Mayor-elect revels in surprise victory

CALGARY – His eyes were rimmed red with exhaustion, but Naheed Nenshi was unfailingly upbeat and on message as he sat in a quiet office in his basement campaign headquarters shortly after his victory speech.

It was just after midnight. Beside him stood his longtime friend and campaign director Chima Nkemdirim and the tenacious Stephen Carter, in charge of media relations — who told the mayor-elect he was scheduled for an interview on Breakfast Television at 6:30 a.m., but he had declined an even earlier radio station interview to give Nenshi a chance to rest.

"I can do it by phone," Nenshi tried to argue with Carter, even as he was about to head out for further victory celebrations at a nearby nightclub.

Nenshi, who is often posting his thoughts online and is nearly always available for an interview when reporters come to call, is rarely cut off from some type of media.

But perhaps Calgary’s soon-to-be mayor didn’t know the frantic pace he was going to be subject to Tuesday.

With very little sleep, the mayor-elect’s day was chockablock with local and national news interviews, in English and French, scheduled in 15-or 20-minute increments.

Dozens of news outlets wanted to find out how Nenshi pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in the history of Canadian municipal politics.

"When you look at my Facebook page, there are wonderful postings from all over the world," said the 38-year-old Mount Royal University business professor.

It’s a honeymoon period that likely won’t last long as the city grows used to having the once-political outsider as mayor, and the realities of everyday council squabbles over snowplowing, sewers and budget cuts set in.

Now, Nenshi’s campaign team seems at times both at ease and surprised by its come-from-behind victory.

Nkemdirim, a securities and corporate lawyer, described himself as "shocked." Across the city and country, people are surprised that Calgary elected a mayor who was polling at less than 10 per cent support four weeks ago.

However, Nenshi himself said he understands what happened. A longtime commentator on civic issues, he said he modelled his campaign in the same fashion he wants to perform in as mayor. "Politics in full sentences" is Nenshi’s mantra, including many detailed policies, along with going directly to voters via coffee parties, public forums and, especially, social media.

"When I met the guy today who said, ‘I’m 25. I’ve had so many chances to vote in elections since I turned 18, and I’ve never done it before tonight,’ that’s when I realized that we’ve touched something," Nenshi said in an interview with the Herald.

Nenshi said he had heard the same thing from a woman in her sixties. "People thought it was because I was firing up the youth, but I was firing up Calgarians who felt like city government had nothing to do with them."

When Nenshi wasn’t doing media interviews Tuesday, he also met with his former main rival, Ric McIver, and had another private city hall meeting with his soon-to-be predecessor Dave Bronconnier.

Bronconnier said he wanted to talk to Nenshi about all the "boring" stuff that people never think of, like office logistics and staffing. Bronconnier also printed off a list of meetings the new mayor has in the coming weeks.

Because Nenshi can’t officially occupy the mayor’s office until Monday’s swearing-in ceremony, Bronconnier’s staff set up a workspace in a library on the same floor.

"The coffee machine is across the hall, but we’ve got lots of it," Bronconnier said.

Bronconnier, who also took office in his late-30s, said the idea is to make the transition as easy as possible for Nenshi, city staff and members of council. He also had 22 files prepared on the various pressing issues facing the city, including the budget, southwest ring road and affordable housing.

Asked about the result, Bronconnier said: "I think what you’ve got is a bright, young guy that came forward with a very aggressive, thoughtful plan."

Calgarians decided he was right for the job, Bronconnier added, even if media outlets are overplaying Nenshi’s background, and the fact he’s a Muslim and a visible minority.

"We have that in Canadian mayors. We have people of the Jewish faith, Christian faith and now of the Muslim faith.

"And I think that’s a good thing for Calgary because it truly is a reflection of Calgary over all."

On Tuesday, many media outlets — including the Herald — reported that Nenshi is the first Muslim mayor of any major city in Canada, and focused on the surprise many felt that a city looked upon as being one of the most conservative in the country elected a visible minority to its highest municipal office.

"The media talks about it much more than Calgarians talk about it," Nenshi said. "But there still is an additional responsibility here, which is that I want every kid in Calgary, regardless of their background, to look at tonight and say, ‘I can do anything. And this city will allow me to do anything.’ "

Nenshi’s older sister, Shaheen Nenshi Nathoo, said her family immigrated from Tanzania to Canada when she was just three. Naheed was born in Toronto shortly afterwards, and the Nenshis moved to Calgary one year later and settled in Marlborough. Their father Kurban is an accountant and their mother Noorjah worked as a bookkeeper.

"It was hard on my parents. They struggled, they faced challenges. And they did all of that so that they could give me and Naheed a better life."

Nathoo, a pharmacist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and mother of two young girls, said her family’s background is part of who Nenshi is, but it doesn’t define him.

"I am so proud of him and so proud of Calgarians for making this choice," said Nathoo. "I knew once people heard him, they would believe in him."

Following his Tuesday meeting with the outgoing mayor, Nenshi said Bronconnier was gracious and helpful, and gave him tips, such as now changing his cellphone number.

"One of his biggest pieces of advice was stop doing interviews for a few days," Nenshi said of Bronconnier. The current mayor told him: "You’ve got a lot of work to do and not much new to say."

Can the man who has defined himself by being constantly in touch — and has 13,000 supporters on Facebook — take a break?

"I thought that was actually very helpful advice and is advice that I will strive to take," was all he could say.

—

calgaryherald.com

For more election coverage

kcryderman@calgaryherald.com