The Calgary mayor’s popularity and acclaim have gone global.
Naheed Nenshi has been named World Mayor 2014, beating successful city leaders in Ghent, Belgium; Surabaya, Indonesia; and others around the planet.
He is the first mayor from a North American city to win the trophy, which the London-based City Mayors Foundation has awarded seven times since its inception in 2004.
The committee has recognized the second-term mayor’s handling of Calgary’s 2013 flood, as well as the attention he has gained from urban thinkers around North America.
“He is an urban visionary who doesn’t neglect the nitty-gritty of local government,” the citation says.
“For many in North America and indeed Europe, Mayor Nenshi is a role model for decisive management, inclusivity and forward planning.”
The news came out Monday, on Nenshi’s 43rd birthday.
The foundation, based in London, hands out the award to a “mayor who has made outstanding contributions to his / her community and has developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world,” its website states.
The 2012 winner was Inaki Azkuna, mayor of Bilbao, Spain.
The major accolade comes at a time when Nenshi faces tension among his 14 council colleagues, weeks after he said publicly he’s heard complaints of councillors getting “totally drunk” in public. Half of council criticized him and many urged Nenshi to apologize for spreading harmful rumours, but the mayor has said he has nothing to apologize for.
Naheed Nenshi crowned World Mayor 2014
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Originally Posted by DonJuan
all he did was stay up late and tweet a lot. The actual work was done by people from emergency services.
