Last year, Landon Johnston led a spirited but ultimately fruitless campaign to recall former mayor Jodi Gondek.Last month, he was elected councillor for Calgary Ward 14 with a solid majority in a field of eight..He describes himself as someone who wants to fix things but already he is facing an unusual roadblock: an anonymous letter from a member of the city-owned Calgary Housing Company — asking the mayor (David Farkas) to prevent him from serving on the CHC board. Farkas obliged.Huh? City employees get to pick who supervises them?.Who runs City Hall? Are elected councillors truly in charge, or do entrenched bureaucracies wield the real power? Frankly, I have always reckoned they do, but Johnston’s early experience seems to prove it.“I couldn’t believe it,” Johnston tells me in this edition of Hannaford. “Somebody behind the scenes decided I shouldn’t sit on the board. No process, no transparency — just a private letter, and suddenly I was blocked.”Johnston’s interest in the board wasn’t casual. As an HVAC business owner, he had previously worked on a Calgary Housing contract. He says he witnessed mismanagement firsthand.“From day one, there were obstacles. Team leads were hostile because of my prior political activity." (Johnston frequently used Access to Information requests.) "It was frustrating, but we finished the work.”.But, that experience informed his run for council. Johnston campaigned on accountability and fiscal responsibility, promising to investigate waste and ensure taxpayer dollars were spent wisely.“Residents in Ward 14 knew what I had seen,” he said. “They wanted someone who would ask the tough questions and fight for transparency.”Despite being elected with a strong mandate, Johnston is now discovering that councillors can easily be sidelined by bureaucracy.“The anonymous letter came to the mayor right before the organizational meeting,” he explained. “It had the power to keep me off a board where I could have made a real difference. It makes you wonder — who’s running the city, the council or the administration?”.Johnston says this reflects a broader problem: administration can effectively control council appointments, limiting elected officials’ ability to do their jobs.“Precedent has been set that administration can pick and choose committee members,” he said. “The mayor may have discretion, but the system is being manipulated to exclude those asking difficult questions.”Johnston also weighs in on recent city controversies, including the raising of the Palestinian flag. While acknowledging the mayor’s discretion, he stressed fairness and transparency.“Either fly all flags or none,” he said. “Decisions affecting the public should be clear and consistent.”Johnston may not be assigned to Calgary Housing, but he will serve on the Intergovernmental Committee, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Pension Committee. He says he plans to use these positions to advocate for accountability and tangible improvements for his constituents.“I don’t shy away from conflict,” he said. “If there’s mismanagement, I’m going to challenge it. That’s why people elected me.”For more on this story and other political issues in Calgary and across Canada, be sure to follow Western Standard reporting daily.Hannaford airs tonight at 7:00 pm.
