A new survey suggests Calgary’s mayoral race is tightening into a three-way contest as advance polls prepare to open October 6. The ThinkHQ Eye on Calgary poll shows former councillor Jeromy Farkas holding a narrow lead at 20% support, with councillor Sonya Sharp close behind at 17% and incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek at 16%.Jeff Davison trails at 9%, while Calgary Party leader Brian Thiessen sits at 6%. A large share of the electorate, 27%, remains undecided just days before voting begins..The Davison campaign was quick to respond to the poll, saying it's not to be believed because ThinkHQ president Marc Henry is volunteering with the Sharp camapign.But Henry, who has been a pollster for 30 years, defended the results."I've been hearing this for 30 years, when the polls are in a candidate's favour, they love them, when they are against the candidate, they love them," Henry told the Western Standard.Henry admitted he was volunteering on the Sharp campaign and other Communities First candidates calling them "friends.".“It’s a shame that media continues to print fake polling that is bought and paid for by these political parties. Everyone knows Marc Henry is the party architect of Communities First and the principle of Think HQ polling," said a statement from the Davison campaign."It’s dishonest, deceptive and downright disgusting that this polling went public." "Calgarians are being lied to, and they deserve so much better than more of the same.”The poll found Farkas and Sharp perform better with older voters and men, while Sharp is strongest in suburban neighbourhoods.Gondek shows her best results downtown, where she captures 24% of the vote.Henry said the campaign, quiet until now, is shaping up as a clear three-horse race.“Davison would need to double and Thiessen triple their vote share to be in contention. Probably not happening,” Henry said..He noted Gondek’s low ceiling of support, with two-thirds of voters disapproving of her performance.“For those ‘anybody but Gondek’ voters, they have two options,” Henry said. “Would they prefer to see Mayor Farkas or Mayor Sharp?”The poll, of 1,200 people, took place Sept. 22-29, with a +- of 2.8% 10 times out of 20.
