Calgary’s mayoral candidates aren’t afraid to point out flaws in one another, from arena deals to concern about community safety, during a debate on Wednesday evening less than two weeks before election day.
Five of the leading candidates in Calgary’s race for mayor discussed the “issues that matter most to you” and exchanged heated words with one another. The independent candidates in attendance include the incumbent mayor, Jyoti Gondek, Jeremy Farkas and Jeff Davison along with Communities First candidate Sonya Sharp and The Calgary Party candidate Brian Thiessen.
Four main questions across different topics were presented and moderated by President and CEO of Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Deborah Yedlin. Audience members were given the opportunity to submit questions using a number on the screen before evening began.
“The last time we did this it was a very different experience,” said Yedlin as she commenced the evening. “It was during COVID-19, and we didn’t have a live audience.”
Ward 8 city councillor Courtney Walcott, who is not running for re-election, says the “competition” is between a lot of the same people as the 2021 municipal election, and includes discussion about many of the same issues.
“This time we’ve been through [COVID-19], a housing crisis, national crisis — Calgarians are tired,” he said.
Yedlin asked the candidates one question for each of the following topics: public safety, vibrancy and arts, infrastructure and housing and competitiveness and small businesses.
Back and forth
The evening started cordially, with candidates agreeing on the need to increase downtown police presence as well as transit and community safety.
“Safety is the biggest problem in Calgary today,” said Davison.
Other candidates were quick to highlight their solution to city safety. Farkas mentioned the need for “upstream support,” Thiessen spoke to a “housing first” approach and Gondek pushed for stronger bylaws against open drug use.
However it didn’t take long before the candidates began to point their fingers.
Davison asked the audience if they felt safer now then they did four years ago, prompting varied responses, with the majority agreeing they do not.
Sharp questioned Farkas on why his platform this year looks so different than it did four years ago, while Davison asked both Sharp and Gondek where they’ve been the last four years.
“We’ve had four years of going through what we’re seeing on the streets today… with all due respect to city council, how come we [get to] an election and all of a sudden have plans? Where have you been for four years?” Said Davison.
When it came time to discuss arts and vibrancy, Gondek turned to Farkas, highlighting why the new arena deal will encourage prosperity and investment in the city.
“This is the kind of investment you were too afraid to make back then and you’re still criticizing us for making it now. You’re fearful of investment and you don’t understand how it will work when it comes to creating vibrancy.”
Farkas was quick to admit his fault in exchange.
“I think leadership means being willing to show up on a stage like this and admit that you’re wrong. I made mistakes … It means having the courage to say that you’ve learned – it doesn’t make you a flip flop,” he said.
Candidates often refer to Farkas as “flip-flop Farkas” based on his platform changes compared to those included in his campaign four years ago.
By the end of the night, all five candidates had offered their perspective on each of the key topics, rounding out the night with their stance on small businesses, taxes and the tech sector.
Yedlin however, didn’t shy away from noting their lack of acknowledgement for a particular sponsor.
“I want to point out one thing. We’ve talked about small businesses, we’ve talked about entrepreneurship. None of you mentioned the University of Calgary who generates more startups than any other university — and has done so for six years in a row. That’s been a very important part of our success [as a city].”
Policy or personality?
With less than two weeks until election day, Walcott says it’s increasingly important for Calgarians to get involved and understand who is in the race.
“You need to hear the quality of the candidates,” he said. “What you should really be voting for is the quality of character. What are the foundational principles and values that make up the character of the people elected?”
Advanced voting goes until Oct. 11. Election day is Oct. 20. For more information about where and how to vote visit www.electionscalgary.ca/home.
