1998 Calgary municipal election

The 1998 Calgary municipal election was held on October 19, 1998, to elect a Mayor and 14 Aldermen to Calgary City Council.

1998 Calgary municipal election

← 1995 October 19, 1998 2001 →
Mayor and 14 aldermen to Calgary City Council
A. D. R. C. Leader Al Duerr Ray Clark Popular vote 182,780 43,242   R. B. R. W. Leader Rick Bell Ron Wise Popular vote 20,812 1,097
Mayor before election Al Duerr Elected mayor Al Duerr

In addition to the city council election, trustees to the Calgary Board of Education, Calgary Catholic School District, two plebiscites and the Alberta Senate nominee election.^[1]

Incumbent Mayor Al Duerr was re-elected defeating Alderman Ray Clark, and each incumbent Alderman was re-elected.^[2]

Background

Calgary City Council approved a vote on a question on whether Calgarians continued to support water fluoridation following the 1989 plebiscite which saw fluoride first introduced. Plebiscites had previously failed to garner sufficient support in 1957, 1961 1966, and 1971.^[3] The Calgary Regional Health Authority promoted the fluoridation campaign, spending $250,000 on advertising and other measures.^[4] Opponents proposed to take legal action when pro-fluoride posters were on display at a voting station on election day which anti-fluoride groups charged was illegal.^[4]

The second vote on a question put to Calgary voters was whether video lottery terminals (VLTs) should be removed by the provincial government, or whether the decision to remove VLTs from Calgary should remain with City Council.^[5] The plebiscite was held in 28 municipalities across Alberta after the provincial government increased access to VLTs, increasing the number present in the province from 500 in 1997 to 2,200 in 1998.^[6] Prominent Calgary oilman Jim Gray was an advocate for the removal of the VLTs, while casinos and restaurant groups advocated for VLTs to remain.^[6] Incumbent Mayor Duerr supported the provincial government removing the VLTs while the main challenger Clark supported keeping VLTs in the city and leaving the decision to council.^[7]

A police investigation followed a bomb threat to incumbent Ward 13 alderman Sue Higgins written on a ballot cast during the election.^[8]

Results

• Election results from Calgary Herald.^[9]

Mayor

	Votes	%
Al Duerr	182,780	%
Ray Clark	43,242	%
Rick Bell	20,812	%
Ron Wise	1,097	%
Doug Service	755	%
Jerzyk Jamroziak	728	%
Floyd D. Allen	690	%
Total

Ward 1

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Dale Hodges	16,636
Robin Elford	4,187
Barb Taylor-Daigarno	1,780
Jason Seitanidis	725
Peter Manousos	489

Ward 2

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Joanne Kerr	Acclaimed

Ward 3

Candidate	Votes	Percent
John Schmal	13,065
Carrie Donahue	2,740
Derrik Thomas Meyer	1,291

Ward 4

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Robert Andrew Hawkesworth	11,830
David H. Chambers	2,431
Edward R. Peebles	841

Ward 5

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Ray Jones	11,061
Francis A. Byron	2,704

Ward 6

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Dave Bronconnier	10,691
Craig Burrows	4,322
James Donald Istvanffy	3,491
Janyce Konkin	1,921

Ward 7

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Bev Longstaff	10,638
Augustine Joseph Barron	5,161

Ward 8

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Jon Lord	6,397
Robert Victor Lang	3,650
Luba Arko	671

Ward 9

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Joseph Anthony Ceci	9,075
Shirley-anne Reuben	5,074
Stanley Gabriel Waciak	882

Ward 10

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Diane Lynn Danielson	6,318
Andre R. Chabot	2,455
Kevin John Montgomery	1,443
Amir Hernani	1,083
Bastiaan Quist	483

Ward 11

Candidate	Votes	Percent
James Barry Erskine	Acclaimed

Ward 12

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Suzanne Higgins	14,360
Richard William McIver	2,711
Tim Rollans	2,375
Albert Ludwig	908
Gareth Evans	371

Ward 13

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Patti Grier	12,859
Diane Marie Colley-Urquhart	8,171

Ward 14

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Linda J. Fox-Mellway	12,294
Diana Fitzpatrick	3,271
Andrew Neufeld	2,936
Blaine Chornawka	2,380
Randy Reynolds	461

Plebiscites

Fluoridation

Calgarians were asked "Are you in favour of continuing the fluoridation of the municipal water supply? YES or NO."^[1]

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Yes	136,393
No	113,730

VLTs

Calgarians were asked "Should The City of Calgary request that the Provincial Government take appropriate action to remove all video lottery terminals from our city? YES or No."^[1]

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Yes	104,999
No	144,281

See also

• List of Calgary municipal elections

References

1. "Election Primer". Calgary Herald. October 18, 1998. p. C1. ProQuest 2466268514.
2. Collins, Ron; Pommer, Dave (October 20, 1998). "'I will not let you down'; Duerr back for fourth term; Calgarians keep VLTs, fluoride". Calgary Herald. p. A1. ProQuest 2466269312.
3. Smith, Madeline (February 3, 2021). "A brief history of Calgary's long relationship with fluoride votes". Calgary Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
4. Lowey, Mark (October 20, 1998). "Calgary's fluoride levels will drop". Calgary Herald. p. AA1. ProQuest 2466269312.
5. Cunningham, Jim; Henton, Darcy (October 20, 1998). "VLT backers triumph at polls". Calgary Herald. p. AA1. ProQuest 2466269312.
6. Cunningham, Jim; Henton, Darcy (October 19, 1998). "All eyes on VLT plebiscite". Calgary Herald. p. A1. ProQuest 2466268546.
7. Collins, Ron (October 11, 1998). "Clark favours keeping VLTs". Calgary Herald. p. A9. ProQuest 2263168885.
8. "Bomb threat targeting Sue Higgins probed". Calgary Herald. October 20, 1998. p. A2. ProQuest 2466269312.
9. "Civic election results". Calgary Herald. October 21, 1998. p. B2. ProQuest 2374374013.

Further reading

• Pryce, Catherine; Smorang, Jackie (February 1999). "Continuing Water Fluoridation in the City of Calgary, Alberta, 1997-1998" (PDF). Journal of Canadian Dental Association. 65 (2): 101–104. ISSN 1488-2159. PMID 10079619.