Six of the nine mayoral candidates faced off in a debate Wednesday evening — and when asked who they would vote for other than themselves, most of them named Jaeger Gustafson, notably not one of the perceived frontrunners in the mayoral race. Read More
A relatively amicable debate touched on hot-button issues such as public safety and keeping up with the city’s rapid growth and aging infrastructure
A relatively amicable debate touched on hot-button issues such as public safety and keeping up with the city’s rapid growth and aging infrastructure
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Six of the nine mayoral candidates faced off in a debate Wednesday evening — and when asked who they would vote for other than themselves, most of them named Jaeger Gustafson, notably not one of the perceived frontrunners in the mayoral race.
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“I would say that if you want some of the wildest ideas that could work, it’s got to be Jaeger,” incumbent mayor Jyoti Gondek said.
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Addressing Gustafson, Gondek said, “You’re actually a thoughtful person, so thanks for bringing some levity and some interesting ideas.”
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Sonya Sharp, Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison each echoed the sentiment.
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“He’s got awesome ideas,” Davison said.
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Gustafson himself said he’d vote for Brian Thiessen, “because he’s a lawyer.”
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“I think some people gotta go to jail,” Gustafson said.
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Sarah Elder, a first-time candidate, took a pass on answering the question.
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“I actually got into this race for this exact reason — just because I felt like I couldn’t vote for any of these people,” she said.
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Candidates advocate for infrastructure
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The question followed a relatively amicable debate that touched on hot-button issues such as public safety and keeping up with the city’s rapid growth and aging infrastructure.
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“We’re about 10 years behind on our infrastructure when it comes to Calgary,” Sharp said, arguing for a “fix-it-first” mentality.
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“We need to fix what we have before we can start throwing money at things,” she said. “There is a lack of infrastructure for this city, and we know it’s growing.”
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Farkas argued there needs to be a budget for both updating existing infrastructure and new projects.
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“We’ve got to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time,” he said, noting there’s been too much focus on the bigger projects.
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“It’s not just these big facilities,” he said. “It’s got to be the important local, street-level stuff that matters to communities.”
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Elder advocated for a focus on community amenities, while Davison plans to look for ways to offset the operational costs of infrastructure such as recreation facilities and transit.
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For Gondek, partnerships with the private sector and more use of technology are the solutions to keeping the cost of infrastructure down.
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“If we can detect that pavement is going to fail before it does, then let’s do the repair at a lesser cost and preserve those roads for longer,” she said. “Those are the types of initiatives that we have been implementing.”
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