Latest news with #CommunitiesFirst
Global News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
A Better Calgary Party to endorse some Communities First candidates to avoid vote split
One of Calgary's three political parties won't be running a full slate of candidates in the upcoming election, in an effort to avoid splitting conservative voters. The A Better Calgary Party (ABC Party) held a one-time 'bypass vote' amongst its members to determine whether to run a candidate in certain wards. 'We felt that for the sake of Calgarians, we need to stop splitting the vote,' ABC Party executive director Roy Beyer told Global News. ABC Party members voted to refrain from running a candidate in five wards across the city: Ward 1, Ward 4, Ward 7, Ward 10 and Ward 13. The incumbents in those wards include Sonya Sharp, Sean Chu, Terry Wong, Andre Chabot and Dan McLean. However, Sharp has announced her intention to run for mayor and it remains unclear if Chu will seek another term, after telling reporters this term would be his last back in 2021. Story continues below advertisement Beyer said Sharp's endorsement is based on her work as a councillor and not for her candidacy for mayor. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The ABC Party's endorsements of incumbents include candidates of Communities First, the other centre-right party formed by Sharp, Wong, Chabot and McLean. 'You just need eight council members,' Beyer said. 'If we can get there between us and others, we will have a true conservative coalition or centre-right coalition and that's the goal here.' Communities First declined to comment when asked by Global News on Monday. Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said it's too early to tell whether the endorsements could stand to benefit the Communities First party. 'It could help them,' Williams said. 'But the affiliation with or the endorsement of a further right political party could potentially hurt them amongst those who are not interested in ideology or parties, or are much more moderate in their conservatism.' The Calgary Party, the third party on this year's municipal ballot, said it plans to run a full slate of candidates in the election. Its mayoral candidate Brian Thiessen said he feels it's important for a party to run candidates in each of the city's 14 wards. Story continues below advertisement 'I think Calgarians deserve the right to vote for policies of the party, so if you don't run in certain wards, you're depriving Calgarians the right to vote on your policies,' he said. 'I think if Communities First or A Better Calgary has good policies, they should run in every ward and let Calgarians decide.' According to the ABC Party, all other incumbents including Mayor Jyoti Gondek received a no vote from the members, and the party will move forward with nominating and supporting challengers including in the mayoral race. 'People like Wong got a vote, or Sharp, their voting records don't necessarily scream conservative,' Beyer said. 'But our people said, 'No, overall we still see them as good candidates,' and we want to see that we avoid vote splitting.' Gondek has announced she is running for re-election as an independent, while former councillors Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison are also vying to become Calgary's next mayor without party affiliation. The ABC Party said it will announce its nominated candidates in Wards 2, 9, 12 and 14 'in the coming days.' The nomination deadline for candidates is on Sept. 22, and Calgarians head to the polls on Oct. 20.
CBC
11-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
As Calgary Party launches, Alberta's major cities brace for big change to local politics
Social Sharing The Calgary Party officially launched on Saturday, marking the beginning of a long road ahead introducing its candidates to voters around the city, amid a range of new party names on the ballot in this fall's municipal election. Alongside Communities First and A Better Calgary Party, the Calgary Party will vie for the mayoral and councillor seats as part of a major shift in local politics that Alberta's two biggest cities are undergoing. This fall's election will be the first in Calgary and Edmonton to include official political parties. The Calgary Party is a centrist party led by mayoral candidate Brian Thiessen. A lawyer and former chair of the Calgary Police Commission, Thiessen said the new party will run candidates in every ward who have agreed to develop policy and vote together on four key policy areas: public safety, housing, transit and critical infrastructure. Otherwise, he says the party won't whip votes on any other issues. "I think it was a sea change day for municipal politics in Calgary," Thiessen said on his party's launch. While he acknowledges political parties aren't a popular addition to local politics, Thiessen is optimistic about what his party can accomplish. He argued that if a party can get eight or more candidates elected, it will be able to follow through on election promises more effectively and efficiently by co-operating from day one, which he contrasted against Calgary's current council that is often criticized for its dysfunction. "I've talked to councillors who say it takes up to two years for council to get to know one another and learn how to work together. This one never did. We'll be working together on day one," Thiessen said. Calgary's political sea change Municipal parties are being introduced after new provincial legislation was unveiled last year in Bill 20, that among other things allowed parties and slates to run in Alberta's two biggest cities for mayoral and councillor seats. School boards are excluded from the change. Albertans have no idea what to expect from municipal party politics, said Duane Bratt, political science professor at Mount Royal University. He argues it will be difficult for voters to familiarize themselves with what these new parties offer and know what to expect from them. "People know what the NDP stands for, the Liberals stand for, the Conservatives stand for. Instead, we're going to get a whole bunch of parties with the word 'Calgary' in there," Bratt said. "[Federally], people have history and tradition to get a sense of where they stand. But A Better Calgary? The Calgary Party? What's the difference between those?" The Communities First party presents itself as more of a known commodity for voters, with Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp running for mayor and incumbent councillors Andre Chabot, Dan McLean and Terry Wong seeking to retain their seats under the party banner. Sharp said the party also won't be whipped, as its members may disagree, but they'll work to support each other's interests. Communities First has already pledged to work together to repeal blanket rezoning. Sharp said she initially had reservations about the introduction of political parties, but the idea has grown on her because she thinks co-operation between eight candidates is needed to accomplish anything at city hall. "We thought, why don't we build a unique caucus of like-minded individuals committed to individually representing our constituents," Sharp said. She added that Calgary has never seen a more divided council than the one it currently has, and she doesn't believe the same division will be seen with political parties. The third registered party is A Better Calgary, which launched last summer. Its organizers have said it intends to run on a platform of common sense and fiscal responsibility, and that it was formed out of frustration with decisions made by Calgary's current council. The party has not yet selected a mayoral candidate. Along with Calgary's three registered parties, the Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton party and Edmonton First slate are set to run in Alberta's capital. City councillor Tim Cartmell is also expected to launch the Better Edmonton party. While the practice is new in Alberta, other major Canadian cities like Vancouver and Montreal already have municipal political parties. While most of the focus around political parties may lie in the mayor's race, Bratt is interested to see how the successful candidate's victory will influence the make-up of council around them. "Where it could impact are councillors that are directly affiliated by party status with a mayoral candidate, and so we'll have to see if they've got coattails," Bratt said. Most of the discussion around this shift in municipal politics has revolved around campaigns, but Bratt said not enough focus has been given to the way parties could shift how councils govern. He added that voters don't know whether to expect voting discipline once parties are in power, or whether city hall will see opposition party leaders. Independent pushback Some independents running in this fall's election are skeptical about the addition of parties. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is set to run as an independent when she seeks re-election, and she's called political parties "the kiss of death for local representation." Former city councillors Jeff Davison and Jeromy Farkas are two other mayoral candidates who currently aren't running under party banners. Farkas said he opposes a "takeover of city hall" by political parties. He added that the level of dysfunction and vitriol that can be seen between parties at various levels of government in Canada and the U.S. should be a warning for Albertans. He added that instead of partisan politics, voters want to see council work across ideological divides to push good ideas forward. "When you have an environment of party politics where an idea is judged based on the jersey colour rather than is it a good idea or is it what Calgarians need, I think we all suffer," Farkas said. The 2025 municipal elections in Alberta are scheduled for Oct. 20.
Calgary Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Councillors debate 'electioneering' accusation while passing two notices of motion worth millions in funding
A notice of motion from Mayor Jyoti Gondek Tuesday didn't sit well with a group of Calgary city councillors, who accused the mayor of 'electioneering' and attempted to postpone the proposal until next November's budget deliberations. Article content Article content The accusation led to councillors trading barbs as they debated the motivations behind two, separate notices of motion that each passed. Article content Article content Gondek's motion, which was approved in an 8-5 vote, proposed to use $20 million from the 2024 Enmax dividend to support deferred maintenance through the Facilities Management Annual Investment Program. Article content Article content The funding would be disbursed over three years and could support various community amenities and volunteer-driven projects, according to Gondek, such as seating and lighting enhancements, shade structures, or murals and community gardens. Article content Article content Dissenting councillors included Sonya Sharp, Dan McLean, Terry Wong and Andre Chabot, who are members of the Communities First party, and Sean Chu. Article content Early into the discussion, Chabot moved to postpone the item until the November 2025 budget deliberations, which will be led by a new-look council. However, his referral motion failed 6-7. Article content Article content Sharp, who is running against Gondek for mayor this fall, said she wasn't opposed to Gondek's idea, but called the timing of the motion 'convenient' and argued it falls outside of council's typical budgeting process. Article content 'It's not a no — it's a why now?' Sharp told reporters ahead of the discussion. Article content 'It's placed conveniently prior to some decisions that need to be made for budget, and we haven't, as a council . . . even had those conversations yet. I don't believe we even see the next budget update for this cycle coming up until May or June. So why now?'
CBC
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Coun. Sonya Sharp joins race to be Calgary's next mayor
Ward 1 rep says she's focused on costs, safety and infrastructure Coun. Sonya Sharp is joining the race to be Calgary's next mayor. Sharp, a fiscal conservative, has long been considering a mayoral run. She made her plans official on Monday evening, during an event hosted by the Communities First political party at downtown restaurant The Rooftop. "I have spent almost my whole career here and I care about Calgary. And last year, when I started to see decisions being made by the majority — and including the mayor — that I was just like, this is not OK anymore, and we need a leader. We need leaders to lead and listen," Sharp said Monday. Sharp has been the Ward 1 councillor since 2021. She is the chair of the city's infrastructure and planning committee and council's event centre committee, the team dedicated to managing Calgary's arena deal. She will run under the Communities First party banner. The upcoming civic election in Calgary will be the first to allow political parties. On council, Sharp has found herself at loggerheads with Mayor Jyoti Gondek at various times, including amid debate over the Green Line LRT revisions and during the city's contentious rezoning saga. The Communities First party formed in December. Alongside Sharp, the party also includes current councillors Andre Chabot, Dan McLean and Terry Wong. Should a majority of its candidates be elected, it has promised an "expedited repeal of blanket rezoning." "It's a bad policy. It needs to go, and, if re-elected, I intend to introduce a motion to repeal it at our first regular meeting of council," Chabot said in a release. Sharp said if she is elected mayor, she'll focus on affordability, public safety and critical infrastructure. "We have missed countless opportunities to plan for the future," she said. Sharp becomes the fifth person to join the race for mayor. Gondek, former city councillors Jeff Davison and Jeromy Farkas, and Brian Thiessen, former chair of the Calgary Police Commission, have all already launched bids. Election nominations are open until Sept. 22, and Calgarians will go to the polls on Oct. 20.
