Calgarians give Gondek and company a failing grade: ThinkHQ poll

A new poll shows Calgarians’ views on Mayor Jyoti Gondek and council “remain stubbornly negative.”

The ThinkHQ Public Affairs study involved more than 1,100 people from around the city, asking them to rate their councillors and the mayor’s performance since the municipal election in October 2021.

The research firm says the study shows Gondek sits at an approval rating of 36 percent, nearly midway through her term as the city’s head honcho. This, alongside 55 per cent disapproval, is largely unchanged over the last year.

“Mayor Gondek has struggled since being elected in October 2021 and has not gained any significant ground with voters regarding their ratings of her performance,” it explained.

Now almost midway through their term, Calgarians’ views on Calgary City Council remain decidedly negative according to our most recent Eye on Calgary survey. https://t.co/2ENubAqbzp #yyccc #yyc pic.twitter.com/XjF75a7wr9

— ThinkHQ Inc. (@ThinkHQInc) July 13, 2023

ThinkHQ also described the mayor’s support as “quite soft” while her opposition is “intense.”

Only 1 in 10 Calgarians say they award strong approval to Gondek, while 26 per cent somewhat approve, and 4 in 10 strongly disapprove, according to the data.

Feedback on councillors is better, but still not great.

Councillors receive “modestly positive ratings” from constituents, with 42 saying they approve of their councillor, compared to 39 per cent who say they don’t, according to the research.

It adds this rating is up three points since the last survey, which was conducted last fall.

Age and gender of respondents influence their perception of both mayor and council.

ThinkHQ president Marc Henry says the approval numbers for Calgary’s municipal government “remain chronically weak.”

“This is not a report card you would put on the fridge,” he added.

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Henry explains that while Gondek continues to struggle, the news of higher approval for councillors is positive. However, they are still underperforming compared to previous councils.

This could be attributed to the “historic turnover” on council in the last election, he adds, explaining that with a new mayor and a majority of new councillors, there’s bound to be a few mistakes made.

“But it is at this stage you might expect to see some improvement – if you haven’t learned the job in 18 months, chances are you never will,” said Henry.

And, now is the time for officials to take stock of whether or not they’re ready to gear up to run for another term,

According to Henry, some councillors will have a smooth path to re-election should they continue to perform as they have so far. For others, it may be a bit more challenging.

When it comes to the mayor, the research firm’s president calls her situation “interesting.”

“Gondek is only in her first term, and for most mayors, the first re-election campaign is the easiest,” he explained. “This mayor could end up the exception to this rule, however. If she plans to run again and be successful, she’ll need to find a way to connect with constituents in a manner that has eluded her so far.

Henry says at this time, Gondek’s prospects for re-election are “fairly bleak.”