Calgary mayor to meet with organizer of campaign calling for her removal

This afternoon, Mayor Jyoti Gondek will meet with the man who started a petition calling for her to be recalled.

The meeting comes amid claims the Recall Mayor Gondek movement is being funded by major players in the United Conservative Party and Take Back Alberta.

In late January, HVAC business owner Landon Johnston started his petition to remove Gondek from office over several frustrations like property tax increases, the single-use items bylaw, and the banning of fireworks on Canada Day.

Johnston says in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that he’ll meet with the mayor for 15 minutes to discuss the property tax increase, climate change policies, and more. He adds that he might even come right out and ask Gondek to resign.

I have 15 minutes to talk to Mayor Gondek tomorrow, what topic is most important to you?

— Landon Johnston (@recallgondekyyc) March 21, 2024

Volunteers have been canvassing the city for signatures, and have said they aim to hand in more than 100,000 signatures — well short of the 510,000 needed by the April 4 deadline.

Johnston says he may eventually push for a change of the province’s recall legislation.

“I’m going to do everything within my power, within the law, within the boundaries of the legislation to get as many signatures as I can,” he said. “If I can prove that the least favourable mayor in the history of Calgary cannot be recalled within 60 days for 40 per cent of the entire population, then I’m hoping to get that legislation changed to a fair number.”

Critics like Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt believe the campaign has been “co-opted” by a larger conservative moment to create a database for a future Calgary conservative party.

A now-deleted social media post showed a document listing those individuals as part of a group call Project YYC, which supports the Recall Gondek campaign.

The document couldn’t be independently verified.

This comes after the UCP government announced it would table legislation allowing candidates to list a party affiliation with their name on the ballot in municipal elections, the next of which is slated for 2025.

Johnston has repeatedly said he’s leading a local, grassroots campaign, and denies any outside influence.

“Take Back Alberta has not contributed anything to this campaign, to this recall process,” he told CityNews. “They’ve done nothing for me, I don’t even know who Take Alberta is, other than the fact people keep throwing at me… I just don’t know who they are.”

He says he had no idea the response to the initiative would be so high and that it would garner so much political intrigue.

There’s also been some negative attention.

Calgary police tell CityNews it is investigating complaints of vandalism in the northwest earlier this week, involving a sign advertising the initiative.

A video circulating on X shows two women painting a sign with the words “Respect Gondek” where it previously said “Recall Gondek,” and hearts.

Anyone with information on that matter is encouraged to call police.

Gondek is making herself available to the media Friday afternoon following the meeting.

CityNews has reached out to Johnston for comment on the matter.