There is too much emphasis on being the mayor of Calgary.
Sure, the mayor is seen as the ‘leader’ but in truth, the mayor’s most important job is to ensure council meetings are run smoothly, that they adhere to rules and regulations, and that administration understands its position in city governance, which is to offer advice, but not govern.
Over the last four years, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek led the charge to turn Calgary into a virtue-signalling, woke, left-wing hot mess. And she was aided and abetted by a virtue-signalling, woke, left-wing gang of councillors.
Last fall, when the Alberta government announced the return of municipal political parties in Calgary and Edmonton, Gondek said the parties would be “the kiss of death to local representation and local democracy.”
In retrospect, it was her telling Calgarians what she and her gang were already doing.
Gondek was the de facto leader of an unofficial political party from day one of her regime four years ago, approving a litany of DEI/woke-based legislation that ignored any sense of representing Calgarians’ wishes.
Gondek’s Gang ignored the basic tenet of democracy which is ‘the majority rules.’
The Gang started off by declaring the $87 billion climate emergency, which none of them mentioned in their platforms during the 2021 election.
Then came the incredibly illogical bag bylaw; renaming Fort Calgary; the Calgary Plan, to turn Calgary into a 15-minute city; a downtown core that is dangerous, not just at night, but all day long and; the one that put democracy on its knees, the blanket upzoning bylaw.
Close to 75% of Calgarians who took the time to present at a public hearing in council or filed written submissions against approving the bylaw made it clear they did not want the bylaw approved. Calgarians told council the bylaw would destroy neighbourhoods and communities across the city. Which it has.
But the federal Liberals dangled a $228.5 million bribe in front of Gondek and Gang to approve blanket upzoning, and the Gang folded like a cheap tent.
The Gang abused its powers, eschewing common sense in favour of radical left-wing ideals, but the power of an organized party should not be ignored by voters in Calgary.
The municipal party system can inherently change the way Calgary has been governed over the last four years, making common sense the governing principle for the next four years. A principle that is the guide to Conservative values.
And the door is wide open for Calgarians to take back our city and return it to its conservative roots.
Gondek’s Gang is mostly gone in this election, fleeing council chambers like rats abandoning their sinking ship and opening eight seats on council.
Fill those empty eight seats with councillors with Conservative, common sense values, added to current Conservative councillors seeking reelection, and it doesn’t matter who is the mayor. It takes eight votes to have a majority on council.
Of course, it is preferable to also have someone with conservative values in the mayor’s chair.
It’s an incredible opportunity for Calgarians to 'right' the ship, as it were.
Two of the new municipal parties identify as having Conservative values: the A Better Calgary Party and the Communities First Party.
This is not to specifically endorse either party, or specific candidates, but to endorse a return to Conservative values and common sense on city council.
If you have yet to vote and are seeking Conservatives who match your values, visit the parties’ websites and make your decisions.
The election is on Monday, and it's your last chance to have a say in Calgary's governance for the next four years.
If you are uncertain which ward you live in, you can find it here: https://www.calgary.ca/council/wardboundarymap.html
