‘WE’LL GET THINGS DONE’
Calgary’s newly elected city council poses following a swearing-in ceremony Monday at City Hall, where Mayor Naheed Nenshi vowed he and his colleagues will put aside personal feelings and work together as they begin a challenging four-year term.
In the atrium of City Hall, Mayor Naheed Nenshi told a crowd of hundreds the new city council won’t let ideology, partisanship or personal feelings get in the way of serving Calgarians amid a fragile economic recovery.
Following a four-week campaign that Nenshi said had “more downs than ups,” the incumbent mayor, 10 returning councillors and four new council faces were sworn in by Associate Chief Justice John Rooke on Monday afternoon, one week after the Oct. 16 election.
Nenshi, who defeated lawyer Bill Smith by nearly 30,000 votes or seven percentage points to secure a third term, was given the chain of office by his two young nieces at the public ceremony.
“All 15 of us on this stage are very aware of the responsibility we now hold. The challenges we face today are not insignificant,” Nenshi said, after taking the oath of office.
“We’re in the midst of a very fragile economic recovery, we’re facing extraordinary change as the city adapts to new realities, we’re still growing and every single one of our citizens deserves that high quality of life.”
Nenshi said the new council may not always agree, but will park ideology at the door and cooperate.
“We’ll work together. We’ll get things done. And we will make life better every single day,” he said to loud applause.
In the coming months, the 2017-2021 council will have to grapple with union negotiations, a $170-million budget gap, an ask from Calgary police for more officers and relief for business owners whose tax bills will again be affected by high downtown vacancy rates.
At the same time, elected officials will work to keep campaign promises and in the case of the four rookies, learn the ins and outs of their new jobs.
“It’s certainly going to be an enormous workload, to say the least,” said Ward 6’s new Coun. Jeff Davison, a marketing professional and father of three.
Ward 11’s new Coun. Jeromy Farkas believes city hall has a spending problem and he said Monday he wants to tackle spending, fix a “secrecy problem that’s taken hold at city hall,” and restore transparency in the coming months.
“I’m very confident that we all want what’s best for Calgary,” said 31-year-old Farkas, the youngest councillor elected since then 30-year-old Dave Bronconnier won an aldermanic seat in 1992.
Nenshi told reporters he spoke with tens of thousands of people while campaigning and didn’t hear a strong message about cutting spending.
“What I didn’t hear is, ‘My taxes are too high period.’ What I did hear was, ‘Ensure that you’re providing value for what we do,’ and it was always followed up with, ‘And here’s a long list of the additional services I need in my neighbourhood,’” Nenshi said.
Balancing a desire for more services with a budget shortfall is expected to test council in the coming weeks, though Nenshi said he’s confident the looming budget, set to be debated at the end of November, will both minimize tax increases and hold the line on services.
“As I’ve said to my new colleagues, this particular budget I think is going to be fine. I don’t think it’s going to be terribly contentious or very controversial,” Nenshi said.
The mayor warned the “tough decisions” regarding service levels and taxes will start immediately after the budget is passed, as city hall sets its sights on the next four-year budget cycle.