BACK in October 2021, The VOICE reported: “Former Calgary City Councillor Jyoti Gondek has been elected mayor of Calgary. She bagged 174,649 votes (45% of the total votes cast) — 58,907 votes more than her nearest rival, former City Councillor Jeromy Farkas who got 115,742 votes (30%).”

Now, Farkas will be the next mayor of Calgary, as unofficial results show that Farkas won 91,065 votes in Monday’s election, with Sonya Sharp, leader of the Communities First party, finishing second with 90,480 votes – less than 600 votes behind.

Gondek came third with 71,397 votes. This is the first time in 45 years that an incumbent mayoral candidate has been defeated in Calgary.

Gondek was born in the U.K. to Punjabi parents originating from India, Jyoti emigrated with her family at the age of four, settling in Manitoba. She moved to Alberta after her marriage.

She has an undergraduate degree in sociology and criminology, an M.A. in organizational sociology that focused on corporate social responsibility, and a Ph.D. in urban sociology.

In 2014, Gondek was asked to lead the newly formed Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. She was there for three years.

She was elected councillor in 2017.