Jeromy Farkas
Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian politician who was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election, and a candidate for mayor in Calgary's 2021 municipal election.[1] From 2017 to 2021 he represented Ward 11 on council, 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.
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 |
| Residence(s) | Calgary, Alberta |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary |
| Website | Official website |
Farkas ran in the 2021 municipal election on October 18, 2021,[1] losing to Jyoti Gondek.[2]
Early life and education
Farkas was born and raised in the southeast Calgarian neighbourhood of Dover. His parents had left communist Hungary in 1956 and settled in Calgary.[3]
After graduating from Calgary's Bishop Carroll High School, Farkas attended classes at the University of Calgary and received his bachelor of arts in political science. Prior to being elected, Jeromy attended the University of Calgary for eight years and worked in the Israel Studies Program. Building on his experience as a Research Team Lead in medicine, Jeromy developed a small business focused on finance and data analysis.[4]
Manning Foundation
Prior to declaring his candidacy for Ward 11, Farkas worked as a senior fellow specializing in municipal governance at the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education from February 2013 to January 2016. He was the project lead for the Council Tracker project, and published a report in September 2013 called "Growing the Democratic Toolbox: City Council Vote Tracking" where he studied City of Calgary Council meetings from fall 2010 to April 2013, specifically examining 73 votes during that period to understand how council worked, look at voting blocs, time spent in-camera (deliberations that are not open to the public), among other issues.[5][6] He continued the project and established the website Counciltracker.com to track Calgary council activities, which he maintained until he left the Manning Foundation to run for Ward 11.
Farkas is a former Calgary Herald columnist writing about local issues, particularly city council.
Provincial and federal politics
Formerly president of the Wildrose Party's constituency association in Calgary-Elbow,[7] Farkas identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and social liberal.[8] 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.[8] He is openly bisexual, which made him Calgary's first openly LGBTQ male city councillor,[9] and played a key role in pushing the Wildrose Party to adopt a more progressive position on LGBTQ issues.[7]
Calgary City Council
On his first day serving as the councillor for Ward 11, Farkas declined the pension that the mayor and councillors receive. He also declined the transition allowance afforded to him. The Canadian Taxpayer's Federation estimates that if he serves three terms and lives to age eighty-five, these rejected entitlements will save Calgarian taxpayers more than $1.1 million.[10][unreliable source?] He also vowed to oppose the city's new southwest bus rapid transit line.[11]
Throughout his term, Farkas has held monthly town hall events during which he answers questions from his constituents off the cuff. When the COVID-19 pandemic rendered such events unsafe, he compensated by hosting weekly Facebook Live sessions.[3]
In December 2017, his proposal for the city to provide additional compensation to residents of the Midfield trailer park, which is being closed due to poor site design that makes it impossible for the city to repair the neighbourhood's failing water and sewer lines without tearing down the homes, failed to advance after Farkas was unable to find a councillor willing to second the motion.[12]
In early 2018, he faced some criticism for being the sole councillor to vote against a motion directing city staff to draft a new parental leave policy for city councillors, on the grounds that taking time away from city council business would be a betrayal of the constituents.[13]
In December 2018, Farkas was kicked out of a council meeting for a Facebook post that claimed that Council salaries would increase in 2019. A later investigation by the City's Chief Financial Officer determined that the formula used by Farkas was materially correct.[14] His actions were called "dishonest and irresponsible” by the mayor.[15] Farkas was accused of grandstanding on the issue from numerous councillors because he was not addressing his concerns through council and proper channels, but rather posting to social media.[16]
In May 2020, Farkas was found guilty of breaching the code of conduct by the integrity commissioner for his Facebook posts in 2018.[17] After the integrity commissioner breached his independence by dining socially with at least one City Councilor,[18] Farkas sought a review by the retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major. Justice Major's independent opinion found that Farkas did not, in fact, beach the code.[19][better source needed]
On June 16, 2020, Farkas was the only city councillor to vote against the approval of the Calgary Green Line, advocating instead for localized transit improvements at lower overall financial risk.[20]
In March 2021, a complaint with the integrity commission was lodged against Farkas for advertising in wards outside of his own.[21]
On April 26, 2021, Farkas was the only councillor to vote against the Downtown Revitalization Strategy, a plan intending to bring more mixed use activity to downtown Calgary. Given the absence of any focus on flood mitigation or public safety, he argued that it was incomplete.[22]
Also on April 26, 2021, Farkas was one of three councillors who voted against immediately reserving $200 million for the Downtown Revitalization Strategy. Farkas advocated for more broad based tax relief and incentives, rather than focusing financial benefit to specific developers.[22]
On May 10, 2021, Farkas was one of two councillors who voted against a pilot program allowing alcohol consumption in public parks, on the basis that a convoluted administration system was unnecessary. The motion was passed.[23]
On September 22, 2021, a by-law was proposed for proof of COVID vaccinations for certain types of business. This was intended to support business owners in applying the provincial health measures, and encourage more people to be vaccinated during a state of local emergency. Farkas was the only member of council to vote against this by-law based on the risk of increased public confusion over when and where restrictions would apply. It passed 13-1.[24]
2021 Mayoral Campaign
On September 16, 2020, Farkas announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2021 Calgary municipal election.[1] Farkas' platform included reducing council compensation,[10][non-primary source needed][25] opposition to proposals to defund the Calgary Police Service[26][27] and opposition to tax increases.[28] In the election on October 18, Farkas placed second to Ward 3 councillor Jyoti Gondek.[2]
Electoral record
| 2017 Calgary Municipal Election — Ward 11 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| 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 |
References
- ^ a b c "Coun. Jeromy Farkas launches bid for mayor's seat in 2021 Calgary election | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jyoti Gondek elected as Calgary's first female mayor". CTV News Calgary. CTV News. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Ward 11. "About Councillor Jeromy Farkas". www.calgary.ca. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ Rieger, Sarah (October 9, 2021). "Meet a candidate for mayor: Jeromy Farkas". CBC News. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Fletcher, Robson. . Metro News. Calgary. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015.
- ^ Farkas, Jeromy. "Growing the Democratic Toolbox: City Council Vote Tracking". Manning Centre for Building Democracy – via Scribd.
- ^ a b "Local Wildrose official wants party to become champion of LGBTQ issues". Calgary Herald, June 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "Jeromy Farkas weighs in on why he left the Wildrose constituency to run for Calgary city council". Calgary Journal, December 10, 2016.
- ^ "The power and pitfalls of a diverse council". Metro, October 18, 2017.
- ^ a b "Jeromy supports ending mayor's double pensions". Jeromy Farkas. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Ward 11: Jeromy Farkas vows to stop BRT in its tracks". Calgary Herald. October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Councillor's plans for Midfield Mobile Home Park falls flat". CTV Calgary, December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Calgary councillor criticized for suggesting parental leave would be ‘betrayal’ of constituents". Global Calgary, February 26, 2018.
- ^ Potkins, Meghan (December 20, 2018). "City CFO apologizes for 'confusion' on salary numbers; Farkas says he's 'validated'". Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Heide (December 17, 2018). "Jeromy Farkas kicked out of meeting as Calgary council votes down salary freeze". Global News. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Anderson, Drew (November 21, 2018). "Calgary councillors accuse colleague of grandstanding with pay cut press release". CBC News Calgary.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rieger, Sarah (May 11, 2020). "Calgary councillor refuses to apologize after breaching code of conduct with misleading Facebook post". CBC News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Integrity commissioner disqualifies himself following expensed lunch". CityNews. Calgary: CityTV. February 11, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "Farkas did not breach Code of Conduct, says retired Supreme Court Justice". The National Telegraph. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "City council approves Green Line, with conditions to keep it on budget". Calgary Herald. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Calgary councillor Farrell files complaint with integrity commissioner over Farkas flyer". Global News. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Anderson, Drew (April 26, 2021). "Calgary council approves plan to revamp downtown with $200M initial investment". CBC News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rieger, Sarah (May 10, 2021). "Calgary will test allowing alcohol consumption in city parks this summer". CBC News.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Markus, Jade (September 22, 2021). "Find out which Calgary businesses will require vaccine passports after bylaw OK'd by council".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Smith, Madeline (November 2, 2020). "Council approves 2021 pay freeze, lower cap on transition allowance for 'voluntary' departures". Calgary Herald. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ Villani, Mark (November 2, 2020). "'I would rather be fired': Farkas' police commission tenure ends". Calgary. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Farkas launches petition urging Calgarians to defend our police". Jeromy Farkas. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ Varcoe, Chris (October 14, 2020). "Varcoe: How to sell a 25% tax hike — Calgary's tax shift set to squeeze industrial property owners next year". calgaryherald. Retrieved December 7, 2020.