Active recall for Mayor Gondek
Liam Rockliffe, Staff Writer |
On Jan. 30 a small business owner and resident in Calgary for 10 years, Landon Johnston took advantage of the brand new Alberta Municipal Government act which was put in place on Dec. 7., 2023. One of Johnston’s goals with the recall petition is to point out the inadequacies in the new Municipal Government Act
This act, as the Alberta Government explains it: “Empowers municipalities to shape their communities. It regulates how municipalities are funded and how as local governments they should govern and plan for growth.”
Many of the acts movements allow for increased communication and further ability for any person to have a say in their municipal government; effectively bridging the gap between the municipality and the people.
The act of course gives any one person the complete power to petition a recall of any active duty council-person: “An individual may commence a recall petition by submitting a notice of recall petition in accordance to [the act]”.
More barriers than reason
For Johnston to submit the recall request he had to pay a sum of $500, and give a piece of paper with a paragraph of information to the Chief Administrative Officer.
While the task of starting the recall may be just that easy, actually following through in a successful recall is next to impossible.
To recall Mayor Gondek, Elections Calgary states Johnston needs to get signatures “equal in number to at least 40 per cent of the population,” which is “measured against a population total of 1,285,711 which will require a total of 514,284 signatures to be considered sufficient.”
In the last municipal election in 2021, 390,383 voters attended the ballot boxes out of an eligible 847,556.
Duane Bratt, professor of economics, justice, and policy studies at Mount Royal University commented on this absurd number telling CBC: “You’re asking for over 500,000 signatures when there were less than 400,000 people who voted in the last municipal election”.
One of Johnston’s goals with the recall petition is to point out the inadequacies in the new Municipal Government Act, Professor Bratt backs this stating, “I personally don’t care for the idea of recall, but if you’re going to do it . . . to ask for more signatures than people who voted is ridiculous if this is supposed to be a real tool.”
The petition’s legislation also holds another barrier for Johnston’s recall: every signature has to be in person and on paper. No email or electronic ballots are allowed, which means that Johnston and his team would have to collect around 8,000 signatures a day purely on foot, or at conferences. Which can be found through his website, RecallMayorGondek.com.
Additionally, to obtain each signature, a witness must observe the signing of the petition, find a commissioner of oaths to sign off on the signatures, and only then can the petitions be sent to Johnston to be added to the list.
Sending a message
While seemingly impossible to obtain, the petition certainly sends a message to Mayor Gondek. The petition’s success may also have an effect on her political standings.
In a statement to The Reflector, Gondek said:
“In October 2021, Calgarians put their faith in me to be a mayor who could bring balance and stability to this city at a time when polarised ideologies stood to divide us. I remain steadfastly committed to the work of building a future that holds opportunity and prosperity for everyone who lives here. We have work to do. Onward.”
If the recall were to be successful, Mayor Gondek would be immediately recalled and no longer have a seat on Calgary’s city council. With the position of mayor vacanta by-election would be held to find a new mayor – or interestingly enough – Mayor Gondek could reclaim her throne in the very same by-election held to replace her.
According to Landon Johnston’s X (formerly Twitter) account, he has been banned from all Calgary Public Libraries, he stated that “He needs more than half a million signatures, and the best place to do that is where the public congregates.”
The reason for his banishment is unknown but likely associated with his rallying at these locations.
Also on his X Johnston speaks to a flaw in the new Municipal Government Act: “If you wish to protect your MLA, Premier or Leader of the Opposition from being recalled; file the petition, wait a few days and hand it back empty. That elected official is now protected.”
There are definitely flaws in the new act, the above ability to “protect” a councillor, the ease of starting a recall, the impossibility to actually recall in a large urban centre such as Calgary. But Johnstons work to use and broadcast these issues may create change in Alberta’s legislative, but at the very least create pause for reflection.
