Mayor Jyoti Gondek does not know if she will run to lead the city again.
In fact, at breakfast in the same booth at the same Denny’s where we spoke when she was running for mayor in 2021, Gondek says she still has to nail down if she is the right leader to lead.
With word on city political parties coming in a few weeks and voters who are waking up, folks of all political stripes are talking about how to fight the next city ballot battle in the fall of 2025.
And since Gondek is in her first term as mayor, a lot of individuals figured her answer would be Yes. She would fight on.
Well, she may or she may not.
“The times are not what they used to be. There used to be this thing where if you’re the mayor, of course you’re going to run for another term because there’s unfinished business.
“And yes, there will be unfinished business but the times are not what they were. You need to make sure you’re the right leader for the times you’re in.”
What does that mean?
“You have to know in your heart that the type of change you want to bring about is the right change at this time and the projects you want to advance are the right projects at this time.
“Will this be better served by someone else? If I can implement everything that needs to be implemented to get things going then am I still the person that needs to be there to watch the implementation phase go through?”
Gondek says if that’s the case then when it comes to who is mayor “maybe it’s me, maybe it’s someone else.”
Of course in a different situation where things aren’t as settled that’s a different decision.
As for connecting with Calgarians, Gondek says, “You have to be in sync with what people are saying, how they’re feeling and if people are frustrated, which clearly they are. Then what are those frustrations and what do you need to do to alleviate them and how do you communicate that as a leader.”
Gondek says right now she is “not spending my time contemplating re-election.”
But we all know, when it comes to the mayor, plenty of folks are frustrated, angry, stirred up.
I told her so.
“A lot of it gets directed to me because I’m the mayor,” says Gondek.
“I think the thing that is important to remember is there are 15 members of council who make decisions. I don’t have veto power. I don’t have a super-vote.”
The mayor brings up The Hateful Eight, a nickname some use for Gondek and seven councillors who are seen as calling the shots at city hall.
“I don’t hate this city. I am blessed to be in this city. I don’t hate the people who live in this city.”
She finds the wording “troubling.”
“I’m not the mayor because I’m full of hate. I’m the mayor because I’m full of hope.”
The mayor also pushes back against those who say she has it in for the city police and those who say such a thing include police officers themselves.
“There’s no way I could have served on the police commission for three years and there’s no way I could be doing this job if I hated the police service.”
Had to ask.
Gondek has been almost non-stop in the news since she refused to attend the traditional lighting of the menorah at city hall marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Some individuals said the annual event was a pro-war rally, a statement which was completely and utterly crap.
Gondek didn’t go.
“I would love to be at the next menorah lighting,” she says.
The mayor has referred recently to comments she shouldn’t have said. Can she provide an example?
Dan McLean, a councillor often opposing Gondek, put out a tweet drawing attention to a group bankrolled by city unions who backed Gondek and others in the last election.
Gondek fired back.
“Did I have to say my dude, maybe you should show up to council meetings? Did I have to say that? No. I was in a moment of extreme frustration.
“Now that member of council regularly posts about me, regularly says things about me. That particular day I wasn’t good with it. Could I have been more stately? Yes, I could have.”
The mayor talks about poor communication around the so-called bag bylaw and generally poor communication from city hall.
This is a city hall where getting at the truth is a constant struggle.
It’s how they roll.
Gondek also says she and council are listening to Calgarians by aiming for residential property tax hikes next year at around 5.5% and the year after that at 5%.
But does the mayor really understand how upset many Calgarians are these days?
Her answer.
“I understand the frustration because there’s so many things to be frustrated about. I get it.”
rbell@postmedia.com
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