Calgarians have fallen out with their mayor. Jyoti Gondek believes they just don't know her yet
CBC
Mayor Jyoti Gondek has honed in on one political problem as she struggles with poor approval ratings that could doom her hopes for re-election as mayor:
Calgarians don't really know who she is.
She acknowledges other challenges — mostly to do with the current political environment, while those who've worked with her previously cite issues with Gondek's leadership.
But remaining an unknown quantity is quite a dynamic to recognize, and try to overcome, after three years (or 75 per cent) of Gondek's first term, and as she quietly explores whether to bid for another term against a growing field of challengers.
It's an anomaly in two ways.
Not only has every Calgary mayor since the early 1980s won a second term by comfortably massive margins, but each of those re-election bids were in that third year on the job. Councils didn't enjoy four-year terms until midway through last decade and the tenure of Naheed Nenshi, Gondek's predecessor.
So despite the fact this current mayor has an unprecedented amount of time to make residents acquainted with her, Gondek feels she's got work to do. She leads one of Canada's largest cities, and beamed into Calgarians' homes and social-media feeds almost daily during the water main crisis, and yet.
"I think it just takes time to get to know a person," she told CBC News in an interview last week.
She debuted a city-funded website mayorgondek.ca a few weeks ago, and she's making a point of attending more community events.
In mid-October, Gondek launched a panel discussion series called Calgary Talks, invite-only in person but available to all on her YouTube channel.
After a week, that video had 97 online views.
Although she hasn't said yet whether she'll run again for mayor, Gondek has been sussing out how much organizational and financial support she'd have if she ran, including a recent event she hosted with past donors.
And to her, awareness levels are another key factor in her decision.
"I'm very interested in making sure that if I choose to enter the race, that Calgarians understand clearly who I am, what I stand for, what my vision is, and what I commit to them in terms of public service," Gondek said.
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