Mayoral candidate Jyoti Gondek shares her journey from being a councilor up to her plans of becoming a mayor. She ran for councilor last 2017 and takes an holistic approach to her campaign where all people can participate as well as creating a deeper sense of camaraderie amongst different councilors. Contact with Jyoti here: Website: jyotigondek.ca Twitter: @jyotigondek Connect with Bryon here: www.thehowardteam.net https://www.facebook.com/thehowardteamcalgary https://www.instagram.com/calgary_living/ Email: bryon@thehoeardteam.net Phone: 403-589-0004
Hey everyone. My name is Brian Howard. I'm a Calgary realtor who has sold an average of a house a week since moving to this great city in 2003. And this is Calgary living real estate and lifestyle. I'm interviewing Calgary's top performers as it relates to living and lifestyle in our great city. Some of the podcasts will be real estate decisions specific, but most will be about life in Calgary and why we choose to live here or at least why you should.
Thanks for tuning in.
Hello folks. Welcome to another edition of living in Calgary today on the show. I have the great honor of having, I forgot to pronounce your name correctly, Jodi. Got it. Did I get it right? Yeah. So close. Perfect. Well, thanks so much for being on the show. Mural candidate. Uh, jokey. I am so impressed with folks like yourself who will stand up and say, Hey.
I want to leave the city. Tell me a little bit about that, Jodie, your, um, I've spoken with a number of mural candidates, just two or three so far. And, um, and you're the first that I've spoke to who is already very involved in city politics and, and you are already a counselor. Tell us a little bit about your experience in sort of standing up and being a leader in our city already and why you want to go to that next level of being.
You know what, it's a really good question. And I have to say in 2017, when I ran for ward three counselor, um, it was a decision that I did not make lightly. I kind of looked back at all of the things I had been doing in the past decade. And I realized that I had been trying to influence change in city building from the outside.
So I was on my local community association board. I was on my rec center board. I was a volunteer planning commissioner for four years. So I did all of these things from the edges. And at that time I thought I'm going to try to get a seat at the table. And with the support of ward three voters, I've been incredibly proud.
To serve those communities. For four years, we have had some really big wins, like infrastructure funding for our rec center. And we've had some small wins like marked pedestrian crossings with rapid flash beacons that everything that we've managed to gain in our community has been through the commitment of the people who live here and being able to represent them is just, it's so rewarding and fulfilling.
So when I took a step back in December of last year and thought about what I want to do next. I realized that I still had this desire to do public service in the greater good of, of Calgary. And, um, I thought there are some pretty big things that need to happen. We need to manage our finances differently.
Our budgeting process needs to change. And frankly, the systems within the city need to become more modernized and we need to enable administration to try new things. So there's heavy work that needs to be done. And I was up for the task and that's why I decided I'm going to try taking on this leadership.
That's interesting. Well, thank you for sharing that. Um, I explained you slightly before we sort of hit recording the podcast a little bit, but you know, he can not to be very political and, um, although, uh, was very involved in student politics in high school all along time ago, early eighties, we're talking, um, and sort of chosen not to be, uh, you know, gonna go down that road.
Um, sort of at this point in my life. So I find it interesting to have my perspective. So I'm, I'm sort of coming from a, you know, I don't know, in terms of our listeners, I assume my listeners are more like me. Um, as opposed to like you or others that are strongly, uh, you know, swayed politically, like as, as we enter this vote, uh, coming into October, I find it almost entertaining at how someone like myself can actually choose a leader.
I mean, I, to be honest, um, I haven't told a lot of people this, like I frequently don't vote because I don't, um, I don't, uh, I don't feel like I generally do my research and like, how would I know? And, uh, I mean, you guys, in my perspective are tend to all be the same anyway, which has. As I do this podcasting, this interviewing this process that I've embarked on is simply not true.
You're all very different with different platforms. Um, war three, what is war three? And how does like a voter, or I guess really is a Calgarian, um, know which vote they are in and I guess why do they care? I mean, I, I know I should, I should know the answer to both those questions. Can you tell us a little bit about words?
And, um, and why, uh, where, what did encompasses worth three and how does it Calgary and find out what word there is? Yeah, for sure. You know what? I love what you're asking here, because I don't think people are much different than you. I think people need a reason to vote and, um, people like to have, um, a sense of purpose when they're voting.
And so if candidates are not compelling enough for people to come out and vote, that's on us, we need to make sure that we're, um, giving you a reasons to vote for us and to vote in an election. So Calibri has 14. And those words are all over the city. Ward three is north central, um, or three has always existed, but in its current format, it's only been in existence for four years.
So it encompasses everything west of the Deerfoot. So the four Hills communities of country harvest Panorama and Coventry. Um, did I say harvest Hills too? Yeah. So the four Hills Livingston and Carrington, and then hidden valley. Or three, we'll be picking up sandstone and MacEwan after October 18th. So it's north central Calgary and you can go on to the city of Calgary website and see which word you are in.
You can look at a map, it'll identify which community and which ward. It's also easy with Google. You can just type in the name of your community and then type in the word ward in Calgary. Then it'll bring it up for you. So that's like I can get educated on where you are and who your options. But to your bigger question about why would I vote as an average?
Calgarian I think we're in a very interesting position in our city right now. I think we've seen that our general tendency to attach our reputation to the reputation of our province has been good for us in the past. But I think if we're going to move forward, we need to make sure that as a city, we are standing up and talking about who we are right now.
We are incredibly well positioned to say we are the center of excellence for the transition. We understand oil and gas had its heyday. We understand that we did well in a carbon-based economy. We now understand the unintended consequences. We are ready to transition into something more sustainable.
That's what every global energy company is saying. I want them to hear that from us. So that they put their headquarters here. So I think Calgary's got an important opportunity to identify who we are and establish our own reputation. And I would like Calgarians to get behind that and really come out and vote for leaders that show you what a progressive future looks.
I love it. Thank you so much for sharing that. Um, tell me a little bit about yourself, Jody. Where are you? I, I assume you live in ward three. Is that a fair question? How long have you been in Calgary? What, tell us a little about your family. What do you love about Calgary? Oh, my goodness. Um, you know what? I came to Calgary in 1997.
Um, I'm originally from Manitoba. I had little stint for a year in Wainwright where my husband was, uh, doing some work with the military base there. And I decided to apply for a job at credit union central. I was fortunate enough to, um, do some marketing and strategic planning with that organization. For a few years, I worked for Greyhound Canada for a number of years, and then I started my own consulting company called tick, as in what makes you tick?
And for 12 years, I've worked with a lot of different companies in the city, and I built strategies for them that would allow them to be more collaborative with their stakeholders, uh, particularly the land development and building indices. I found that when they were building communities, they were at odds with the regulator, which was the city of Calgary.
And so I tried to do work that allowed both sides to see that the ultimate goal is to serve the citizens. So if you're going to build great communities, you need to work together and not continually be fighting with each other. So it's that kind of work and, you know, volunteer experience. Um, in my community that led me to run as I've mentioned, but yeah, I've been up in ward three since, um, the end of 97 in Coventry Hills.
And then in Panorama Hills, um, I have got a 16 year old kiddo. I've got a two-year-old dog, I've got a husband. Uh, we just celebrated our silver Jubilee. Um, my 35 years maybe. Twenty-five yeah, I tend to go for 35, but my mom also lives in our house with us. We have a multi-generational family, so I'm really able to view the city and our lives in the city from three different perspectives.
You know, that of someone who's sort of sandwiched generation. I see how our city is sometimes accessible and, and other times isolating for my mom. And I see how a 16 year old can have incredible independence at times. But we also restrict the areas of the city that our kids can get to. So I bring that holistic frame to the decision making then.
Interesting. Um, I'm curious again in sort of looking back at like the wards and councilors and like, as I've been sort of paying attention slightly, um, I understand that there's a little bit, or is it, is it, is it true? Is there inviting amongst counselors? Like how important it is for the mayor? To get along with the counselors and like, in terms of the leadership of the mayor and like, how does one be like influential as a leader or the mayor to make, like, do you know what I'm getting at?
Like how important is the mirror position at? Um, I guess massaging and loving every, all the counselors loving on the mirror. Is that, is that a fair question or. It's a really good question. Actually, it's an interesting one. And let me give you the technical component first. So the position of mayor is actually the chief elected officer of the city.
So in every municipality you have the chief elected officer and you know, for ours, it's the mayor. And then you have 14 members of council. So that's the technical side of things. And that's also why the mayor is sometimes, you know, the, the official representative of the city, because you are the chief elected office and does everybody in the city that they get to vote, vote for a counselor in their ward, plus a mirror.
And plus maybe a school trustee, is that a school board trustee. And I'm glad you brought that up because that's really, really important in the selection. Um, I thought so too, that was like the one position I actually sort of perceived as being really important over these years. Sorry. No, no, no, that's good.
Um, I think the thing that happens sometimes is we get excited about choosing a mentor and a counselor, and we forget about school board trustee. People need to realize that these are the folks that are in charge of our kids' education. So you need to do research on all three of those and, you know, to your question about how important is it for the mayor to get along with everyone?
I think the most important thing to American do is build a sense of team, a sense of camaraderie, and to allow the differences between counseling. To exist in a respectful manner. So I don't think there's anything wrong with people having different opinions and perspectives because your experiences in life shape who you are and how you feel about things.
But the most important thing that the American do is, you know, chair, a meeting that is respectful, um, and civil in its tone. And to really have the relationships with members of council that allow you to say, okay, I can see all three of your ideas are interesting. What if we tried it this way? And then you could all get what you needed to some degree.
I think those are the kinds of conversations that the mayor needs to have to make sure that people feel that they've been heard and that you're able to collaborate on getting the best possible result for Calgary. And, um, and then again, sort of like the war differences in the mirror, uh, how was it like in terms of a nice counsel or a nice group of, you know, city leaders?
I mean, I personally think of myself as Calgarian. I don't necessarily think of myself as, um, you know, I'm the guy that lives in the community I live in. Um, I really do feel myself a Calgarian, um, and I love it. All the quadrants of Calgary. And I think that the diversity in the city is awesome. I love the BeltLine.
I love the, you know, the far Northeast, the in, in, in, in Southeast, like I love it all. And so is it like, as, as a ward counselor, are you like just fighting for your ward? Are you, are you, is there a bigger picture I'm here as a Calgarian I curious on that and, and the existing council, I suppose every council could be different depending on the year and maybe the mirror is that.
You know what every council is different simply because, you know, there's, there's different people with different, different experiences and there's different things going on in the city. Um, from my own personal experience, um, people are not so caught up in their ward that they forget about the rest of the city.
Right. And I think we've had a council. Yeah. We've had a council. That's very understanding of what's needed. And the green line is a wonderful example of that. Um, north central Calgary communities and Southern Calgary communities needed this infrastructure. And council banded together on a 14 to one decision to move that project forward.
Um, so I would say it's, it's a balance. Um, you have to have everyone's best interest at heart, but sometimes you do have to fight for your ward in my ward. For example, there was times when we were, um, overlooked for infrastructure funding in the past. So I had to make sure that I kept our needs as a priority throughout the city.
Um, but there are times that I've, you know, gone to bat for established communities. I mean, I remember finding, um, a $30 million, uh, pool of money that we established as a seed. To ensure that established communities are getting public realm improvements when they go through redevelopment. So like I'm happy to help where it's needed, because like you, I enjoy all parts of the city and I make sure I get out to all the different neighborhoods and see what's needed and understand from folks like you, what it is you're looking for.
Neat. Um, in the, uh, your, your, how many, uh, the mayor candidates are actually, um, coming from the experience of you at like an existing counselor. Is there just a couple, um, there are three of us who are existing counselors. Um, there are 22 people in the race. Everybody's got a different background. Um, nobody's got, nobody's got my background.
Um, you know, we're all very different. I find it interesting. I would think that like the counselor experience, would it be a huge asset? You kind of have the knowledge of the current inner workings of the city. Like for me to run for mayor, which I actually understand, I can, I mean, I guess anyone can is what I'm finding.
You can, you can until September 20th, get your name in. No, thank you. So, um, but, um, that's a, you know, that's curious to me that like, uh, well, I would think that, you know, the experience that you have would be a great, yeah. To you and the city and then, you know, us as people, um, just about on that, um, let's, uh, sort of, um, rapid fire question without going down the road too far and maybe to get things started.
Can you name the three communities in each of the quadrants? Let's start with Northwest. Just anything. Tuscany Barlow Rocky Ridge is a fun, fun game. How about the Northeast? Oh, in the Northeast there's Falcon Ridge, castle, Ridge Skyview, uh, Southeast. I'm trying to like do the map in my head. You've got, um, Uh, Auburn bay, mahogany, Seton, um, and Southwest south.
This has a time. So you've got, um, Oakridge, you've got lake view. Uh, you have got a doll. All of the ones on the west side, like west Hills and all of those, you've done that to do the math in my head. It's a little challenging. My listeners suggested that, that question and she's very political actually. So, uh, or has been an, is, is that's her mojo.
And so she has to step aside a little bit to, uh, the, to knock, you know, to think of her priorities in life. Um, meaning, you know, Her own self and family kind of thing, as opposed to like bench, you know, um, beating flags or her, her current passions. Um, how about, um, another listener asked the question about, um, you know, I said like, if you were, what would you, what would, what, what would you want to know about your mirror?
Um, what's your thoughts on bike lanes? I think bike lanes when we call them that become a very divisive topic for people. I think what we need to step back and think about is what is a road supposed to be used for? And I think we spent a long time making sure that our road infrastructure moves vehicles quickly and efficiently.
I think we forgot about the fact that people also walk. And so we need a strong pedestrian experience and people also. Um, so if we are not creating the type of roadway that accommodates all of those things, we are not going to be a future focused city. So instead of, um, you know, having that oppositional stance of pro or anti bike lane, I would say our mobility corridors need to be better.
We need to have room for bus, rapid transit on there as well. So we need to accommodate all types of ways that people move on. Nice. And what about, um, the current sort of art infrastructure project? Um, the, um, as a counselor, I think that you might be more aware of this sort of question then maybe others that have not been counselor experienced.
Um, do you have any, uh, and th the, the, the, the, the viewer or the listener who, uh, asked me to ask about this question, you know, there, there there's was more about a ramp. In that I think Calgary has a mandate to, uh, you know, support international artists in our public art spaces. And his thoughts were that there's enough artists in Calgary that could do the work and, um, and, uh, and, and receive the income.
Um, And I think it all in the hearts of Calgary and it sort of comes from, and the awareness around the blue ring. Right. Um, and it seems quite a note. It seems like, you know, a bit of an insult a little bit in the face of Calgary. Every time we drive to the airport, at least that's, to me, it's a little bit of a joke and a little bit of a pain point, depending on how prosperous I am personally feeling.
What's interesting about the blue ring, which is, you know, traveling light is the actual name, but it's in my word. And I remember it went up and I went, what is this now? Um, there was like no engagement with the public. It was very random. And I think we learned a lot of lessons about the public art program and why.
Only fixate public art on the infrastructure that helped fund it. You don't always get the best result. Now, traveling light is interesting. Cause some people love it. Some people hate it, but it's there. The other example I can give you in my word is we've got the world's longest, um, along one of our fences and Coventry Hills.
That project was started by the community. The artists that participated in it engaged with community community was able to come out and sort of do a paint by numbers, scheme on it. Um, people love it because it it's us. It represents us. We were actually asked, what would you like to see in this art project?
And so I think the transformation of the public art program now where it's being managed with Calgary arts development authority, is that. We have now got experts in the arts saying this is how we best engage with Calgarians. When we bring the public art program to bear and it's not excluding local talent, the international component is something we need to consider.
When we put the call out, we can't dismiss international artists. Definitely about making sure that local talent gets highlighted as well. So the public art program that's funded from infrastructure dollars is a very specific thing, but we've also done some really cool things. Like, you know, those wraps around utility boxes.
Yeah. Those are local artists. So, you know, we're trying our best to make sure that people have a chance to have their work profile. And personally, I love the art that I see in Calgary and feel like, I feel like it's, you've done a good job as the city and the public. Do you know how, uh, you know, maybe our current council feels about our project.
What's the general feeling of it. That, what did you call the program? Is it public art start programs? So this council actually, like we changed the way that the public art program works and we took it out of administration and are working with the third party to make sure we do the best possible job for Calgarians when it comes to public art.
But I think. The really interesting thing is in 2018, this council determined that we needed to bolster funding for the creative sector, because it wasn't important to economic driver. It was something that, um, you know, helps, uh, newcomers. It helps students, um, the brain development opportunities available to our young people because we have a strong creative sector is just amazing.
So we bolstered our funding. Of arts and the creative sector by 70% in the four year budget that followed and we've maintained that commitment. So I think this council has done some really good work around. I tend to agree. Um, do you think, uh, as, uh, like personally army on a scale of one to 10, how's 10 being awesome.
How, how good is the public art funded program right now? Uh, you know what I think we will get to a 10. I don't think we're there yet. I think in the years that we did not engage properly. And in the years that we did not involve, um, experts properly, we were not performing well. And I think we need to own that and say, we have now found a way to get better and now the proof will be in the delivery of it.
It's the first day that you have just been elected by the people as the mirror, who are some of your first calls that day or meetings. Oh, my goodness. Um, the other 14 winners, like hands down, calling everybody else that one and congratulating them and letting them know that I'm interested in hearing why they ran, um, what they hope to accomplish and what can I do to help them?
What role can I play in their success for their award and the success of our city. So those would be the first. Um, I can tell you from experience in 2017, the phone will be ringing off the hook with media and friends and family. So I think I will have limited opportunity to make calls. I'll be answering a lot of calls.
Very good. Um, do, um, I guess in terms of, uh, sort of last questions, Jyoti, um, do you have an app? I like to sort of combine a bit of a question. Do you have an ask of our listeners? Um, and then, um, If you had a billboard, maybe it's part of your ask. What would the billboard say? A billboard somewhere on some great street in Calgary?
Uh, you know, my ask of listeners is this it's, it's pretty simple. Um, there are many ways to research who's right. Why they're running. And there are many ways to engage with us. I mean, I've spent the last seven months doing zoom calls like this with all kinds of people, we're calling them coffee parties.
Anybody can book them through the website. And I have, um, had anywhere from two to five of these every day. So I'm talking to, you know, like between five and a hundred Calgarians everyday to find out what's important to them. So you need to choose candidates who are willing to engage with you and answer your questions.
So please do your research. As you mentioned, it's a mayoral candidate. It is a council candidate and a school board trustee that you will be voting for. So make sure that you understand what they represent and that your values align. And, you know, in terms of the billboard, the big thing you have to do, I mean, like it's politics, it's gotta be your name and it's gotta be for mayor.
Um, and I'm not a big believer in slogans, I think slogans and catchphrases and jingles just sort of. No, it's kitschy. It's catchy slogans. They're just slogans. I mean, it's, um, it's a lot more complicated of a job than a slogan. So I think it's important to know who's running and that's what you need to put on the billboard and then everything else you need to know about me.
I'm happy to chat. You can look at the website. I have done a ton of podcasts. You can get to know your candidates. Very, very. Great. And the best way to reach out to you. Jodi, you go to the website, that's the easiest way. Um, anybody that's on social media platforms and pretty active there, you can find out what's going on and see what the team is up to on any given day.
We just did a couple of fun events. This weekend bark mitzvah was one of my favorite ones. Um, we did a mailer at Prairie winds park next week. We're going to be doing some cool stuff too. So yeah. Gum gum. It's incredibly busy for you and all the candidates, uh, you know, and how you, how you'd run these campaigns and find it interesting.
Jodie, I want to thank you very much for being on the show. And I actually want to personally thank you for standing up for our city and like, you know, I am so inspired by people like yourself, who. Well stand up and say, I feel I can do better, or I can, you know, I can do good. I can leave my mark. And, uh, it's a true honor to sit and meet with you today.
And I will look forward to following and watching and participating. I have to say, thank you like this opportunity. It was wonderful. Um, it's when Calgarians, like you are interested in engaging that we can get the message out. So thank you for showing an interest and I appreciate your time today with you all the best.