Former Calgary councillor, mayoral candidate calls out city hall, mulls over 2025 campaign

With the next municipal election just over a year away, a former mayoral candidate and one-term city councillor is taking a jab at the current leadership at Calgary City Hall.

No decisions have been made yet, but former city councillor Jeromy Farkas says he hasn’t counted himself out on another mayoral run in 2025.

“I would definitely not close the door,” he told CityNews.

Farkas started his four-year term in 2017 at the age of 31, representing Ward 11 at City Hall for four years before making an unsuccessful bid for the mayor’s seat in 2021.

He came second to Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

In an interview with CityNews, Farkas admits he was a little over his head when he first ran for mayor.

“Back then, I can fully admit that I wasn’t ready to be in the role. I’m just very grateful for the experience that I’ve been able to build since then — the adventures,” Farkas told CityNews.

Farkas says city council isn’t getting the job done.

“I think that there’s a lot that Calgarians are looking for from city hall these days that our mayor and councillors aren’t delivering,” he said. “Whether you come from the left or the right, city hall has fallen short on a lot of the very basic needs — things like clean drinking water.”

Farkas says those looking to succeed the 2021-25 council need to bring forward solutions rather than just identify problems.

“Practically every Calgarian knows that city hall isn’t working as well as it should be, but the challenge is building that vision and showing what you would do differently and doing the work to bring people along in a way that, I think, shows you can build a team and seize the middle ground,” he said.

Farkas adds he’s enjoying his current role as the head of the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, which successfully advocated for Ghost River to be the site for a massive flood mitigation project.

“It’s so thrilling to be part of Glenbow Ranch at this time where we know the park is going to be protected, not just now but into the future,” he said.

Approval ratings for mayor, council hit low

Criticism hasn’t been uncommon for this council since it was first elected three years ago.

However, a new Maru Opinion Poll for CityNews unveiled earlier this week just how unpopular Gondek and company are.

Nearly three-quarters of Calgarians reported feeling the mayor and council are out of touch.

Just 18 per cent of respondents said Gondek deserved to be re-elected.

Less than half of those survey — 41 per cent — said she is doing a good job. Council ranked slightly higher, with 42 per cent saying they are satisfied with the group’s performance.