Another area was established to recruit volunteers to go into communities and obtain signatures. An organizer educated these people on the process for gathering them. Such a large number of people showed up that the organizers ran out of copies of the petition. As people waited in line, they complained about Gondek’s failures. .While Johnston was upset about many issues, he said the one tipping him over the edge was the single-use items bylaw. Although Calgary city council could not agree on the bylaw, it was enacted. Since it is looking at a replacement, he said it is shortsighted. He added it is “giving themselves raises and the rest of this city is making less and less money in their paycheques.” Calgary shoppers and diners paid a little more for the luxury of napkins, straws, stir-stix and ketchup packets after the City of Calgary’s single-use items bylaw came into effect on January 16. READ MORE: Calgary’s condiment bylaw comes into effectEffective January 16, retailers, grocers, cafes and takeout restaurants would be required to charge a minimum of 15 cents for every paper bag they give out and $1 for each reusable cloth bag. The bylaw required businesses to not supply foodware accessories such as plastic forks and condiments unless asked.These fees will increase in 2025.Petition volunteer BJ Leong-Ho said there are many issues in Calgary she is unsatisfied with as a taxpayer. “I thought well if you don’t make a stand and be happy with what’s going on, you have to take some action,” said Leong-Ho. “So that’s one of the main reasons I came out here.” If a recall election happens, she said she wants Calgary. Coun. Dan McLean to run. From what she has seen, he has been holding other city councillors accountable..Petition signatory Jon Lavigne said Gondek did not take any measures to improve Calgary. “[Naheed] Nenshi didn’t do anything, and it hasn’t gotten any better,” said Lavigne. “It’s just gross negligence in funding for things.” Lavigne admitted it is ridiculous the petition will require more than 500,000 signatures for it to be successful. Meanwhile, about 300,000 people voted in the last election. The City of Calgary received the formal petition to recall Gondek under Alberta’s recall legislation on Monday. READ MORE: UPDATED: City of Calgary gets Alberta’s first recall petition against Gondek“This is the first notice of recall petition that has been received by the City Clerk’s Office since the legislation took effect,” said City of Calgary City Clerk Kate Martin. The petition was filed by him on January 30 under the Municipal Government Act with no other details apart from an email address.
