2017 Calgary municipal election explained
| Election Name: | 2017 Calgary municipal election |
| Country: | Calgary |
| Type: | legislative |
| Previous Election: | 2013 Calgary municipal election |
| Previous Year: | 2013 |
| Next Election: | 2021 Calgary municipal election |
| Next Year: | 2021 |
| Seats For Election: | Mayor and 14 councillors to Calgary City Council |
| Turnout: | 58.1% |
| Election Date: | October 16, 2017 |
| Color1: | DCDCDC |
| Candidate1: | Naheed Nenshi |
| Popular Vote1: | 199,122 |
| Percentage1: | 51.4% |
| Color2: | DCDCDC |
| Candidate2: | Bill Smith |
| Popular Vote2: | 169,367 |
| Percentage2: | 43.7% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Mayor |
| Before Election: | Naheed Nenshi |
| After Election: | Naheed Nenshi |
The 2017 Calgary municipal election was held on October 16, 2017, to elect a mayor, councillors to the city council, trustees to the Calgary Board of Education, and trustees to the Calgary Catholic School District.
From 1968 to 2013, provincial legislation required every municipality to hold elections every three years.[1] The 28th Alberta Legislature introduced the Election Accountability Amendment Act (Bill 7) which among other reforms to provincial and municipal elections, amended the Local Authorities Election Act to extend the terms of local authorities including municipalities and school boards from three years to four years.[2] [3] [4]
In addition, council members are now referred to as councillors, whereas they used the title "Alderman" prior to 2013. Advanced voting began on October 4 and ran through until October 11.[5]
The voter turnout was 58.1%, the highest the turnout had been in over four decades.[6]
Candidates
X = incumbent
Mayor
| Candidate | Vote[7] | % |
|---|
| Naheed Nenshi (X) | 199,122 | 51.41 |
| Bill Smith | 169,367 | 43.73 |
| 11,945 | 3.08 |
| Curtis Olson | 1,776 | 0.46 |
| David Lapp | 1,288 | 0.33 |
| Emile Gabriel | 1,258 | 0.32 |
| 845 | 0.22 |
| Stan the Man Waciak | 664 | 0.17 |
| Brent Chisholm | 576 | 0.15 |
| Jason Achtymichuk | 465 | 0.12 | |
City council
Ward 1
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Ward Sutherland (X) | 14,336 | 45.27 |
| Coral Bliss Taylor | 10,601 | 33.48 |
| Chris Blatch | 4,147 | 13.10 |
| Cole Christensen | 1,313 | 4.15 |
| Cam Khan | 1,270 | 4.01 | |
Ward 2
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Joe Magliocca (X) | 11,828 | 49.39 |
| Jennifer Wyness | 8,677 | 36.23 |
| Chistopher Maitland | 2,351 | 9.82 |
| George Georgeou | 1,091 | 4.56 | |
Ward 3
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| 7,745 | 41.97 |
| Ian McAnerin | 4,867 | 26.37 |
| Jun Lin | 4,747 | 25.72 |
| Connie Hamilton | 1,096 | 5.94 | |
Ward 4
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Sean Chu (X) | 16,327 | 48.42 |
| Greg Miller | 13,965 | 41.41 |
| Blair Berdusco | 2,875 | 8.53 |
| Srini Ganti | 554 | 1.64 | |
Ward 5
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| 6,608 | 40.61 |
| Aryan Sadat | 3,759 | 23.10 |
| Preet Baidwan | 2,332 | 14.33 |
| Raj Nijjar | 1,698 | 10.44 |
| Tudor Dinca | 1,528 | 9.39 |
| Hirde Paul Jassal | 346 | 2.13 | |
Ward 6
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| 13,735 | 44.72 |
| Esmahan Razavi | 6,605 | 21.51 |
| Sean Yost | 2,507 | 8.16 |
| Jeffrey Michael Brownridge | 2,427 | 7.90 |
| Alex Columbos | 1,961 | 6.38 |
| Grace Nelson | 1,376 | 4.48 |
| Sanjeev Kad | 1,076 | 3.50 |
| Steve Turner | 1,026 | 3.34 | |
Ward 7
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Druh Farrell (X) | 9,753 | 41.03 |
| Brent Alexander | 8,916 | 37.51 |
| Dean Brawn | 2,882 | 12.12 |
| Margot Aftergood | 1,765 | 7.42 |
| Marek Hejduk | 456 | 1.92 | |
Ward 8
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Evan Woolley (X) | 15,838 | 58.28 |
| Chris Davis | 8,844 | 32.54 |
| Karla Charest | 1,839 | 6.77 |
| Carter Thomson | 657 | 2.42 | |
Ward 9
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Gian-Carlo Carra (X) | 9,760 | 45.31 |
| Cheryl Link | 8,065 | 37.44 |
| Trevor Buckler | 1,126 | 5.23 |
| David Christopher Metclafe | 991 | 4.60 |
| Cesar Augusto Saavedra | 589 | 2.73 |
| Boss Madimba | 526 | 2.44 |
| Omar M'Keyo | 483 | 2.24 | |
Ward 10
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Ray Jones (X) | 7,240 | 35.53 |
| David Winkler | 5,512 | 27.05 |
| Salimah Kassam | 2,126 | 10.43 |
| Michelle Rae Robinson | 1,258 | 6.17 |
| Najeeb Butt | 1,054 | 5.17 |
| Gar Gar | 864 | 4.24 |
| Issa Mosa | 693 | 3.40 |
| Kamilla Prasad | 619 | 3.04 |
| Faith Greaves | 568 | 2.79 |
| Hermann Muller | 367 | 1.80 |
| Numan Elhussein | 78 | 0.38 | |
Ward 11
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| 13,169 | 38.39 |
| 7,588 | 22.12 |
| Janet Eremenko | 6,889 | 20.08 |
| Robert Dickinson | 4,446 | 12.96 |
| Keith Simmons | 2,214 | 6.45 | |
Ward 12
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Shane Keating (X) | 17,923 | 72.79 |
| Teresa Hargreaves | 2,844 | 11.55 |
| Brad Cunningham | 2,732 | 11.10 |
| Mackenzie Quigley | 1,123 | 4.56 | |
Ward 13
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Diane Colley-Urquhart (X) | 9,117 | 34.23 |
| Mark Dyrholm | 4,427 | 16.62 |
| 3,747 | 14.07 |
| Sherrisa Celis | 2,959 | 11.11 |
| Adam Boechler | 2,909 | 10.92 |
| Adam W. Frisch | 2,732 | 10.26 |
| Kay Adeniyi | 745 | 2.80 | |
Ward 14
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|
| Peter Demong (X) | 28,430 | 90.27 |
| Kelash Kumar | 3,064 | 9.73 | |
Issues
Campaign finance transparency
According to a 2013 Calgary Herald article, campaign finance transparency had become a topic of interest with most candidates making their donor lists available before the election. One veteran candidate who raised $78,000 in contributions in the 2010 election preferred to file according to legal requirements by filing disclosure of donations with city hall at the end of the year.[8] By late summer 2017, campaign finance transparency was an issue again with the establishment of a political action committee (PAC), a third-party organization that is not required to reveal the identity of its donors.[9] [10] [11] PACS are commonly used in the United States to pool campaign contributions to target candidates.[12] Hadyn Place, Director of Alberta Can't Wait—one of Alberta's "unite the right" movement organizations—explained to CBC journalists that Save Calgary is targeting incumbents Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and councillors Druh Farrell, Evan Woolley, Gian-Carlo Carra, Diane Colley-Urquhart because "We feel that there are good candidates running against those current city councillors and we don't like their voting records, and their priorities, we feel, are out of step with everyday Calgarians' priorities."[9]
CBC News likened Calgary's "relatively lawless" finance rules for municipal elections, to the "wild west". Municipal government election candidates can accept donations from corporations, unions and individuals and there is "no cap on how much candidates can spend". This contrasts with federal and provincial elections where candidates are not allowed to accept corporate and union donations. At the federal level, candidates face a hard cap on campaign spending based on the size of their riding, and the laws are strictly enforced.[13] According to Alberta Municipal Affairs, the Alberta government of plans to add amendments to existing municipal elections laws, possibly in 2018. as early as next year.[13] Jack Lucas, a professor of political science at the University of Calgary told CBC News that Alberta will "likely curb donation limits and put a cap on campaign spending".[13] Lucas said, "Clearer disclosure rules for third-party advertising would make third-party campaigns like Save Calgary more transparent and less controversial."[13]
Sources
- Web site: Official Results . calgary.ca . City of Calgary . March 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230038/http://www.calgary.ca/election/Pages/results/Official-Results.aspx . December 30, 2017.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 1968 Bill 23. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. December 9, 2012.
- Web site: Election Accountability Amendment Act, 2012 - Section 105. 2012 Bill 7, First Session, 28th Legislature. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. December 9, 2012. December 5, 2012.
- News: More disclosure of donors required under new election laws . 16 March 2021 . . November 20, 2012 . Edmonton.
- Web site: 28th Legislature, 1st Session (2012). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. December 9, 2012.
- Web site: Vote early Advance vote: Oct. 4–11, 2017 (except Oct. 9) . October 7, 2017 . Calgary elections . nd.
- News: Anderson . Drew . Nenshi wins 3rd term as Calgary's mayor in election marred by long voter lineups, ballot shortages . 20 March 2021 . . October 16, 2017 . Calgary.
- Web site: Official Results . calgary.ca . City of Calgary . March 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230038/http://www.calgary.ca/election/Pages/results/Official-Results.aspx . December 30, 2017.
- Web site: Markusoff. Jason. Council candidates embrace push to make donor lists public before vote. Calgary Herald. September 2, 2013. May 24, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150914004015/https://calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Council+candidates+embrace+push+make+donor+lists+public+before+vote/8427849/story.html. September 14, 2015.
- News: Save Calgary's campaign against city councillors raises questions about 3rd-party electoral laws: What's Save Calgary? It's not easy to find out, and some say that's a problem for democracy . Robson . Fletcher . Drew . Anderson . CBC News . August 28, 2017 . August 31, 2017.
- Web site: About . Save Calgary . nd . August 31, 2017.
- News: Mayor Nenshi, Druh Farrell tell Save Calgary group to 'stop hiding behind anonymity' . Global News . August 29, 2017 . August 31, 2017 . Alyssa . Julie.
- Book: Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in a Global World. Cengage Learning. 309. 10. Berry, Jeffrey M. . Goldman, Jerry . August 31, 2017. December 19, 2008. Boston. 978-0547204543.
- News: Calgary's 'wild west' of campaign finance law likely to change — after the election: Province plans to review relatively lax laws governing municipal elections sometime next year . CBC News . Calgary . October 5, 2017 . October 7, 2017 . Robson . Fletcher.
