Landon Johnston wins Ward 14
Calgary City Council candidate Landon Johnston has been elected as the new councillor for Ward 14, replacing outgoing councillor Peter Demong.
Calgary City Council candidate Landon Johnston has been elected as the new councillor for Ward 14, replacing outgoing councillor Peter Demong just days after a widely circulated video appeared to show Demong removing one of Johnston’s campaign signs.
While Demong didn’t run for re-election, Johnston called him “Devin Elkin’s boss.” Elkin ran in the riding and finished second.
Johnston secured 9,184 votes, winning by a wide margin over his nearest competitor, Elkin, who received 5,417 votes. Other candidates included Erin Averbukh with 4,192, Ryan Stutt with 3,924, Keener Hachey with 3,667, Chima Akuchie with 1,990 and Sunjiv Raval with 666. All 67 polling stations have reported.
Elkin and Demong came under controversy during a debate, where Hachey accused Demong of providing his city email list to Elkin, which led to a heated exchange at the microphone.
Demong allegedly used his existing email list to endorse Elkin to residents in the ward.
But that wasn’t Demong’s biggest controversy.
True North exposed Demong for taking his neighbour’s election sign supporting Johnston.
Johnston told True North that he had filed a police report, hoping theft and mischief charges would be pursued. Demong has since apologized.
Demong told True North that Johnston came to his house door-knocking the night before he took the sign. He said he thought the sign was on his side of the lawn, which prompted his removal. Demong said when his neighbour asked him where the sign was, he put it back.
“I thought it was on my side of the lawn. I thought Landon was being funny,” he said.
Police initially confirmed to True North that they were investigating, but it’s unclear whether any charges will be pursued.
“I laughed pretty hard, to be honest. That’s a sitting council member going out of his way to take my sign off somebody’s lawn. It’s the perfect ending to what has been a very bad four years for the city of Calgary,” said Johnston.
While Johnston is now Calgary’s councillor for Ward 14, he was previously in the spotlight for his Recall Gondek petition. While his petition did not meet the threshold, it garnered enough attention that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pledged to change the recall legislation to make it more obtainable.
Johnston positioned his campaign around accountability.
“That was my issue with Gondek, my issue with Peter Demong, my issue with this entire city is just that people don’t trust it. My biggest fear is that this is going to be one of the lowest turnouts for voter engagement, and it’s just because people don’t trust anymore,” said Johnston. “I think council going forward has to ensure there’s actual transparency, actual accountability.”
While his Recall Gondek campaign was technically unsuccessful, her loss in this election marked the first time an incumbent mayor was defeated in a re-election bid since 1980, when Ross Alger lost to Ralph Klein.
While Jeromy Farkas was elected as the new mayor of Calgary, Sonya Sharp has requested a recount after she lost by only 585 votes, a margin of 0.16 per cent.
“I am happy to accept the outcome of this review, win or lose, because the final word of our citizens is what matters most in local government,” she said.
The recount will not affect Johnston, who had almost twice as many votes as his nearest competitor.
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