Jeff Watson: 6 Clear Priorities for Ward 6 

I’m running on a Plan. Six Clear Priorities. Backed by a record of delivering results. 

1. Ward First Representation –  

Mayor Gondek and her Council majority haven’t listened to you. 

They’ve raised taxes during an affordability crisis, left our communities and transit riders less safe, neglected basic infrastructure, and forced blanket rezoning over the opposition of residents here - and across Calgary. 

As your Ward 6 Councillor, I will work for you.  

Not for City Hall bureaucrats.  

Not for special interests.  

Not for political party backroom operatives. 

During my four terms as a Conservative Member of Parliament, I was elected to advance the interests of 127,000 constituents. And ensure their priorities became the priorities of the government.   

I delivered results: 

  • Lowered taxes 180 times. 
  • More police, lower violent crime. 
  • More funding for municipal roads, bridges, water treatment, and sewers. 
  • Over 400,000 more Albertans with a good-paying job. 

No other candidate in Ward 6 can say that. 

The challenges we face today can’t wait for a candidate who will spend a couple years - or more - learning the job. 

I’m job ready, day one. 

What will Ward First mean for you? 

  • A constituency office. Councillor offices downtown are accessible to special interests. You deserve access to a Councillor closer to where you live; 
  • My votes will be informed by my constituents, not controlled by political party backroom operatives, and not sold to special interests; 
  • I’ll approach citywide matters through the lens of what matters to Ward 6; 
  • I’ll work with other Councillors, collaboratively, to achieve fair attention to Ward 6 projects, including new interchanges for Sarcee at Richmond and Bow Trail 

That’s my commitment, to you. Backed by proven experience and a record of results. 

2. Cut Taxes, Wasteful Spending - 

Under Mayor Gondek and her Council majority, taxes and spending keep going up – with no end in sight. 

And, it’s happened during an affordability crisis.  

Many politicians think there’s a revenue problem. City Council has a spending problem. 

With nearly two-thirds of City Council made up of rookies, is it any surprise? Taxing more and spending more is easy. But it’s costing you – and for many, more than you can afford. 

Getting tough on public spending, preserving core services while eliminating low-performing programs, and cutting the size of the bureaucracy at the top take both courage - and experience. 

As a four-term Conservative Member of Parliament, I helped: 

  • lower taxes 180 times 
  • Cut wasteful spending 
  • Balanced budgets 

Let’s be clear: chronic City surpluses mean there is room for a property tax cut.  

Here’s what my plan means for you: 

  • A property tax cut for you, spending cuts for City Hall 
  • A 4-year pay freeze for the Mayor and Councillors 
  • Budget clarity, line by line audit of spending 
  • Rescinding the woke Climate Emergency Declaration to free up revenue 
  • A review of reserves and the fees City Hall charges 
  • Fewer senior bureaucrats 
  • End the Public Art Program, EV bus purchases 
  • End subsidies and below market value land sales to rich developers 
  • End subsidies for backyard suites 
  • Review and lower Mayor, Council, and Senior City Hall bureaucrat expense limits, implement tighter spending rules 

That’s my commitment, to you. Backed by proven experience and a record of results. 

3. Repeal Blanket Rezoning - 

Calgary is a city of unique communities. 

Sadly, Mayor Gondek and her majority ignored this – and you – by implementing blanket R-CG zoning. Worse, City Hall planners are emboldened with a new Draft Land Use Bylaw that will put redevelopment decisions in the hands of developers, density on overdrive – and you on the sidelines of what happens in your neighbourhood. 

I urged City Council, on Panel 139 at public hearings, to vote NO to blanket rezoning.  

They didn’t listen, including Ward 6 Councillor Pootmans. 

Blanket rezoning is destroying the character of our unique communities and it’s introduced strife among neighbours. 

Everything Council assured us has turned out to be a lie: 

  • Housing isn’t more affordable 
  • The cost of land has gone up, not down 
  • Affordable and relatively new housing stock has been cannibalized for rowhouses 
  • The public has been shut out of what redevelopment happens in their community 

Our older, established communities need redevelopment that meets lower density targets and is backed by public involvement, policy that shows City Hall listened, and that provides clear direction on future zoning – not just built form. 

Here’s what my plan means to you: 

  • Vote to repeal blanket rezoning as job #1 
  • Restore public hearings at the land use application stage 
  • Restore Council’s power to refuse R-CG applications 
  • Vote NO to R-CG applications that don’t fit with Ward 6 neighbourhood context 
  • Kill City Hall’s new draft Land Use Bylaw  
  • Work to lower density targets 
  • Urge the City, through municipal associations, to lobby the federal government for lower immigration caps to stabilize our housing market 

  • Strengthen Local Area Plans (LAPs) to detail zoning, not just built form 

4. Safe Streets, Transit, Combating Antisemitism - 

Under Mayor Gondek and her Council majority, each year has brought new crime “worsts.” 

In 2022, Calgary saw 127 shootings. 

In 2023, transit crime was up. Calgary also experienced its highest homicide rate ever. 

And, since October 7, 2023 – when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel – antisemitic hate incidents are dramatically up, with a Jewish community centre and holocaust memorial monument targeted; vandalism, graffiti, harassment and so-called protests creating a climate of fear for the Jewish community in Calgary. 

Calgary Police can’t do it by themselves. 

An inexperienced City Council, nearly 2/3 of whom are rookies, haven’t been up to the task of tackling social disorder or public safety. And, just weeks after Hamas’s attack on Israel, Calgary’s mayor and most of Council avoided a Menorah Lighting ceremony at City Hall. 

My record as a Conservative MP is clear: tough on violent crime, helped cities fund more police, and fought antisemitism in Canada. 

What my plan means for you: 

  • I’ll “Back the Blue,” and ensure Calgary Police Services has a strong plan to disrupt organized crime and the drug trade 
  • More police to meet these challenges 
  • Ensure tackling crime downtown isn’t at the expense of public safety in Ward 6 
  • Close the supervised hard drug use site at Sheldon Chumir, get provincial recovery programs to Calgary for those facing addiction 
  • Bring universities, community groups, and police together to develop a plan for combating antisemitism 

That’s my commitment, to you. Backed by proven experience and a record of results. 

5. Back to Basics, Focus on Core Services 

Mayor Gondek and her Council majority lack focus. And you’re paying for it. 

Their rookie inexperience comes with a steep price: 

  • A 2020 Status Report warned the City of a $7.73 billion infrastructure funding gap; 
  • Delays continued with upgrades to the Glenmore and Bearspaw treatment plants; 
  • C-Train problems exposed poor planning and budgeting for system maintenance; 
  • A 2023 ENMAX substation fire left questions about the City’s ageing power grid; 
  • And, in 2024, multiple breaks on the Bearspaw South Feeder Main left 1.2 million Calgarians either without water or under severe use restrictions. 

Council failed in its oversight and misspent on non-essentials. 

Worse it rewarded itself with salary increases while raising your taxes. 

A city can’t do all things. To be excellent, it must focus on the essentials. 

It’s time to get back to basics. 

During my 11.5 years as a Conservative Member of Parliament, I worked with cities and caucus leaders to deliver major funding for basic infrastructure: roads, bridges, water and wastewater treatment. 

I also scrutinized department priorities and billions in expenditures, finding waste, and recommending sensible spending cuts so our government could focus on delivering core responsibilities. 

No other candidate for Ward 6 has that experience or record of delivering results. 

What does my Back to Basics plan mean for you? 

  • Fire the current CAO, hire a new one to drive performance culture at City Hall; 
  • Define core/non-core services and ensure core services have sufficient personnel, focused plans, and the right equipment to deliver 
  • Ensure our water and wastewater infrastructure is properly inspected, maintained, repaired, and replacement cost is booked in budgets – including a plan to replace asbestos cement water distribution mains over time 
  • A freeze on pursuing new mega-projects until we’re sure we can pay for current projects, like the Green Line, and pay for current infrastructure over its life cycle 
  • Stop chasing federal or provincial funding that takes us away from core priorities, like EV buses or the Housing Accelerator Fund 

That’s my commitment, to you. Backed by proven experience and a record of results. 

6. Work with – not against – the Province - 

“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” 

Age-old wisdom. 

Sadly, Mayor Gondek – backed by many in her Council majority – prefers taking jabs at the Alberta government, through press conferences or while hiding behind media releases. 

Eight major political or ideological fights in 4 years.  

All of them squandered goodwill Calgary needs from a provincial partner on our actual priorities. Some of them were costly, like causing delays to the GreenLine.  

It doesn’t matter who Albertans send to the legislature in Edmonton. It only matters that your City Council works with them, where necessary, to move our priorities forward. 

You expect less fighting, more work getting done in our communities. 

As a four-term Conservative MP, I worked: 

  • with other levels of government, including of different party affiliations, to delivery key infrastructure 
  • worked across party lines, as Parliamentary Secretary, Transport to improve rail safety 
  • worked with US lawmakers to resolve binational trade problems and joint funding for environmental projects 

No other candidate in Ward 6 has a record of working with governments to deliver results. 

Put my experience to work, for you. 

On Oct. 20th, I ask you to vote for me, Jeff Watson, for City Council Ward 6.