COMMUNITIES FIRST PARTY
Putting Communities First.
Political parties in Municipal Elections
The Government of Alberta has now made political parties an impactful component of the municipal election in Calgary. Under the rules, political parties can access funding opportunities that are not available to non-party candidates. Independent candidates are limited to about half of the spending limits available to candidates running with political parties.
While Rob doesn’t favour those rules, the advantages are obvious and significant. In speaking with residents of Ward 11 there was widespread support for Rob to do everything he could to make change happen in Ward 11. It only makes sense for him to find a party that fits his core objectives of strong Ward representation and has candidates with a like-minded approach on ensuring City Hall delivers core services and prudently manages taxpayers’ funds.
Committed to listening, understanding and representing Ward 11
On City Council, Rob's most important job will be listening to, understanding, and representing what matters to residents of Ward 11. Three different political parties asked him in the past few months to join their teams. Rob knew that he needed to join a party that would allow him to be independent and listen to and represent his constituents first.
Communities First
For these reasons, Rob decided to join the Communities First party. Its motto is Putting Communities First. Communities First allows him to be in a party on paper while functioning as an independent representative for Ward 11. For Rob, the communities and residents of Ward 11 always come first, and he made it clear that this was a requirement for him to join the party.

In the 2021 municipal election Rob finished second, short by 881 votes out of 38,390 cast. That margin was delivered to Kourtney Penner in coordination with Jyoti Gondek’s campaign backed by a City union-funded third-party advertiser, Calgary’s Future. It worked like an invisible party, union-funded and highly impactful. It is expected that union funding will again play a strong role in party financing. Being part of Communities First this election provides Rob's campaign with additional and competitive resources to ensure we are successful.
Communities First is not a party like the other parties. Rob would not join a party where he is obliged to vote the party line rather than represent his constituents’ wishes. The other candidates running with Communities First gave Rob that assurance, and they plan to put their Ward first as well.
Unlike conventional political parties in Canada, Communities First has no leader. The current candidates’ principles and platforms are very much aligned with Rob's. He believes that once elected, the like-minded Communities First Councillors will bring much-needed and real change over the next four years.
Communities First candidates include current Councillors Sonya Sharp in Ward 1, Terry Wong in Ward 7, Andre Chabot in Ward 10, Dan McLean in Ward 13 and former Councillor John Mar who previously represented Ward 8. You can view the Communities First website to learn what they stand for.