Colonel William A. Phillips

Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian fundraiser,^[1][2] filmmaker,^[3] athlete, columnist,^[4][5] and former politician. He was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election to represent Ward 11 for a four-year term.^[6]

Farkas is the first and only Calgary City Councillor known to have declined the municipal pension and transition allowance. Following his term, the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation estimated that these rejected entitlements saved Calgarian taxpayers $308,234.^[7][8]

He ran as a candidate for Calgary mayor in the 2021 municipal election on October 18, 2021,^[6] placing second to Jyoti Gondek.^[9]

Early life and education

Farkas was born and raised in the southeast Calgarian neighbourhood of Dover. His father left communist Hungary in 1956^[10] and settled in Calgary.^[11]

After graduating from Calgary's Bishop Carroll High School, Farkas achieved a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Calgary, where he worked as the Executive Administrator for the Israel Studies Program and as a Research Team Lead in the Faculty of Medicine.^[12]

From 2013 to 2016, Farkas served as a senior fellow specializing in municipal governance at the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education. He was the project lead for the Council Tracker project and website, analyzing data on Council votes to make municipal government more accessible.^[13][14] Farkas expanded the project to other cities throughout Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton.^[15]

In 2015, Farkas' team earned first place in the City of Calgary Hackathon, a three-day contest in programming, business modeling and research to create technology-based solutions to improve the lives of Calgarians.^[16] Prior to entering politics, he was a regular Calgary Herald columnist writing about local municipal issues,^[17] particularly city council.^[18]

Political career

Formerly president of the Wildrose Party's constituency association in Calgary-Elbow,^[19] Farkas identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and social liberal.^[20] He describes his political views as being motivated by an attitude that "you should have the biggest say in how you live your life... chasing, again, the best solutions rather than the ones based in ideology," and has been active in issues such as wildlife conservation and human rights activism.^[20] He is openly bisexual, which made him Calgary's first openly LGBTQ male city councillor,^[21] and played a key role in pushing the Wildrose Party to adopt a more progressive position on LGBTQ issues.^[19]

Calgary City Council

From 2017 to 2021, Farkas was the Calgary City Councillor for Ward 11, comprising the neighbourhoods of Acadia, Bayview, Bel-Aire, Braeside, Britannia, Cedarbrae, CFB Currie, CFB Lincoln Park PMQ, Chinook Park, Eagle Ridge, Elbow Park (part), Elboya, Haysboro, Kelvin Grove, Kingsland, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Mission, North Glenmore Park, Oakridge, Palliser, Parkhill/Stanley Park, Pump Hill, Rideau Park, Roxboro, Rutland Park, Southwood, Willow Park and Windsor Park. Prior to his term, Farkas served on the executive for the Palliser, Bay View, Pump Hill community association.^[22]

Throughout his term, Farkas held monthly town hall events during which he answered questions from his constituents and supporters.^[23][24] When the COVID-19 pandemic rendered such events unsafe, he compensated by hosting weekly Facebook Live sessions.^[25] He engaged in Council debate on issues such as restricting public transit options,^[26] the Midfield trailer park's closure,^[27] council compensation and parental leave,^[28] the Calgary Green Line,^[29] the City of Calgary summer student hiring program,^[30] business tax relief,^[31] public art,^[32] council time spent in closed-door meetings,^[33] crime and safety,^[34] the failed 2026 Calgary Olympic Bid,^[35] and the arena deal.^[36]

2021 Mayoral campaign

On September 16, 2020, Farkas announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2021 Calgary municipal election.^[6]

Farkas' ten-point platform included a four-year property tax freeze, support for the Calgary Police Service,^[37][38] reform to the Council pension plan, support for single-family neighbourhood zoning, improvements to traffic-light synchronization, reduction of Council time spent behind closed doors, the construction of a rail connection between the inner-city and Calgary International Airport, improved snow removal, opposition to selling city parks, and reduction of business red tape.^[39]

On October 18, 2021, Farkas placed second to Ward 3 councillor Jyoti Gondek.^[9]

2023 Alberta election

On December 1, 2022, Farkas announced that he would not stand as a candidate in the 2023 Alberta general election. In the weeks leading up to the election, he served as a commentator alongside former City Council colleague Naheed Nenshi as part of CBC Calgary's provincial political panel.^[40]

On May 17, 2023, Farkas denounced a United Conservative Party candidate Jennifer Johnson who compared transgender children in schools to having feces in food,^[41] citing such views as "dangerous and unfit for [elected] office."^[42]

Community fundraising

Jeromy’s Big Run

On March 3, 2022, Farkas announced that he was “running again” through a fundraising partnership with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. He set a goal of completing the Pacific Crest Trail in as close to 100 days as possible to raise funds in support of youth mentorship.^[43]

On March 12, 2022, he began the 4,260-kilometre (2,650 mi) journey with only what he could carry in his backpack, making occasional visits to small towns for food. Within days, he met the $50,000 goal.^[44]

Over the next several months, Farkas posted regular social media updates with highlights such as his summit of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. He met and raised fundraising goals twice more, settling on a final target of $125,000.^[45]

Farkas completed the "humbling"^[46] journey in 168 days, returning home on August 30, 2022. He said he was given the nickname “Pathfinder” on the trails because he opted to use paper maps instead of his phone to navigate the trails.^[47]

As of January 21, 2023, the campaign had raised more than $250,000, becoming the biggest fundraiser in the history of BBBS Calgary.^[48]

Jeromy's Big Climb

On January 10, 2023, Farkas announced a follow-up fundraiser to scale "25 Peaks in 25 Days" to raise $25,000 in support of The Alex Community Health Centre in Calgary, with the funds directed to mobile healthcare services for marginalized Calgarians and those experiencing homelessness.^[49]

Farkas posted regular social media updates through the campaign, and faced a variety of terrain, bitter cold and other weather hazards. Ultimately, he achieved 58,800 feet (17,900 m) of elevation gain and loss – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level twice – over the course of the 25 peaks.^[50]

As of January 30, 2023, "Jeromy's Climb for Public Health" had easily surpassed its initial goal, raising more than $43,000.^[51]

Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge

On June 7, 2023, Farkas announced that he was challenging Chief Steve Dongworth to a charity challenge as part of the ninth annual Calgary Fire Department Stairclimb Challenge. He met his fundraising goal of $5,000 in under 24 hours, with proceeds going directly to benefit firefighter support programs and assistance to those battling cancer.

On the event day, Farkas equipped full firefighter duty gear for the 57-floor, 1370-step climb up Brookfield Place, the tallest skyscraper in downtown Calgary.^[52] He completed the challenge in 17 minutes and 37 seconds, ascending at a rate of more than 3 floors per minute.^[53]

Electoral record

References