Jeromy Farkas | |
---|---|
City of Calgary Councillor | |
In office 2017–2021 | |
Preceded by | Brian Pincott |
Succeeded by | Kourtney Branagan |
Constituency | Ward 11 |
Personal details | |
Born | 1986 Calgary,Alberta,Canada |
Political party | United Conservative Party |
Other political affiliations | Wildrose Party (former) |
Residence(s) | Calgary,Alberta |
Alma mater | University of Calgary |
Website | Official website |
Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian fundraiser, [1] [2] filmmaker, [3] athlete,columnist, [4] [5] and former politician. He was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election to represent Ward 11 for a four-year term. [6]
Farkas is the first and only Calgary City Councillor known to have declined the municipal pension and transition allowance. Following his term,the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation estimated that these rejected entitlements saved Calgarian taxpayers $308,234. [7] [8]
He ran as a candidate for Calgary mayor in the 2021 municipal election on October 18,2021, [6] placing second to Jyoti Gondek. [9]
Farkas was born and raised in the southeast Calgarian neighbourhood of Dover. His father left communist Hungary in 1956 [10] and settled in Calgary. [11]
After graduating from Calgary's Bishop Carroll High School,Farkas achieved a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Calgary,where he worked as the Executive Administrator for the Israel Studies Program and as a Research Team Lead in the Faculty of Medicine. [12]
From 2013 to 2016,Farkas served as a senior fellow specializing in municipal governance at the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education. He was the project lead for the Council Tracker project and website,analyzing data on Council votes to make municipal government more accessible. [13] [14] Farkas expanded the project to other cities throughout Canada,including Toronto,Ottawa,and Hamilton. [15]
In 2015,Farkas' team earned first place in the City of Calgary Hackathon,a three-day contest in programming,business modeling and research to create technology-based solutions to improve the lives of Calgarians. [16] Prior to entering politics,he was a regular Calgary Herald columnist writing about local municipal issues, [17] particularly city council. [18]
Formerly president of the Wildrose Party's constituency association in Calgary-Elbow, [19] Farkas identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and social liberal. [20] He describes his political views as being motivated by an attitude that "you should have the biggest say in how you live your life... chasing,again,the best solutions rather than the ones based in ideology," and has been active in issues such as wildlife conservation and human rights activism. [20] He is openly bisexual,which made him Calgary's first openly LGBTQ male city councillor, [21] and played a key role in pushing the Wildrose Party to adopt a more progressive position on LGBTQ issues. [19]
From 2017 to 2021,Farkas was the Calgary City Councillor for Ward 11,comprising the neighbourhoods of Acadia,Bayview,Bel-Aire,Braeside,Britannia,Cedarbrae,CFB Currie,CFB Lincoln Park PMQ,Chinook Park,Eagle Ridge,Elbow Park (part),Elboya,Haysboro,Kelvin Grove,Kingsland,Lakeview,Lincoln Park,Mayfair,Meadowlark Park,Mission,North Glenmore Park,Oakridge,Palliser,Parkhill/Stanley Park,Pump Hill,Rideau Park,Roxboro,Rutland Park,Southwood,Willow Park and Windsor Park. Prior to his term,Farkas served on the executive for the Palliser,Bay View,Pump Hill community association. [22]
Throughout his term,Farkas held monthly town hall events during which he answered questions from his constituents and supporters. [23] [24] When the COVID-19 pandemic rendered such events unsafe,he compensated by hosting weekly Facebook Live sessions. [25] He engaged in Council debate on issues such as restricting public transit options, [26] the Midfield trailer park's closure, [27] council compensation and parental leave, [28] the Calgary Green Line, [29] the City of Calgary summer student hiring program, [30] business tax relief, [31] public art, [32] council time spent in closed-door meetings, [33] crime and safety, [34] the failed 2026 Calgary Olympic Bid, [35] and the arena deal. [36]
On September 16,2020,Farkas announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2021 Calgary municipal election. [6]
Farkas' ten-point platform included a four-year property tax freeze,support for the Calgary Police Service, [37] [38] reform to the Council pension plan,support for single-family neighbourhood zoning,improvements to traffic-light synchronization,reduction of Council time spent behind closed doors,the construction of a rail connection between the inner-city and Calgary International Airport,improved snow removal,opposition to selling city parks,and reduction of business red tape. [39]
On October 18,2021,Farkas placed second to Ward 3 councillor Jyoti Gondek. [9]
On December 1,2022,Farkas announced that he would not stand as a candidate in the 2023 Alberta general election. In the weeks leading up to the election,he served as a commentator alongside former City Council colleague Naheed Nenshi as part of CBC Calgary's provincial political panel. [40]
On May 17,2023,Farkas denounced a United Conservative Party candidate Jennifer Johnson who compared transgender children in schools to having feces in food, [41] citing such views as "dangerous and unfit for [elected] office." [42]
On March 3,2022,Farkas announced that he was “running again”through a fundraising partnership with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. He set a goal of completing the Pacific Crest Trail in as close to 100 days as possible to raise funds in support of youth mentorship. [43]
On March 12,2022,he began the 4,260-kilometre (2,650 mi) journey with only what he could carry in his backpack,making occasional visits to small towns for food. Within days,he met the $50,000 goal. [44]
Over the next several months,Farkas posted regular social media updates with highlights such as his summit of Mount Whitney,the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. He met and raised fundraising goals twice more,settling on a final target of $125,000. [45]
Farkas completed the "humbling" [46] journey in 168 days,returning home on August 30,2022. He said he was given the nickname “Pathfinder”on the trails because he opted to use paper maps instead of his phone to navigate the trails. [47]
As of January 21,2023,the campaign had raised more than $250,000,becoming the biggest fundraiser in the history of BBBS Calgary. [48]
On January 10,2023,Farkas announced a follow-up fundraiser to scale "25 Peaks in 25 Days" to raise $25,000 in support of The Alex Community Health Centre in Calgary,with the funds directed to mobile healthcare services for marginalized Calgarians and those experiencing homelessness. [49]
Farkas posted regular social media updates through the campaign,and faced a variety of terrain,bitter cold and other weather hazards. Ultimately,he achieved 58,800 feet (17,900 m) of elevation gain and loss –the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level twice –over the course of the 25 peaks. [50]
As of January 30,2023,"Jeromy's Climb for Public Health" had easily surpassed its initial goal,raising more than $43,000. [51]
On June 7,2023,Farkas announced that he was challenging Chief Steve Dongworth to a charity challenge as part of the ninth annual Calgary Fire Department Stairclimb Challenge. He met his fundraising goal of $5,000 in under 24 hours,with proceeds going directly to benefit firefighter support programs and assistance to those battling cancer.
On the event day,Farkas equipped full firefighter duty gear for the 57-floor,1370-step climb up Brookfield Place,the tallest skyscraper in downtown Calgary. [52] He completed the challenge in 17 minutes and 37 seconds,ascending at a rate of more than 3 floors per minute. [53]
On June 9,2024,he competed once again,raising more than $8,000 and completing the challenge in 17 minutes and 21 seconds. [54]
2017 Calgary Municipal Election —Ward 11 | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote | % |
Jeromy Farkas | 13,170 | 38.38 |
Linda Johnson | 7,588 | 22.12 |
Janet Eremenko | 6,890 | 20.08 |
Robert Dickinson | 4,446 | 12.96 |
Keith Simmons | 2,214 | 6.45 |
Total | 34,308 | 100 |
2021 Calgary municipal election - Mayor | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote | % |
Jyoti Gondek | 174,649 | 45.13 |
Jeromy Farkas | 115,742 | 29.91 |
Jeff Davison | 50,279 | 12.99 |
Brad Field | 19,187 | 4.96 |
Jan Damery | 8,836 | 2.28 |
Grace Yan | 2,736 | 0.71 |
Zane Novak | 1,981 | 0.51 |
Dean Hopkins | 1,812 | 0.47 |
Kevin J. Johnston | 1,551 | 0.40 |
Zaheed Ali Khan | 1,245 | 0.32 |
Virginia Stone | 1,155 | 0.30 |
Shaoli Wang | 1,051 | 0.27 |
Ian Chiang | 965 | 0.25 |
Teddy Ogbonna | 857 | 0.22 |
Emile Gabriel | 679 | 0.18 |
Zac Hartley | 575 | 0.15 |
Sunny Singh | 570 | 0.15 |
James Desautels | 527 | 0.14 |
Mizanur Rahman | 448 | 0.12 |
Larry Heather | 428 | 0.11 |
Stan Waciak | 419 | 0.11 |
Paul Michael Hallelujah | 372 | 0.10 |
Adam Roberts | 307 | 0.08 |
Will Vizor | 203 | 0.05 |
Geoff Rainey | 161 | 0.04 |
Randall Kaiser | 133 | 0.03 |
Cory Lanterman | 117 | 0.03 |
David Clark (Withdrawn) | ||
Kent Hehr (Withdrawn) | ||
Grant Prior (Withdrawn) |
Stephen Mandel is a Canadian politician and leader of the Alberta Party from 2018 to 2019. He previously served as an Alberta cabinet minister from 2014 to 2015 and as mayor of Edmonton,Alberta for three terms from 2004 to 2013. Prior to being mayor,he was a councillor for three years.
Bishop Carroll High School is a Canadian Catholic high school that is part of the Calgary Catholic School District in Alberta. The school is named after Francis Patrick Carroll,the Bishop of Calgary from 1935 to 1966. The school welcomes students who are not Catholic but all pupils are expected to complete religious studies courses.
Robert A. "Bob" Russell was a Canadian politician from Alberta. He served as the President of the Alberta Liberal Party,and a municipal councillor in St. Albert,Alberta.
Calgary is the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is the largest metro area within the three prairie provinces. As of 2021,the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806,making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart is a former municipal politician from Calgary,Alberta,Canada. She was a member of Calgary City Council and served as the representative for Ward 13.
Naheed Kurban Nenshi is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party since being elected to the post on June 22,2024. He was the 36th mayor of Calgary,Alberta,serving from 2010 to 2021.
Jason Luan is a former Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Foothills in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He was previously elected in the 2012 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Hawkwood in the 28th Alberta Legislature. Luan served was an associate minister for mental health and then became the minister for community and social services on July 8,2021 in the cabinet of Jason Kenney. Under the premiership of Danielle Smith,he became the minister of culture on October 24,2022.
Ian Donovan is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Little Bow. Donovan was the Agriculture and Rural Development Critic with the Wildrose Official Opposition,until leaving the caucus in November 2014 to sit as a Progressive Conservative. On May 5,2015,Donovan lost his reelection bid to Dave Schneider,of the Wildrose.
Patrick David Stier is a Canadian politician,who is an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta,representing the electoral district of Livingstone-Macleod. He sat with the Official Opposition as a member of the United Conservative Party and was the Municipal Affairs Critic.
Sean Wen-Hsiang Chu is a municipal politician who currently serves as councillor of Ward 4 in Calgary,Alberta. He was elected in the 2013 municipal election.
Prasad Panda is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in a 2015 by-election,replacing former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice,and the 2019 Alberta general elections to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Foothills.
Joe (Biagio) Magliocca is a municipal politician who served as Councillor of Ward 2 in Calgary,Alberta. He was elected in the 2013 municipal election. He lost his seat in the 2021 Calgary municipal election to Jennifer Wyness after receiving approximately 10% of votes.
Richard Pootmans is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the councillor for Ward 6 on the Calgary City Council. Pootmans initially served two terms from 2010 to 2017 before a one-term hiatus during which he co-founded a consultancy. He returned to council following the 2021 municipal election.
Druh Farrell is a municipal politician who formerly served as Councillor for Ward 7 in Calgary,Alberta. She was first elected in 2001.
The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta,Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. When established,the UCP immediately formed the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The UCP won a majority mandate in the 2019 Alberta general election to form the government of Alberta. The party won a renewed majority mandate in the 2023 Alberta general election under the leadership of Danielle Smith.
The 2017 Calgary municipal election was held on October 16,2017,to elect a mayor,councillors to the city council,trustees to the Calgary Board of Education,and trustees to the Calgary Catholic School District.
The Calgary Awards is an award given out annually by the Canadian city of Calgary. It is managed by the official citizen recognition program of Calgary and was established in 1994. It is meant to celebrate contributions done to the community by Calgarians. There are several categories,ranging from "Citizen of the Year","The Award for Accessibility","The Community Achievement Awards","The Environmental Achievement Award","The Signature Award" and the "W.O. Mitchell Book Prize". Recipients are honored at a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Calgary and members of the City Council which is televised Telus.
The 2021 Calgary municipal election was held on October 18,2021,to elect a mayor and fourteen councillors to the Calgary City Council.
Prabhjote Kaur "Jyoti" Gondek is a Canadian politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of Calgary since October 25,2021.