Druh Farrell
Canadian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Druh Farrell (born 1958 or 1959) is a municipal politician who formerly served as Councillor for Ward 7 in Calgary, Alberta. She was first elected in 2001.
Druh Farrell | |
|---|---|
Farrell in 2023 | |
| City of Calgary Councillor for Ward 7 | |
| In office October 2001 – October 25, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Bev Longstaff |
| Succeeded by | Terry Wong |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1958 or 1959 (age 66–67)[1] Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Party | New Democratic |
| Alma mater | Form and Function Design Academy |
Career before politics
Prior to being elected in 2001, Farrell was a fashion designer and clothing manufacturer,[2] and served as board member of the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association and chair of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning and Development committee, co-founder and chairwoman of the Inner-City Coalition,[3] and manager of the Kensington Business Revitalization Zone Association.[4]
Electoral record
2001 Calgary municipal election
| Ward 7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Druh Farrell | 7,687 | 44.4% |
| Augustine Joseph Barron | 3,565 | 20.6% |
| Margot Aftergood | 2,079 | 12.0% |
| Kendrick L. Charles | 1,733 | 10.0% |
| Harvey Cohen | 1,214 | 7.0% |
| Jon Adams | 743 | 4.3% |
| Wyatt-James Taylor McIntyre | 289 | 1.7% |
2004 Calgary municipal election
Farrell was reelected to serve Ward 7 in 2004 for a 3-year term by acclamation, having run unopposed.[6]
2007 Calgary municipal election
| Ward 7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Druh Farrell | 8,998 | 68.9% |
| Barry Elridge | 2,249 | 17.2% |
| Merle Terlesky | 1,280 | 9.8% |
| Jag Aithal | 532 | 4.1% |
2010 Calgary municipal election
| Ward 7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Druh Farrell | 11,910 | 42.9% |
| Kevin Taylor | 10,658 | 38.4% |
| Jim Pilling | 2,621 | 9.4% |
| Elizabeth Ann Cook | 1,367 | 4.9% |
| Michael Krisko | 1,204 | 4.3% |
2013 Calgary municipal election
| Ward 7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Druh Farrell | 8,923 | 37.5% |
| Kevin Taylor | 6,600 | 27.7% |
| Brent Alexander | 6,299 | 26.5% |
| Joylin Nodwell | 1,988 | 8.3% |
2017 Calgary municipal election
| Ward 7 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Druh Farrell | 9,753 | 41.0% |
| Brent Alexander | 8,916 | 37.5% |
| Dean Brawn | 2,882 | 12.1% |
| Margot Aftergood | 1,765 | 7.4% |
| Marek Hejduk | 456 | 1.9% |
2021 Calgary municipal election
On February 22, 2021, Farrell announced she would not be running for reelection in the 2021 Calgary municipal election.[11]
31st Alberta general election
After controversy alleging party officials' bias towards Farrell, on May 13, 2022, Farell won the nomination to become the Alberta NDP candidate for Calgary-Bow in the 2023 Alberta general election.[12]
| 2023 Alberta general election: Calgary-Bow | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Demetrios Nicolaides | 13,175 | 49.74 | -6.15 | ||||
| New Democratic | Druh Farrell | 12,552 | 47.39 | +13.23 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Paul Godard | 670 | 2.53 | -4.56 | ||||
| Solidarity Movement | Manuel Santos | 89 | 0.34 | – | ||||
| Total | 26,486 | 99.29 | – | |||||
| Rejected and declined | 190 | 0.71 | ||||||
| Turnout | 26,676 | 66.43 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 40,159 | |||||||
| United Conservative hold | Swing | -9.69 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[13] | ||||||||
Tenure as city councillor
Peace Bridge
The $24.5-million Peace Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava on the Bow River between Eau Claire and Sunnyside, was a "controversial" project from its onset with many people considering it to be an "unnecessary extravagance." Farrell was a vocal supporter of the footbridge and as a result she "became the human shield at which many strangers directed their intense anger."[14] On March 24, 2012, "thousands of Calgarians flooded onto the [bridge] to celebrate its opening." About 6,000 people use it daily. It quickly became a "tourist magnet"−the "most photographed structure in Calgary". It ranked among the top ten architectural projects[15] and public spaces of 2012.[16]
Walk21 Microgrants
The $172,500 Walk21 Community Microgrants Council Innovation Fund Application created by Farrell, Gian-Carlo Carra and Brian Pincott was approved by City Council on April 10, 2017.[17] The program, which coincides with an international conference on walking hosted at the University of Calgary in September, will provide $112,500 for about 150 walking improvement community projects, which is about eight per ward to be completed by 2020. It celebrates Canada's 150th birthday.[18] Photos of the arching rainbow under the LRT bridge by Kensington's Riley Park, one of the Walk21 Microgrants projects, were widely shared on Instagram.[19]
Aquatic wheel chairs pilot project
Calgary's Parks Department purchased three "water-hardy wheelchairs" which are currently available at Canmore, Rotary and South Glenmore/Variety splash parks as part of their accessibility initiative. Farrell had suggested the idea to Parks after she had heard about aquatic wheel chairs in an American water park.[20]
Terrigno Lawsuit
In May 2017, the Terrigno family served Farrell with a lawsuit related to a 2015 failed land use rezoning application regarding their building after City Councillors voted to reject their application on May 11, 2015[21][22] The lawsuit alleged that Farrell used her position and power to kill the proposed development which was less than 100 meters from her home.[22] In June 2017, Farrell filed a statement of defence, saying the lawsuit is intended to injure her reputation ahead of the October 2017 municipal election.[23] The case and two appeals were all dismissed.[24]
Vote Against New Communities
Along with Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Farrell was the only councillor to vote against a proposal for 14 new edge communities in July 2018.[25]
Opposition from Save Calgary PAC
Farrell is one of five incumbents in the October 2017 Calgary elections, targeted with negative publicity by the newly formed Save Calgary political action committee (PAC), who also target councillors Gian-Carlo Carra, Diane Colley-Urquhart, Evan Woolley and Mayor Naheed Nenshi.[26][27][28]