Running for office: 31 women on Calgary ballot, where their biggest challenge may be online hate
Jan Damery is running for mayor. But some people apparently aren't happy about it.
Her campaign team is displaying some of the abusive messages they've received online.
"I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU" reads one.
"F**K OFF LADY" reads another.
"YOU ARE DILLUSIONAL!! Idiot b***ch" reads another (sic).
Damery said she doesn't take it personally. She believes the online trolling is symptomatic of a population stressed out by the pandemic and everything it's brought.
"Ultimately I just see fear when I read those things," said the economist, one of four women running for the city's top job, "I think it reminds me how people are struggling in the community with their mental health."
Jan Damery, July 27, 2021 in Calgary, Alberta
31 WOMEN RUNNING
31 women are running for either city council or the mayor's chair this year - coincidentally, 31 is also the total number of females who've been elected to council in Calgary's history. No woman has ever been mayor here.
While the number of females running is on the rise, so is the hate directed toward them.
"It's hard to deal with," said Grace Yan, also a mayoral candidate, "you have to be very mentally strong to run, that comes with running a campaign. There is abuse."
Ask Her YYC is an organizations dedicated to preparing women who aspire to public office.
Calgary mayoral candidates Zane Novak, Jan Damery and Virginia Stone at a press conference outside City Hall Thursday, Oct. 14
While that used to mean advising them on how to fundraise and formulate policy, it now also includes how to deal with constant attacks on social media.
"The terrible reality is that women experience misogyny sexism and harassment, particularly when it comes to social media and online," said Gillian Hynes, who leads the organization. "It's the norm but I don't think it's fair. "
"Men experience it as well," she added, "but I do believe women experience it to a different degree. It's not acceptable that people are subjected to that because the bravest thing you can do is put your hand up to run for office."
Calgary mayoral candidate Grace Yan, Oct. 15, 2021
Hynes said women face other barriers to running as well, including family obligations and a possible lack of political contacts to tap into.
She said she's encouraged by the relatively high number of candidates this year. So is Frances Wright, who runs the Famous Five Foundation.
"Women are thinking of entering politics and indeed are running for politics because the encouragement they are receiving from their families, their friends, from men in general and woman as well," Wright said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.