Jyoti Gondek reflects on her first year as Calgary Mayor

One year ago, Calgary made history when Mayor Jyoti Gondek was elected, becoming the first woman to hold that position in this city. Shilpa Downton had the chance to catch up with the mayor and discuss the highlights and challenges of her first term.

By Alejandro Melgar and Shilpa Downton

Posted Oct 18, 2022 7:57 pm.

Last Updated Oct 19, 2022 11:49 am.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is looking back on her first year in office.

She became the first woman to be elected mayor in the city’s 146-year history on Oct. 18, 2021.

Gondek went up against 26 other candidates and earned 45 per cent of the vote in an election that saw over 400,000 Calgarians cast their ballots.

It also resulted in a drastic turnover of Calgary’s city council, with 11 new members elected — nine of them first-timers.

However, Gondek says city council made great strides and she is impressed with what they’ve been able to accomplish.

“We were coming out of a pandemic — we thought — and then we got hit with a variant in December, [and] we were just starting to come into an economic recovery,” Gondek said. “In the last year, we also saw a change in the provincial government in terms of leadership. So we have been in a very interesting year, and I think this council has managed itself very well.”

“I think people have focused on the job at hand, and that is to serve Calgarians, providing them with the services and the certainty and predictability they need,” Gondek said.

She hit the ground running as mayor, dealing with her fair share of challenges. She led the city through much of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a sexual assault scandal involving Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu.

Event centre controversy

For Gondek, landing a new event centre deal became one of her significant challenges.

The Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation’s (CSEC) deal with the city fell apart in January this year. Questions were raised by several people about the collapse of the agreement with CSEC, with some asking whether Gondek played a direct role in the deal being cancelled and if she somehow made a unilateral decision.

At the time, Gondek did not comment on the suggestion, instead referring the questions to the city’s legal counsel.

“I can confirm there was no decision to be made on this stage-gate,” said City Solicitor Lynn Davies. “If one party did not want to move through, then we could not move through this stage-gate.”

“I think that’s about as clear as it can get,” Ward 14 Coun. Demong reacted.

In May, the city enlisted a third party to rekindle negotiations with CSEC.

‘Pretty good battles’ with former premier Kenney

The mayor’s relationship with the province led to some “pretty good battles” with former premier Jason Kenney, Gondek says.

“Sometimes they were over particular policy items; sometimes they were just general things. We had a banter,” Gondek said. “We also had a strong relationship as leaders. I could send him a message or give him a call and alert him to something that was going on in the city.”

She clashed with the former premier on healthcare, particularly the province’s decision to consolidate EMS services, a move many said exacerbate ambulance wait times in Calgary.

Gondek hopes to build a similar relationship with new Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, saying, “that’s how you serve a common public.”

“We have a new opportunity to engage, and we have new relationships that we need to build. I hope that premier Smith can see the value of having a contingent from Calgary on her caucus, like in her cabinet,” Gondek said.

She says it is uncertain what kind of decisions Smith will make as premier, but says it is “absolutely my goal and my responsibility to make sure that I represent Calgarians’ needs to her.”

“The thing that we try to do as municipally elected officials is to make sure that we can reinforce the fact that we are nonpartisan. And by being nonpartisan, we are here to represent the interests of our constituents only, and not the interests of a particular party,” Gondek said.

Gondek says that Smith is “well aware” of the nonpartisan state cities are in, and that “she is willing to engage with all of us.”

When asked about concerns around working with Smith, Gondek said, “It’s never a concern.”

Tough times, good times for the mayor

Gondek also admitted to having a tenuous relationship with Calgary police at the start but says there has been a lot of progress since she took office.

“Council was incredibly concerned that there was an encampment that was going to be torn down,” Gondek said. “We challenged Calgary Police Service, and said ‘you know, this doesn’t seem right, these are people in positions of extreme vulnerability.'”

She says city council was able to talk it out with members of CPS and come to an understanding. Police explained to her that there was a criminal element in the encampment that was putting people in jeopardy.

“I would say that was a breakthrough moment because we understood that sometimes we take for granted that we know what each other is going through,” Gondek said.

“That was another pivotal moment where we realized that there’s no one point of contact for dealing with homelessness within the city. So, it opened up this bigger conversation around ‘how do we care for people in positions of vulnerability?'”

Calgary police partnered up with The Alex to create a mobile clinic, and Gondek adds that it was a joint effort between the city and CPS.

“I would say we learned how to better speak with each other, and how to have greater respect for the role that each other plays in taking care of Calgarians,” Gondek said.

In another instance, Gondek openly criticized police during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to virus testing.

“Thanks to the Calgary Police Service making a decision that they will pay for testing, we have been forced to do the same at the City of Calgary,” she said at the time. “Because other unions have said it’s not fair, if the Calgary police are paying for testing why aren’t you, City of Calgary?”