BREAKING: Former Calgary councillor, Jeff Davison, announces candidacy for mayor; promises property tax freeze

Jeff Davison FileWS Files

Western Standard: Myke Thomas , Published on:  10 Oct 2024, 12:42 pm

The first hat has been thrown into the ring for the mayor’s chair next year by Jeff Davison, who served on Calgary City Council as Ward 6 councillor from 2017 to 2021 and was a candidate for mayor in 2021.

Davison made the announced at a press conference on Thursday. 

He said he will prioritize three key issues in Calgary: affordability; infrastructure and; public safety and will also campaign on freezing property taxes. 

“We’re going to cut waste, prioritize smart investments and freeze property taxes at 2025 levels for four years to address affordability in our city,” said Davison.  

In his opening remarks, Davison said the press conference was his way of reintroducing himself. 

“I think part of it is just a reintroduction to Calgarians and say, I’m out here and I’m listening,” he said, adding he intends on going on a ‘listening tour’ to hear more about how Calgarians see the city growing and thriving in the next four years.  

He said the current council has lost the trust of Calgarians to govern effectively and due to a fractured council on important matters. 

“Calgarians have said they’ve had it with this city council. They have the worst approval rating in history. They’re mad at the horrible decisions they make, and they’re mad about their inability to work together,” said Davison.  

“Citizens don’t have trust in city council, I think they have become an elitist and entitled group of individuals and people are looking for a change.” 

He added from Day One of this council, it is best known for its missteps, rather than making good decisions, pointing to Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s declaration of a climate emergency, destroying the original arena deal, and more recently the single-use items bylaw, citywide blanket zoning and now the Green Line. 

In regard to the Green Line, he said as mayor, he would get a deal done, adding the original deal included 17 recommendations that were promised to Calgarians years ago. 

“It’s like everybody forgets that Mayor Gondek was actually the vice-chair of this committee when she was elected mayor, and then it’s like she took the recommendations and threw them out the door,” Davison said. “Get back to the recommendations. It’s what you promised Calgarians you would build.” 

In terms of his four-year property tax freeze at 2025 levels, Davison said his plan is to cut spending waste and better manage the infrastructure needs of Calgarians, an example being planning budgets, which he said have tripled over the past three years. 

He said making the four-year tax freeze a reality with the eight votes required to pass the law is a matter of leadership. 

“I think the challenge we have right now is that there isn’t any,” he said, adding having been “on the inside” as a councillor means he knows where trims to budgets can be made 

“When you consider it, having been on the inside and now on the outside, you know where to look,” he said. “You’ve got the experience to say, I think we can do better, because we did do better.” 

“We have an action plan for today and a vision for tomorrow, and we’re focused on getting back to the basics, which is why I’m prioritizing three key areas, affordability, public safety and infrastructure,” he said. 

“It’s really about not worrying about which party is with who or what side of the line somebody might be on. It’s about coming together as a city council to do the right thing for Calgarians, and I don’t believe we’re getting that right now.” 

The next Calgary civic election is October 20, 2025