Four new faces have joined Calgary city council following Monday’s 2017 municipal election.
All four new councillors elected ran in wards with no incumbent.
In Ward 3, left empty by former councillor Jim Stevenson, Jyoti Gondek was the winner.
LISTEN: Danielle Smith speaks with Ward 3 councillor-elect Jyoti Gondek
Ward 6 was left empty by former councillor Richard Pootmans and saw Jeff Davison win.
In Ward 11, left empty by former councillor Brian Pincott, Jeromy Farkas was elected.
LISTEN: Danielle Smith speaks with Ward 11 councillor-elect Jeromy Farkas
Following a change in ward boundaries, former Ward 5 councillor Ray Jones ran in Ward 10, which was previously held by mayoral hopeful Andre Chabot. Jones won in Ward 10, and newcomer George Chahal took Jones’ former seat in Ward 5.
Every city councillor who ran for re-election was voted in, including Ward Sutherland in Ward 1, Joe Magliocca in Ward 2, Sean Chu in Ward 4, Druh Farrell in Ward 7, Evan Woolley in Ward 8, Gian-Carlo Carra in Ward 9, Ray Jones in Ward 10, Shane Keating in Ward 12, Diane Colley-Urquhart in Ward 13 and Peter Demong in Ward 14.
WATCH: Mount Royal University professor of of policy studies Lori Williams joins Global Calgary to discuss what we can expect from our newly elected city council.
Speaking to Global Calgary on Tuesday, Mount Royal University political analyst Lori Williams pointed out that many of the incumbents are returning with less than 50 per cent of the vote.
“In other words, more people voted against them than for them – it’s just the vote against them was split.”
“They’ve got to go back to constituents, they’ve got to try to connect, they’ve got to try to generate a little more support,” she said. “Otherwise, next time around they’re going to be in bigger trouble.”
“One of the key issues, I think, was the functioning of council – and they’re going to have to find a way to work together a little bit better.
“They’re going to have to try to set aside a way to set aside their grudges, their differences, their disagreements, and do different – do better.”
Williams added that the task now for the four new councillors is the steep learning curve they face.
“Their big challenge now is just going to be learning how to do their jobs.”
Click here for Calgary councillor candidate results broken down by wards
Click here to find results from Alberta municipalities outside Calgary
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