National Post ePaper

Former MP Hehr announces withdrawal from Calgary mayoral race

MADELINE SMITH masmith@postmedia.com

Former Liberal MP Kent Hehr announced Tuesday he would withdraw from Calgary's mayoral race, just hours before the deadline for candidates to change their minds about running.

Elections Calgary released the official list of confirmed mayoral, councillor and school board trustee candidates shortly after noon. Without Hehr, there are still 28 candidates running for mayor — nearly double the number of hopefuls who ran in the last open race for the chair in 2010.

With nine of the 14 councillor seats open in this year's municipal election, many of those races are crowded, too. In total, there are more than 100 people with their eye on a ward seat. A few people jumped into the race at the last minute, filing papers on Monday, the final day that elections officials accepted nominations.

The civic vote will be held in just four weeks, on Oct. 18. This is the most open races at the municipal level in Calgary for decades.

Hehr's decision to step away comes just two weeks after he announced his candidacy. His late entry into the race was viewed negatively by some progressives who felt he might split the support of left-leaning voters.

Hehr similarly announced a mayoral run in 2010, but never went through with filing his nomination papers after polls showed low support for his campaign.

He said in a statement that continuing his candidacy poses risks to his health: he started to feel ill Sunday morning, so he got a COVID -19 test and “immediately” suspended all campaign activities.

“What further complicates things is that people with spinal cord injuries are a higher risk for COVID complications,” he said.

“Although I am double vaccinated, given the number of people with the Delta variant in Alberta and the ICUS being at or near capacity, the risks to my health are compounded.”

Hehr said his withdrawal shouldn't be seen as “indifference” to the campaign, and he still hopes to see a candidate pursuing progressive policies win the chair.

Across all the council races, east Calgary's Ward 10 is the most contested seat, with 11 people hoping to fill the spot left vacant by former Coun. Ray Jones, who retired last year after nearly 30 years in office.

But the number of hopefuls in other wards isn't far behind. Nine council hopefuls will try to unseat incumbent Coun. Gian-carlo Carra in Ward 9, and open races in northwest Ward 1 as well as central Calgary's Ward 7 and Ward 8, have attracted nine candidates each.

In wards 3, 11 and 12 — all left open by councillors either retiring or running for mayor — eight candidates will battle it out for a seat.

Ward 13 in south Calgary has the fewest candidates, with Dan Mclean and Jay Unsworth as the only two challengers to incumbent Coun. Diane Colley-urquhart.

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2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

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