Potential of eight candidates vying for Calgary mayor job; Gondek has slight lead in early polling

Calgary’s civic election is less than seven weeks away (October 20) and the field of mayoral candidates is crowded. The mayor is considered the city’s leader (a debatable point) representing the city at all levels of government and invited to many, if not all, ribbon cutting ceremonies.The mayor’s salary is almost $100,000 higher than other councillors, pegged at $124,462 for councillors and $220,298 for the mayor, per the City of Calgary. Five candidates have filed their official nomination papers, while others have announced intentions to run. They must file nomination papers with Elections Calgary no later than Sept. 22 (noon). Municipal political parties were introduced in Calgary this year. Those who have filed nomination papers for mayor with Elections Calgary and political affiliation (if applicable) are: Jyoti Gondek (Independent): Gondek was voted to council in 2017 and as mayor in 2021 with 45% of the vote. Jeromy Farkas (Independent): Former Ward 11 councillor; came in second for mayor behind Gondek in 2021 with 30% of the vote. Jeff Davison (Independent; potential endorsement by A Better Calgary Party): Former Ward 6 councillor (2017 to 2021) and 2021 mayoral candidate, finishing third with 13% of the vote. Sonya Sharp (Communities First Party): Ward 1 councillor since 2021. Brian Thiessen (The Calgary Party): Lawyer and former chair of the Calgary Police Commission. .Other potential candidates who have submitted a notice of intent to run for mayor but have yet to file nomination papers are: Jaeger Gustafson (Independent), Larry R. Heather (Independent), and Grant Prior (Independent).After the Sept. 22 deadline, a list of all official candidates for mayor, as well as the 14 city wards will be available at Elections Calgary electionscalgary.cahttps://www.calgary.ca While it’s still early in the campaign's final stage, a Leger Marketing poll conducted between Aug. 22 and 29 asked 471 Calgarians 18 years or older about their voting intentions and awareness of mayoral candidates. The poll showed not much room between the candidates, with 15% of respondents saying they would vote for Gondek; 14% selecting Farkas; 8% choosing Sharp; 5% saying Davison; and 3% for Thiessen. The poll, with a 5% margin of error, also found almost 50% of voters have not yet decided on their choice for mayor. Awareness among respondents of candidates running for mayor were: Gondek 74%; Farkas 60%; Sharp 43%; Davison 41% and Thiessen 22%, While 75% of respondents said they will likely vote in the election, 45% said they are undecided on who they would vote for, while another four per cent said they won’t vote.