Just because Jyoti Gondek is the most unpopular Calgary mayor in living memory doesn’t mean she’s political toast.

Maybe the reason Gondek shows so little desire to change course, despite such a lousy approval rating from citizens, is that continuing along the same path might yet bring her a second term.

That’s likely to ruin many Calgarians’ appetites but civic politics is a strange game. It’s one where big donations from special-interest groups, widespread vote-splitting, name recognition and low voter turnout are major components in determining who’ll win and who’ll instead decide to hike from Mexico to Canada. (Hey, Jeromy Farkas, in the long run, you gained way more than you lost.)

We’ll return to Farkas in short order — he came second to Gondek in the last civic election — but let’s first regurgitate the latest poll numbers regarding the mayor’s standing among Calgarians.

According to the Leger tally, two-thirds of those polled believe the city is on the wrong path, while only two per cent felt strongly that we’re moving in the right direction.

So much for that chummy cabal of councillors calling itself progressive. Just look at the state of our roads, water system, transit safety, taxes and........

© Calgary Herald