Former Ward 6 Calgary city councillor and 2021 mayoral contender Jeff Davison will take his second crack at the mayor’s seat, as the first mayoral contender  to declare their intention to run in the 2025 race.

Davison made the announcement with the Calgary skyline in as a backdrop on Scotsman’s Hill in southeast Calgary, saying the early announcement is part of reintroducing himself to Calgarians.

“I think part of it is just a reintroduction to Calgarians and say, I’m out here and I’m listening,” he told media Thursday morning.

“I think part of it is spending the next few months going on a listening tour and talking to Calgarians about what they envision our city to be like over the next four years.”

Davison ‘s last mayoral run was an unsuccessful one, coming a distant third (50,654 votes) to former councillor Jeromy Farkas (116,698) and current Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek (176,344). There were 27 mayoral candidates in Calgary’s last election.

During that campaign Davison ran into a quagmire involving Third Party Advertiser Calgary Tomorrow and how contributions from that organization were directed to his mayoral campaign.

Davison said he expects this run to be different, with many high-profile contenders expected to jump into the race in 2025. The added feature of potential municipal political parties makes this election an interesting one to watch.

“Every election is different, and you learn a lot in the four years. I look at it right now and say, what’s different is we just don’t have trust anymore,” Davison said.

“Citizens don’t have trust in city council, I think they are become an elitist and entitled group of individuals, and people are looking for a change.

Calgary city council has gone wrong

Davison was quick to jump on several city council decisions over the past term. He said there have been missteps all along the way, starting with the declaration of a climate emergency, the bungling of an arena deal – one that he helped move forward in his term on council – and most recently issues like the single-use items bylaw, the citywide rezoning and now the Green Line.

“We have an action plan for today and a vision for tomorrow, and we’re focused on getting back to the basics, which is why I’m prioritizing three key areas, affordability, public safety and infrastructure,” he said.

“Calgarians have said they’ve had it with this city council. They have the worst approval rating in history. They’re mad at the horrible decisions they make, and they’re mad about their inability to work together.”

One the Green Line, he said he can get a deal done – one that included 17 recommendations that was promised to Calgarians years ago.

“It’s like everybody forgets that Mayor (Jyoti) Gondek was actually the vice chair of this committee when she was elected mayor, and then it’s like she took the recommendations and threw them out the door,” Davison said.

“Get back to the recommendations. It’s what you promised Calgarians you would build.”

One of his campaign pledges is a four-year tax freeze based on 2025 tax rates at a time when Calgary is bursting at the seams with growth. Thousands of Calgarians are immigrating to the city, and Calgary infrastructure is feeling the pressure.

Cutting waste is how he plans to balance a tax freeze and manage the infrastructure needs of Calgary, he said. One area he used as an example were planning budgets, which Davison said have tripled over the past three years.

Davison said it helps that he’s been on the inside and knows where budget trims can be made.

“When you consider it, having been on the inside and now on the outside, you know where to look,” he said.

“You’ve got the experience to say, I think we can do better, because we did do better.”

Davison said ensuring he can follow through with a four-year tax freeze, and get eight votes on council is a question of leadership.

“I think the challenge we have right now is that there isn’t any,” he said.

“It’s really about not worrying about which party is with who or what side of the line somebody might be on. It’s about coming together as a city council to do the right thing for Calgarians, and I don’t believe we’re getting that right now.”

Calgary’s municipal election is still more than a year away, with the municipal vote scheduled for Oct. 20, 2025.  Official nominations can only be submitted on Jan. 2, 2025, up to Sept. 22, 2025.