Calgary’s municipal election is now less than a month away and nine people are vying for your vote for the mayor’s seat. CTV News invited each of the mayoral candidates this year to answer the same three questions in three minutes or less. The video segment is posted in full above, and the answers are transcribed below. Jeromy Farkas is a mayoral candidate running as an independent. Why are you running for mayor? Farkas: “I’m running for mayor because I’m ready to work for Calgarians, to deliver housing we can afford, safe streets for our kids, jobs we can count on and the leadership that we can trust. “I grew up right here in east Calgary and Forest Lawn and Dover. I’ve been so blessed to serve as a Calgary police commissioner, as a city councillor, as a community association volunteer and I’m running as an independent so that I can work for Calgarians and help keep city council practical, pragmatic and focused on the issues that matter most to Calgarians.” What’s the most important issue that needs to be addressed in the city in the next year? Farkas: “My big areas of focus are around safety, around affordability, around jobs, but the only way that we can deliver on that is if we have a mayor and council willing to work together as a team. So, my job on day one is to work together to bring Calgarians -- regardless of political stripes, every single corner of the city, every single councillor -- to pull in the same direction. “My focus, again, is safety, affordability, jobs. But the only way that we can do that is if we work together. Together as a city, as a team, as a council, to be able to get all of that done.” Why should Calgarians vote for you? Farkas: “Calgary’s grown in the past ten years, and so have I. I’m ready. I’ve served as a non-profit director and CEO, as a wilderness first responder, as a community association volunteer, as one of Calgary’s youngest city councillors – and it’s come to this moment. “Calgarians have a choice to make. We can choose to be ready to meet the future growth, as well as the challenges that we have today as far as safety and affordability. “So, I’m very excited to be able to put those skills to work and to genuinely listen to Calgarians and bring together the next mayor and council together as a team so that we can get things done.”
