Jeromy Farkas wins neck-and-neck race over Sonya Sharp to be Calgary's next mayor

Jeromy Farkas will serve as Calgary’s next mayor, unofficial results from the city’s municipal election indicate.

After a hectic campaign, the former Ward 11 councillor and Sonya Sharp, leader of the Communities First party, were neck-and-neck for much on election night, in a crowded field that also included incumbent Jyoti Gondek, former Ward 6 councillor Jeff Davison and former police commission chair Brian Thiessen.

Farkas ultimately pulled ahead as vote counting continued into Tuesday’s early hours. Unofficial results as of 4:45 a.m. with all 380 polls reporting showed Farkas garnering 91,065 votes, with Sharp less than 600 votes behind at 90,480. Gondek came in third with 71,397 votes.

This marks the first time a mayoral challenger has unseated an incumbent candidate in Calgary sin