CALGARY- His purple reign washed over Calgary during the 2010 municipal election. Ever since, Mayor Naheed Nenshi has been seen as almost impossible to beat—but that could be changing.
On Tuesday, well-known radio host Dave Rutherford confirmed that he is considering a run at the mayor’s chair in the upcoming election.
The 64-year-old has been a fixture on Calgary’s airwaves, covering politics for three decades. He admits that ever since announcing he’s going off the air in July, he’s been approached to run for mayor.
“I have been asked about it, and I have said to anybody else who wants to ask that I have not ruled anything out,” he tells Global News. “I talk about keeping my options open, and my options are open.”
This isn’t the first time someone in the media has taken a run at city hall. Former mayor and premier Ralph Klein started out as a TV reporter, and longtime news anchor Barb Higgins was a mayoral candidate in 2010.
However, analysts say Nenshi will be tough to beat.
“It is always difficult to defeat an incumbent mayor,” says Duane Bratt, political analyst at MRU. “Nenshi appears to be very popular across the city, he is known nationwide.”
He adds that Rutherford does have a chance, though.
“I think Dave Rutherford brings a lot into the race. He brings name recognition, a clear position on almost every issue. There is a group of well-heeled Calgarians that would fund that campaign against Nenshi, and he would be able to bring in volunteers.”
Rutherford says he won’t make a decision until his show ends in July, and plans to take some time off to consider his future.
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