Soon after Mayor Dave Bronconnier announced his departure from city politics, his office quickly dismissed criticism that the mayor is stepping down at a time when the city is in financial ruins.
“He’s crazy as shit,” Marc Henry, the mayor’s chief of staff, said about former three-term mayor Rod Sykes and his comments. “God love him; he still has an active interest, but it’s been a long time since Rod has been at city hall and things have really changed a lot. It’s a big, sophisticated operation now and debt is a part of that.”
Sykes, Calgary’s mayor from 1969 to 1977, says Bronconnier has made such a mess of finances that it will be tough for the city to dig out of its $2.5 billion debt.
“Calgary can’t borrow anymore from the province because we’ve hit our borrowing limit,” says Sykes, a former chartered accountant. “To the best of my knowledge, we’ve never hit our borrowing limit before.”
Bronconnier surprised many earlier this week when he announced he wouldn’t be seeking a fourth term this fall, particularly after proclaiming last year that he would run again for mayor.
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