Jeromy Farkas back for a second run at mayor's chair
Jeromy Farkas ran for the job in the 2021 municipal election but finished second to another councillor, Jyoti Gondek, who became Calgary's current mayor.
Farkas was the Ward 11 councillor from 2017 to 2021.
This time, he said Calgary needs to be a city that works for everyone.
"I'm running for mayor to get Calgary moving again," said Farkas.
"We need pragmatic leadership that can actually address the big problems that Calgary is facing: jobs, housing, safety, trust. And right now, we're seeing leadership that's stuck in the weeds."
From his vantage point, Farkas said council is out of touch with many Calgarians and is wasting time and money while picking petty fights among its members.
During his term on council, he focused on financial responsibility.
But looking back, Farkas said, he made mistakes — for example, when he refused to support parental leave for council members.
"I've learned that leadership means owning your mistakes."
Since that election, Farkas has worked as the CEO of the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation.
He said the job has given him the chance to learn how to build bridges between diverse groups, ultimately saving the park from being flooded by a proposed upstream dam on the Bow River.
"I've helped bring together ranchers and environmentalists, the business and the grassroots, conservatives and progressives — to be able to fight for and protect what matters most," he said.
Farkas will run as an independent.
He doesn't approve of the provincial government's decision to allow political parties to contest local elections in Calgary and Edmonton as a pilot project.
"I think that we need practical solutions, and this idea that somehow city hall parties are the answer, I think that's completely bogus," said Farkas.
"Look right now at the chaos in Ottawa or down south of the border. There's literally nobody out there who reasonably thinks that, 'Gee whiz, we need more party politics at city hall.'"
Several candidates have already announced they, too, will run for mayor.
Mayor Gondek announced late last year she will seek re-election in 2025. Another former councillor, Jeff Davison, who also ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021's race, will try again this year.
As well, a former chair of the Calgary Police Commission, Brian Thiessen, is seeking the top job.
Election nominations will remain open until Sept. 22. Calgarians will go to the polls on Oct. 20 to elect a new city council and local school trustees.
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