Calgarians got their first look at how the mayoral race is shaping up, with a point in time mayoral survey conducted for the Calgary Firefighters Association.
While the poll has front runners, the biggest one is the undecided voters in Calgary.
The web panel survey, conducted by the polling firm Leger, surveyed 500 Calgarians randomly recruited from their online panel. The survey was done from July 1 to July 7. There’s no margin of error associated with a non-probability sample like this, but a typical random sample of 500 people gives a margin of error of four per cent, 95 per cent of the time.
Fifty-five per cent of respondents are still undecided on their mayoral vote intentions, with the municipal election three months away.
When survey respondents were asked: If a Calgary municipal election were held today, which candidate would you be most likely to vote for – 19 per cent said Jeromy Farkas.
Jyoti Gondek registered 14 per cent, Jeff Davison at seven per cent, Brad Field at three per cent and Jan Damery at one per cent.
“As a firefighter, I think this is the most important election in a generation,” said Matt Osborne, spokesperson for the Calgary Firefighters Association.
“At a time when the city is getting larger and larger, we are being spread thinner and thinner. Firefighters have faced more than $35 million in cuts over the last five years. It’s more important than ever that firefighters get involved in the looming municipal election. Along with a candidate survey we sent out in the spring, this poll will be used to educate our members.”
Calgary Firefighters Associ… by Darren Krause
Undecided voters
There’s clearly still time to lock up votes in the upcoming election, according to the survey.
Among the 55 per cent of undecided, 72 per cent aren’t leaning any particular direction.
Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek each captured seven per cent of the leaners, with candidate Brad Field next at five per cent. Jeff Davison had four per cent and Jan Damery two per cent.
The survey also shows that candidates have some work to do in name recognition. Nearly half don’t know enough about Jeromy Farkas to form an impression, while that number climbs to 55 per cent for Jyoti Gondek and 66 per cent for Jeff Davison.
The Firefighters Association survey also looked at satisfaction with city services and fire and emergency response garnered 76 per cent approval. Seventy-six per cent also believe it’s important to ensure international standards for fire staffing.
“It is great to hear that a large percentage of Calgarians support a fully funded Fire Department, and over the course of the next few months we will continue to engage with candidates across the city to discuss the issues our department faces,” said Osborne.
Calgary’s municipal election is Oct. 18, 2021.
