If the amount raised for Mayor Nenshi’s legal bills is any indication of the level of support he has in the city, things aren’t looking good for him in the election slated for October of this year.
Nenshi racked up $300K in legal fees after Calgary based home builder and businessman Cal Wenzel filed a defamation suit against the mayor in 2013. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2015, but the hefty bill still remains.
Council paid the bill but agreed the Mayor should repay it so a few of Nenshi’s pals got together to try to raise the funds and have so far reached around $200K.
The latest is that Nenshi’s fundraising campaign has been accepting money from outside of Calgary and even outside of Alberta.
Jeromy Farkas, who is running for Calgary Council in the upcoming election, claims that municipal candidates are prohibited by law from taking cash from outside of the province.
But, it seems special rules are being made for the mayor, and there’s more as I explain in my video, all of which could be a reflection of his sinking favourability ratings.
According to a Mainstreet Research poll from April, Nenshi’s approval ratings are down from 65% in January to 52% in April, a very significant decrease in just a few short months.
People don’t forget about lost jobs or how poorly City Council handled spending with increases in property taxes and other poor policy measures that resulted in businesses closing their doors.
Citizens won’t forget about the millions of dollars wasted on fancy renovations for City Hall bureaucrats, while unemployment numbers skyrocketed during the economic downturn.
This fundraiser is yet another indication of Nenshi’s sense of entitlement and another demonstration that he plays by his own special set of rules.
Andrew Stephenson if oil prices are the problem then why do they only affect certain places? And how did Ralph pay off debt with them so low? "
Ralph did it because he had the advantage of a province that still had a tax base. Over the years Alberta became VERY reliant on resource royalties.
What place is unaffected by oil prices? All three of Sask, Alberta, and Newfoundland are in pretty dire circumstances, with two of three in the midst of aggressive austerity programs needed to stave off bankruptcy.
“Most people are smart enough to know the Mayor of Calgary doesn’t’ control oil prices.”
They are smart enough to know that and they are also smart enough to know he does control spending. Especially while people are losing their jobs.
Fundraising is a consequence of the economic circumstances of the last three years. Most people are smart enough to know the Mayor of Calgary doesn’t’ control oil prices.
Keep digging Holly!