A surefire way to spot a politician feeling the heat is when they start disparaging the very idea of popularity.

One clue in uncovering this deep-seated desperation is when they litter pronouncements with derisory reference to the word populist, as though nothing could be more demeaning than catering to the masses, even though they picked a career path dependent upon exactly that.

Let’s face it: “Vote for me and then I’ll do as I please,” isn’t an election slogan with much traction among potential voters in Calgary. It’s doubtful such messaging plays well even in Moscow, for heaven’s sake.

It certainly wasn’t a platform that Mayor Jyoti Gondek embraced when successfully lobbying to become Calgary’s civic leader in 2021. In fact, after handily winning that vote, she promised to govern with humility.

Maybe someone’s recently redefined the word, because humble isn’t what many would call a leader who seemingly takes pride in actions directly counter to the popular........

© Calgary Herald