Gloves come off in tense Calgary mayoral debate at Werklund Centre

Calgary’s top five polling candidates in the fast-approaching municipal election went toe-to-toe Wednesday night, tackling subjects like housing, public safety, arts and culture, and small business.

It was a full house inside the Jack Singer Concert Hall for the event.

Contenders like The Calgary Party’s Brian Thiessen went on the offensive early, throwing jabs at the previous council for its failure to address infrastructure and support small businesses.

“I’ve got to tell you, we’ve got to do better by those small businesses, they are the engines of our economy,” he said.

Candidate Jeff Davison made similar remarks, taking the opportunity to fire shots at former councillor and competitor, Sonia Sharp.

“When we talk about Bridgeland, when we talk about Marda Loop, when we talk about what’s going on on Stephen Avenue — remember these are all small businesses,” he said. “Sonja used to head up the Small Business Committee, but then she got elected and stopped listening.”

Davison also took shots at fellow candidate, Jeromy Farkas, who’s the perceived frontrunner according to Leger poll numbers released earlier this month.

“You know it’s funny because every Jeromy said, I remember him voting against when we were on council together, so that’s interesting,” he quipped.

As criticism was being thrown his way, Farkas stood up and received applause for admitting his faults.

“Leadership means being willing to show up on a stage like this and admit that you’re wrong,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes and I’ve learned.”

Sharp, meanwhile, doubled down on her policies on public safety and repealing the blanket rezoning bylaw under a Communities First council.

“We talk about public safety on our trains and we talk about sleeping better at night in our communities,” she said. “So, those are the things that we believe in, and we also believe it taking things in a different direction.”

Incumbent Mayor Jyoti Gondek made her pitch for another term in highlighting the successes of the last four years.

“We are leading the country on housing starts and we are ensuring that affordable housing is available in our city so that everyone has a home within which they can live with dignity,” she said.

Municipal election day is Oct. 20, but Calgarians can vote early in advance polls until Oct. 11.