Stephen Carter, Chief of Staff to Mayor Jyoti Gondek, is no longer with the Mayor’s office.
Carter announced the separation on Wednesday afternoon on social media, stating that “I am no longer with the Mayor’s office.”
“I loved working with Jyoti Gondek and expect she will achieve great things,” he wrote.
LiveWire Calgary has confirmed that Carter isn’t aware of the reasons behind the dismissal. It was not a mutual decision.
Carter came under fire in late December after he made social media comments regarding the removal of homeless individuals from a city LRT station.
He later apologized for those comments.
Upon request for comments, Mayor Gondek’s office said it was a personnel matter and there would be no further details.
It was later learned that complaints came from at least two councillors offices. Carter didn’t respond to questions about those complaints.
Councillors got official word of Carter’s dismissal at around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Political history
Carter has entrenched himself as one of the top campaign strategists over the past decade. He engineered the first Naheed Nenshi victory and then helped usher former Alberta Premier Alison Redford to power.
Carter served a short time as chief of staff for the premier before leaving six months in. At one time, he was also forced to apologize for another tweet he had made during his time as Redford’s Chief of Staff.
Carter was Jyoti Gondek’s campaign strategist during the recent municipal election and then made the shift to Chief of Staff following her Oct. 18 victory.
Carter’s dismissal comes as Mayor Gondek marked 100 days in office.
