CALGARY — A Calgary councillor embroiled in a spending scandal last year has announced his intention to run for re-election.
Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca declared on Friday that he had submitted his papers.
"Thank you to everyone who signed my nomination papers and encouraged me to continue serving Ward 2 at City Hall," Magliocca said in a Facebook post.
"This election there is a clear choice between those who want to raise property taxes to pay for their spending promises and those who believe in lower taxes to keep more money in your pocket," he said.
"Over the last four years I kept my promise to vote against tax increases, and I will continue to vote for lower taxes should I once again earn the support of the residents of Ward 2."
Concerns over the councillor's spending were raised last year after a Postmedia investigation uncovered he had spent double what other Calgary councillors had at the 2019 Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Quebec City; $6,400 over the course of the four-day trip.
The councillor issued a public apology.
A subsequent third-party forensic audit into Magliocca's expenses between November 2017 and July 2019 uncovered thousands of dollars in improper expense claims for things like seat upgrades on flights, meals and alcohol.
By the end of April, Magliocca had repaid nearly $10,000 to the city.
Although the councillor issued an apology prior to the forensic audit, he hasn't issued one since it was released -- which was one of the terms in the list of sanctions leveled against himby council.
The other candidates running in Ward 2 as of Monday are Francis Aranha, Sareen Singh, Ronald Allan Taylor, Kim (Dong) Tyers, Theo van Besouw and Jennifer Wyness.
Calgary’s 2021 municipal election is on Oct. 18.