Who's your best match as mayor? Read about the candidates and their visions for the city

Ten candidates are vying to be elected mayor in Calgary's municipal election on Oct. 16. We invited each of them to share their vision for the city and you might be surprised to hear what they had to say.

10 candidates are in the running for city's top political job

CBC News Posted: Mar 01, 2017 1:49 PM EST | Last Updated: October 13, 2017

Calgary's old city hall is seen in the foreground, with new city hall in the background. — Meet the candidates vying for the city's top job in the 2017 mayoral race. (CBC)

Ten candidates are vying to be elected mayor in Calgary's municipal election on Oct. 16: here's the full list of contenders.

CBC Calgary has invited all the mayoral candidates to submit an article on their views about the challenges facing the city and you might be surprised to read what some of them have to say.

Links to those articles can be found in each candidates' section.

JasonAchtymichuk (Jason GoGo)

Jason Achtymichuk has put in his hat into the ring for the mayor's chair. (jason_gogo/Instagram)

Jason Achtymichuk is a Calgary-based artist who says in social media that he wants to have a serious debate about a new arena and public art. He says he will officially kick off his campaign on Sept.22.

Andre Chabot

The longtime Ward 10 councilloris making the jump from councilto mayoral candidate. Andre Chabot has represented Ward 10 on the city's eastern edge since 2005.

He's known as a fiscal hawk and has supported transit development as well as the downtown cycle tracks. He's opposed to the Olympic bid and says an arena can be built without costing taxpayers.

Brent Chisholm

Brent Chisholm said he's focused on accountability to citizens and that if they're being ignored by their councillor, he'd look into their issues personally.

"I would talk to some lawyer friends of mine, ask them to look through the city books because then alderpersons that are not doing their job, you're fired. Save the city a lot of money."

Mayoral candidate Brent Chisholm, on the challenges facing Calgary

Emile Gabriel

A project manager and consultant, Emile Gabriel, or Dr. EGJ, says he's done extensive work studying flooding impacts and solutions and has worked on projects with Alberta Transportation.

His platform includes tweaks to the tax system, streamlining decisions at city council and eliminating red tape. He is concerned about the state of the economy and urban planning, and he wants to bring the Olympics back to Calgary.

According to his website, he has recently been working on two inventions: one for preventing deaths caused by LRT accidents and another to "stop vehicles from a distance" during a police chase.

Larry Heather

Self proclaimed "council gadfly" Larry Heather is making his second bid for the mayor's chair, having also run in the 2013 election.

Heather, 63, says he wants to reduce the size of the city's workforce by one-third along and dissolve the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. He'd also like to put off plans to use the provincial carbon tax to finance construction of the Green Line LRT.

Heather wants to reverse what he calls the neglect of essential maintenance of city roads and trees and says he will remove public art installations likeBowfortTowers.

David Lapp

Born in Calgary in 1984, David Lapp promises to remember that he's dealing with taxpayer money, not his money, if elected mayor.

Lapp, who ran unsuccessfully for councillor in Ward 8 in the 2010 electionis running under the motto, "Genuinely interested in everyone."

Naheed Nenshi

The current Calgary mayor is seeking a third stint in office.

Nenshi said he wants to tackle the challenges facing the city, including high unemployment and uncertainty, and to build a more "resilient and diverse economy."

Nenshi was first elected in 2010.

Curtis Olson

Curtis Olson started as a patrol officer with the Calgary Police Service in 1999.

Active in community initiatives and youth sports, Olson'sfocus is on making Calgary a great place to live. One of his goals is to trim the city budget by five per cent with no reduction in services.

He'll be rolling out his so-called CPlan over the coming weeks.

Bill Smith

The president of the PC Party for three years while Ed Stelmachled the province, Bill Smith currently works as a lawyer in Calgary.

Smith says he's focused on balancing the economy and ensuring a "positive quality of life" despite the price of oil. He's also concerned about crime, small business, taxes and fees.

Stan (the Man) Waciak

Stan Waciak is running for mayor of Calgary. (CBC)

Stan Waciak, whoworks in construction, has many concerns he wants to address, including traffic, transit, the zoo and a new arena.

He thinks transit should be more efficient, and he'd like to see the fare price drop to reflect the economy.

He says the Saddledome has to be replaced sooner or later, so council should move "towards a positive future for our city as a whole."

Mayoral candidate Stan Waciak, on the challenges facing Calgary

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