A man who claims he initiated a petition to remove Calgary’s mayor because he was very frustrated with her performance at city hall is set to meet with the politician on Friday.
Landon Johnston has been attempting to gather over 500,000 signatures from residents of Calgary to activate a section of the Municipal Government Act that would permit Jyoti Gondek’s removal.
In an interview with Global News on Friday morning, he stated he already has tens of thousands of signatures, and though “of course we won’t ever reach 500,000,” he believes his actions are sending a message and that Calgarians are showing support for them.
“People have a voice and this is a chance for them to make their voices heard,” he commented. “Why have the legislation if you don’t use it?”
Johnston mentioned that while he thinks Gondek “has positive aspects to her role in office,” he feels citizens are upset about municipal taxes and what he proposed was a lack of achievements from Gondek in her first two years as mayor.
“She’s been in office for two years and it’s very hard to find people to support any positive aspect regarding people’s money,” he stated, adding that he thinks many Calgarians “are upset because people are running out of money.”
Johnston explained that he arranged a meeting with Gondek through official channels after an accidental encounter with her a few weeks ago where he didn't recognize her when he met her.
“I bumped into her at council after I requested her to sign the petition — not intentionally, (it happened) because I had never met the mayor,” he recollected. “And she said, ‘Oh I wish you would have talked to me before.'”
Global News also interviewed Gondek on Friday morning, ahead of the meeting, to discuss why she agreed to a meeting with Johnston.
“If Mr. Johnston and I can actually sit down and have a conversation and a proper dialogue, that’s really setting the way for having proper discussions and good civil discourse,” she said. “And I think that’s something that’s missing a little bit right now.
“I think we’ve become even more divided than we were. I remember when I ran in 2021, that was one of the commitments I made, that I would try to prevent the amount of polarization that we’ve been seeing.”
When asked if Gondek would consider resigning if the petition gathers a large amount of signatures but not enough to trigger a recall, the mayor said she has “been put here by Calgarians to do a job and that’s what I’m very focused on.”
“I was elected,” she noted, adding that she realizes there are many Calgarians feeling frustrated as they grapple with difficult economic situations. “They’re worried about making ends meet.”
Gondek mentioned she and city council have such concerns at the forefront and are constantly looking at how to enhance the lives of Calgarians, whether by addressing affordability issues or public safety concerns.
“You can’t do that without some sense of optimism,” she remarked. “And you certainly can’t do that without talking to people.”
The mayor said that political involvement is taking on new forms in today's politics, and a recall petition is just another tool available for people to achieve an end.
“I believe Landon Johnston is an individual who was frustrated and utilized an available option to convey a message,” Gondek stated. “And I think it’s important (at our meeting today) … for us to be very open with each other about the concerns and how we can improve life for Calgarians.
“That was ultimately his goal, to ensure that we as a council, through me, understood that things are difficult out there and people want to see different actions to improve their lives.”
When asked by Global News what he planned to ask Gondek, Johnston said he did not want to reveal that before the meeting.
The City of Calgary has stated that under the legislation, Johnston has until Apr. 4 to gather signatures, based on when the City Clerk’s Office first received notice of it.
The City Clerk’s Office will be responsible for verifying and counting the signatures, a process Gondek noted she has no role in.
To successfully initiate a recall, the petition needs signatures from at least 40 percent of Calgary’s population.
The city mentioned that the petition would be measured against a population total of 1,285,711, which means it requires over 514,000 signatures to meet the requirements.
About 393,000 of 847,556 registered voters participated in the last municipal election in 2021.
Documents obtained by Global News earlier this month indicate a group called Project YYC is aiding Johnston with petition efforts.
According to the document, the group aims to create a “big tent coalition” to elect “common-sense conservative” mayors and councillors in next year’s municipal election.
A corporate search shows Project YYC has been a registered trade name since Feb. 16, by Roy Beyer.
Beyer is listed as one of the group’s directors and a key member of the recall campaign team, according to the document obtained by Global News.
Johnston recently informed Global News that he has spoken with a couple of people mentioned in the documents but did not specify who.
On Tuesday, Gondek mentioned in light of the information about Project YYC, she has questions about whether the recall petition is something “that’s being launched by a single individual because they’re unhappy with my performance? … Or is this something that will have more nefarious results?”
Gondek expressed doubts about whether the recall signatures could be used to establish a new local political party.
According to the documents obtained by Global News, the group is in the process of being incorporated as a not-for-profit under the Alberta Incorporation Act.
“From what I’ve seen, this seems to be a very organized effort,” Gondek said on Tuesday. “I believe that person (Johnston) may have been co-opted.
“There are too many ties to ignore the fact that this is being driven by people who want conservatives in municipally-elected positions and trying to remove me is the first step in that.”
While speaking in Edmonton last week at a meeting with municipal leaders, Premier Danielle Smith discussed the possibility of party politics being allowed in city halls in Alberta. Danielle Smith mentioned that party politics may soon be permitted in city halls in Alberta during her appearance in Edmonton last week at a meeting with municipal leaders..
Currently, the Local Authorities Election Act does not allow party affiliation, but Smith mentioned that her UCP caucus has talked about potentially changing the law.
–with files from Global News’ Adam MacVicar, Paula Tran, Adam Toy and Jasmine King and from The Canadian Press’ Colette Derworiz
