Former Calgary councillor jumps into race for mayor's chair, promising 4-year tax freeze

Former city councillor Jeff Davison says he's taking another shot at becoming Calgary's next mayor, promising to introduce a four-year tax freeze if elected. 

The next municipal general election is scheduled for Oct. 20, 2025.

Davison said Thursday he believed there were multiple ways to introduce a four-year tax freeze. He said that firstly, it would involve cutting waste.

"When you start to think about planning department budgets, for instance, that have tripled over the last three years, and it's taking three times as long to get development permits through. That's one example where we're spending money that we're not getting a return on," Davison said.

Such a promise would require the support of council, something Davison said he believed he could secure through leadership.

Calgarians haven't seen their city council hold the line on the municipal mill rate in years. The last time the city experienced consecutive freezes was between 1994 and 1997, when Al Duerr was mayor.

Canadians generally love the idea of paying less in taxes, said Jack Lucas, an associate professor of political science at the University of Calgary. That makes promises about tax cuts and tax freezes appealing, he said.

But public opinion data in Calgary also shows that Calgarians want good municipal services, Lucas said.

"If these kinds of policies come at the cost of the services that Calgarians care about — the quality of the roads, the accessibility of public transit, the quality of parks and recreation amenities, and so forth — then the appeal, I think, declines," he said. 

"I think that'll be the challenge, to articulate how it's possible to do that sort of financial or fiscal commitment without compromising the other things that voters want."

Davison's plan for a four-year tax freeze received some skepticism from Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot. 

Chabot, who is regarded as fiscal conservative on council, said tax growth is necessary to meet the infrastructure demands of a city with a population that's expected to keep on climbing.

"I'm not sure how it is that he thinks we'll be able to accommodate all of those people without the tax increase, not even mentioning inflation," said Chabot, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2017.

"It's easy to make promises when you're running for office, and you can even claim that you tried to implement those policies once you get elected. But the fact of the matter is, a mayor or any member of council cannot independently implement anything."

Coun. Kourtney Penner, who represents Ward 11, also expressed doubt over the tax pledge. 

Penner said that when municipal taxes don't keep up with inflation or demand, quality falls and services are cut. 

"There were a number of years of relatively low or no tax increases, there were service cuts … pavement quality went down, and we are now having to catch up and pay for that, and Calgarians are noticing the bad roads," Penner said. 

Second run for mayor's chair

Davison was first elected to council in 2017. He left his seat to run for mayor in 2021, coming in third with 13 per cent of the vote, behind the winner, Jyoti Gondek, who took about 45 per cent.

The former Ward 6 representative's background includes time in the energy, tech and creative industries. While on council, he led the city negotiations on the previous arena deal with the Calgary Flames, which died in late December 2021 when the Flames owners walked away from a funding agreement with the city.

Since leaving council, Davison has spent time as CEO of the Prostate Cancer Centre.

Speaking to reporters at Scotsman's Hill on Thursday, Davison said he thought Calgarians have had enough of the current city council.

"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," Davison said.

"And so I think to myself, well, that requires a plan for today, that's actionable and that requires a vision for tomorrow. Both things, I think I bring a wealth of experience in doing."

Blanket rezoning

Davison also said he would "immediately" roll back Calgary's blanket rezoning bylaw, which was passed by city council earlier this year. When asked what the alternative to blanket rezoning would be to build density in established areas, he said that would not be solved by "building one house at a time."

"Part of getting Green Line back on track is being able to build the density and the ridership along the line, in conjunction with building the line," he said.

Candidates for Calgary's next municipal election — for mayor, councillor and public or separate school board trustee — must wait until next year to file nomination papers. The window will be open from Jan. 2 to Sept. 22, 2025. 

Next year's civic election will be the first to allow for municipal political parties, a change advanced by the provincial government in April. Davison said he's not closing the door to the party system should it align with his agenda.

The first party that emerged was A Better Calgary, which referred to itself as a centre-right party intending to put forward a field of candidates that it said would be focused on accountability and "common sense." 

Rest of field still to be determined

Candidates may see an advantage in jumping into the race at this early stage, especially if Mayor Gondek doesn't choose to run for re-election, according to Lori Williams, a Mount Royal University political science professor.

"They're seeing that there is the likelihood of either an open seat or a very competitive race. The sooner you get your name and ideas out there, the better position you're likely to be in," Williams said.

Gondek hasn't yet said whether she's planning to seek re-election in 2025. Polling conducted by Maru Public Opinion for CityNews in late September suggested she could face an uphill battle in 2025.

When asked if it was time to change their mayor if an election were held tomorrow, 69 per cent of Calgary respondents said it was time for a change, 18 per cent said Gondek deserved re-election and 13 per cent said they didn't know. 

That was the lowest figure registered in the poll, with 25 per cent saying Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim deserved re-election, 26 per cent saying the same for Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, and 36 per cent who supported Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. 

Forty-one per cent of respondents, however, said Gondek was doing a good job, compared to 59 per cent who said she was doing a bad job.

Former city councillor Jeromy Farkas has yet to confirm whether he'll make another bid at the mayor's chair. The former Ward 11 rep ran last time and got about 30 per cent of the vote — nearly 60,000 fewer votes than Gondek.

The last mayoral race in 2021 was a crowded field with dozens of candidates vying to replace the departing Naheed Nenshi, who had served as mayor since 2010.