OLDS — In response to a request by City of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Olds Mayor Judy Dahl says she’s quite happy if people call her “your worship” or choose not to.
It was recently reported that Gondek had asked administrative staff and others to stop referring to her as “your worship,” saying that was, in her mind, an outdated colonial reference.
“And at a time when we’re struggling with how to take action on reconciliation, this is my tiny little part,” Gondek said.
City of Regina Mayor Sandra Masters also previously made the same request, she noted.
The Albertan asked Dahl if she’d follow Gondek and Masters’ lead.
In an email, Dahl said she learned of Gondek’s request via a news story on TV.
“It made me giggle, as I agree for the reason I am a community mayor and daily respond to “Mayor Judy.” Or when asked by the public, I smile and reply whatever makes you comfortable," she wrote.
Dahl noted that the mayor’s correspondence addressed to federal and provincial officials is “typically signed ‘Her Worship.’
“I understand where (the) City of Calgary mayor is going with her request,” Dahl wrote. “Our council is very professional and I leave up to them.”
