[GDT] YYC Votes 2025

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by getbak

Keep in mind, the plan for the Council seats was to get all the ballots that were cast yesterday counted before they stopped for the night. Then, they will count the advance polls and mail-in ballots as well as votes collected at special polls in care homes and shelters today.

Each of those locations counts as a separate poll (there were over 40 advance polling locations citywide), but they did not likely collect very many votes at each one.

While it looks like there are a lot of outstanding polls left to count, they won't likely account for very many new votes for each ward.

I think I read it was 95k advance votes.

[getbak]

Counting for the Councillor seats is resuming at 10:30, so we should start getting more numbers soon.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by Firebot

Gondek cost Gondek

It's like some simply don't want to admit she was a very mediocre mayor at best. She was deeply unpopular and the best people could say about her tenure was she was 'meh' or 'fine' and that she just had communication issues, or that she was just one vote in council, and this is from the progressive camp who wanted anyone but Farkas / Sharp / Davison.

It's very rare for an incumbent mayor to lose. Nenshi won with 71% of the vote in 2013, and 51% in 2018. Gondek is at 20% as an incumbent and a distant 3rd.

Had she been considered a good mayor, she would have won in a landslide, with or without Theissen, and with or without Sharp / Farkas. Nenshi is quite progressive, and he didn't have such problems.

I really, really don't get this weird level of excusing of her poor performance.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...ysis-1.7364640

She was fine and got things done. My biggest concerns were as follows:

1) lack of compromise and tone on council: in Gondek view her progressive coalition was always right on contentious issues and didn't want to or have to compromise. That eventually became the culture of those 8 councillors where -outside of wyness - they weren't willing to listen to thoughtful contributions from "the other side". That was evident during the housing strategy. What she missed was that those 8 progressive councillors didn't represent all Calgarians and by sidelining other viewpoints on council, she eventually ran offside with a lot of Calgarians. Sometimes it was a really topic like a bag ban. The tipping point was blanket rezoning.

2) a lot of informed people didn't like the lack of transparency. I talked to one person who said they did a back-room deal to give major raises to department heads. Many people upset with lack of transparency around arena deal. Another person I talked to said one of the new positions that reported directly to her office was super suspect. Another person I talked to said the city hired a highly conflicted to investigate after the water pipe breakage and found no wrong doing, so is no closer to fixing the issue from a process or culture perspective. I genuinely think that matters. When you're informed friends aren't happy, it's typically for a good reason and it resonates. It gives other people permission to also be upset.

Was she a good mayor all-in-all? I'm not sure. She was okay. She was fine. Not great. Pretty meh.

Who would be better? That's where I continuously got stumped. Farkas was probably the only person who could be better. Will he be? I think he'll be better on transparency. But will he be collaborative with other voices on council? I hope so. If he can, he might end up being a really popular mayor. It's up to him

[craigwd]

Tbf I voted FOR Gondek.

Both her and Thiessen shared my values, and seemed to be really great people. What put her over the top was that she actually engaged with me online, even when it was stupid stuff like asking what her Calgary Expo cosplay would be this time around. No one else did that.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by craigwd

Tbf I voted FOR Gondek.

Both her and Thiessen shared my values, and seemed to be really great people. What put her over the top was that she actually engaged with me online, even when it was stupid stuff like asking what her Calgary Expo cosplay would be this time around. No one else did that.

I’m sure a lot of people did. I didn’t vote for Gondek personally as I was ready for a change, but I can understand and respect that there are people out there who did actually like her and appreciated what she brought to the table more than I did.

I don’t think it’s “weird” that people liked her and find this narrative that anyone who did is refusing to admit something or trying to excuse something a bit cringey and embarassing. I think that comes from insecurity and the need to reposition one’s own feelings as more important than they are.

Gondek lost, but it’s extremely silly to pretend the people who voted for her or thought she was a good mayor were in denial or something. None of her positives or negatives were so extreme that it needs any more explanation than the fact that people who voted for her likely liked her the best and people who didn’t, didn’t.

[GGG]

I assume we will have a recount as the results are within .5%.

At a 1% counting error rate that would be about 3500 miscounted votes. So possible but unlikely.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I think "unlikely" is underselling it. Absent actual deliberate fraud of some sort you might get, what, a few dozen miscounted ballots? If that?

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Some updates on ward 12 would be nice, I really don’t want to see Jamieson get the nod. He wasn’t well spoken at the debate and came across as a childish populist. I’m no fan of Ferguson either but she at least came very prepared, knew her talking points thoroughly and spoke well, even if she had a smug look about her at times.

I agree, I thought Jamieson was terrible in the debate, Ferguson was boring but knew her stuff. Byciuk seemed like a way better option for the conservative vote but he’s way behind.

Ferguson has opened up a 20 vote lead now, I hope she can win it.

[btimbit]

How is Landon Johnston winning? I thought he just ran as a joke

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I’m sure a lot of people did. I didn’t vote for Gondek personally as I was ready for a change, but I can understand and respect that there are people out there who did actually like her and appreciated what she brought to the table more than I did.

I don’t think it’s “weird” that people liked her and find this narrative that anyone who did is refusing to admit something or trying to excuse something a bit cringey and embarassing. I think that comes from insecurity and the need to reposition one’s own feelings as more important than they are.

Gondek lost, but it’s extremely silly to pretend the people who voted for her or thought she was a good mayor were in denial or something. None of her positives or negatives were so extreme that it needs any more explanation than the fact that people who voted for her likely liked her the best and people who didn’t, didn’t.

I think she was smart and meant well (which is huge), I'm not loving this place when I never thought, until recently, even dreamt of leaving. I just want to shake that Yahtzee container of dice and see if that changes anything. Probably will not because I think the workers/planning departments do all the stuff and the councilors are probably useless and don't really do anything of value but this is the only lever we have.

I took my kid to the tattoo show for some reason, LRT back on the west leg. He was speechless and seemed disturbed after seeing some of the creatures. I said that was an amazing trip comparatively. Feels like we live in Sin City. Probably just getting old and shouting at the moon.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by btimbit

How is Landon Johnston winning? I thought he just ran as a joke

There were rumors his recall petition was backed by a wild rose contingent based on IP address tracing or something. Ie - he is political

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

It's actually sort of funny hearing people (and Sharpe) talk about this place like there's some crisis going on here, having just spent a lot of the last 6 months going back and forth between here and the lower mainland. This place is so unbelievably functional by comparison. Yes, there are things that need to be improved and directions that need to change. No, the sky is not falling.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Because doom and gloom porn is an incredibly profitable industry right now. Probably more profitable than actual porn.

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

Ferguson was boring but knew her stuff.

This is honestly how I wish all politicians could be described. Make politicians / elected officials boring and smart again.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It's actually sort of funny hearing people (and Sharpe) talk about this place like there's some crisis going on here, having just spent a lot of the last 6 months going back and forth between here and the lower mainland. This place is so unbelievably functional by comparison. Yes, there are things that need to be improved and directions that need to change. No, the sky is not falling.

Is it really that bad there?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by btimbit

How is Landon Johnston winning? I thought he just ran as a joke

Ugh I know. I guess we'll see what voting for "common sense" will entail. Pretty vague BS policy to vote for.

I met him and he came across reasonable, but seems in over his head IMO.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It's actually sort of funny hearing people (and Sharpe) talk about this place like there's some crisis going on here, having just spent a lot of the last 6 months going back and forth between here and the lower mainland. This place is so unbelievably functional by comparison. Yes, there are things that need to be improved and directions that need to change. No, the sky is not falling.

I generally agree, however I’m not comparing Calgary to Vancouver, I’m comparing Calgary now to Calgary 10 years ago. So while I agree that the situation here really isn’t that bad, it’s also noticeably worse than it was and is trending in the wrong direction.

No, the sky isn’t falling. But we need a higher bar than “Vancouver is worse so we should just be happy”.

Vancouver has always been a hellhole compared to Calgary.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I don’t think it’s “weird” that people liked her and find this narrative that anyone who did is refusing to admit something or trying to excuse something a bit cringey and embarassing. I think that comes from insecurity and the need to reposition one’s own feelings as more important than they are.

Gondek lost, but it’s extremely silly to pretend the people who voted for her or thought she was a good mayor were in denial or something. None of her positives or negatives were so extreme that it needs any more explanation than the fact that people who voted for her likely liked her the best and people who didn’t, didn’t.

Claiming that Theissen cost Gondek the election instead of her losing the incumbency on her own merits is indeed weird to me as an excuse for her loss, but that surely won't stop you from doing the thinly concealed holier than thou virtue grandstanding attack you are so cherished on this forum for

Note I didn't bash or question someone voting for Gondek as there are reasons to do so even for people who viewed her tenure as mediocre, I questioned the excusing given on why she lost. Clearly a difference, but you were clearly too busy setting up your...a bit cringy and embarrassing post to notice.

[gasman]

Originally Posted by Parallex

She did not suck. She did a decent job as councilor. But she won very narrowly last time, she didn't pander to NIMBY's and she managed to do at least one thing that would piss off everybody. I know Kourtney, we're not friends or anything but our kids go to the same school, have the same extra-curriculars, and we go to the same community events regularly... I say that so that when I say that I only voted for her reluctantly folk can understand why in a low engagement election election she didn't have more of a showing.

Disagree, she was less than useless. Easily the worst representation we have ever had in Ward 11 in the 20 years I have lived here.

Flat out ignored emails and phone calls from constituents, didn't show up to community meetings like AGMs - just sent a lacky in her place... She did make lots of time to post videos on social media so there is that.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

I agree, I thought Jamieson was terrible in the debate, Ferguson was boring but knew her stuff. Byciuk seemed like a way better option for the conservative vote but he’s way behind.

Ferguson has opened up a 20 vote lead now, I hope she can win it.

I agree with everything you said, I thought I was going to have to vote for Cocaine Curtis (his debate was horrible lol) but after the debate I decided on Byciuk. With the options being Fergie Ferg and Magic Mike, I’m hoping Sarah gets the win.