Thursday was deadline day for signatures to recall Calgary’s mayor to be handed in to the city.
Organizers of the ‘Recall Gondek’ petition had until 4:30 p.m. to get their signed names in to city hall. The city confirmed shortly after the deadline that the petition has been filed.
So what happens now?
The first step, Elections Calgary will count the number of signatures received, and then they will determine whether or not the 40 per cent threshold has been met.
“The City Clerk’s Office will now determine the sufficiency or insufficiency of the recall petition within 45 days of submission,” reads a statement from the city.
The 40 per cent threshold means more than 500,000 signatures are necessary to successfully recall the mayor. If the threshold is met then Jyoti Gondek would be out as mayor and a byelection would be held.
Organizer Landon Johnston told CityNews earlier this week that the petition was falling well short of the required names. In a post on X late Wednesday, Johnston said he had counted 71,000 signatures.
Whether or not the mayor is recalled, the city will release the total number of signatures collected during a special council meeting later this year.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she would consider changes to the province’s recall legislation while on a call with Johnston over the weekend.
Johnston met with Gondek last month in a 15 minute face-to-face meeting that he described as cordial.
The mayor said of the meeting, while Johnston and herself may disagree on politics, they share a “desire to do good things for Calgary.”