‘Not good’: Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek approval rating plummets in first year
Posted Nov 11, 2022 4:24 pm.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s approval has dropped in her first year, along with the rest of city council, according to a poll released Thursday.
The poll released by ThinkHQ has shown the mayor with an approval of 35 per cent, while 55 per cent disapprove of her performance in her first year. That is a three per cent drop in approval for Gondek since the spring.
Accordingly, Gondek is showing “strong negativity” at 35 per cent, versus “strong support” for her at 11 per cent.
This is the lowest rating for a Calgary mayor, according to ThinkHQ polls.
Of those polled, people living in northwest Calgary offer slightly more support for the mayor, along with women.
People living in south Calgary disapprove, along with men and people over the age of 55. Women that disapprove of Gondek are slightly higher than women that approve of her at 47 per cent to 41 per cent.
Her disapproval seemingly climbs the older a person is, and the further they live from downtown.
People that make between $75,000 to $124,000 have the highest approval of her at 39 per cent, while those that make $125,000 and over have a 60 per cent disapproval.
Calgary’s former mayor Naheed Nenshi saw 74 per cent approval in 2014, and was sitting at around 50 per cent when Gondek took office. Another former mayor, Dave Bronconnier, saw his first few months in office with approval in the mid-70 per cent.
Calgary city council doesn’t fare much better, with only 35 per cent approval compared to 50 per cent disapproval. Only two per cent of those polled strongly approve.
People polled on their “local councillor” gave them a better rating with 39 per cent over those that disapprove at 35 per cent. One in four people strongly approve of their local councillor.
“These ratings of city council are not good. In fact, we’ve never seen public sentiment towards mayor and councillors at these levels in Calgary before,” said ThinkHQ President Marc Henry in a statement.
Henry notes there have been a few issues that have plagued council and Gondek in their first year, particularly the arena deal, the Climate Emergency, and the sundry scandals.
“At this stage we have a majority of voters who feel council is not focusing on the issues that most matter to them – issues like public safety, cost of living and taxes, community development and so on … there’s definitely a disconnect between many voters and this council,” Henry said.
There have also been public issues that have come to the forefront, like Ward 5 Coun. Sean Chu and the allegations against him, Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra and the tweets he made regarding the allegations, and with Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean and videos he is allegedly speaking in.
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Henry says that council isn’t focusing on issues that matter to people.
Council recently announced their proposed budget for the next four years, and it shows that Calgarians will be footing the bill as homeowners will see an annual increase of 3.7 per cent. The next year will see an increase of 5.2 per cent alone.
Household expenditures are also going up annually by 7.2 per cent. Transit fees and residential fees are also seeing an increase, with bus fares expected to go up to $4.00 in 2026, a 10-cent increase per year.
Recreational fees around the city will go up by 6.3 per cent annually, which includes seniors’ admissions and passes.
Council will debate and make final decisions on the budget beginning Nov. 21.
Henry says that it’s expected for ratings to be “wobbly” with new councillors and a new mayor, but it is still unprecedented for the low ratings.
“There are going to be bumps, and they’ve only been on the job for a little more than a year. But the next civic election is only a little more than 1,000 days away, and Mayor Gondek and councillors will want to try to turn these ratings around. Re-election would be very challenging if public sentiment continues to be this negative,” Henry said.
Council was at 56 per cent in 2014, and was sitting around 41 per cent when Gondek and the new council went into office.
