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In 2014, Naheed Nenshi was named the world’s best mayor. Many Calgarians were proud of that. He gave the city distinction and a wave of great publicity.

Now Nenshi is standing far below his old pedestal, looking up. A new Mainstreet Research/Postmedia poll for the Calgary Herald/Calgary Sun shows he’s well behind rival Bill Smith in the race for the mayor’s office.

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Mainstreet surveyed 1,000 Calgarians on Thursday and found that Smith has 42 per cent support, while the mayor is at 33 per cent. Coun. Andre Chabot is far back at seven per cent. The undecided vote is also surprisingly low, 14 per cent.

Smith is suddenly big news. And the mayor is in genuine trouble as we edge toward the Oct. 16 vote.

Even Smith’s people hadn’t thought their candidate was doing that well. Their own soundings had him about even with the mayor.

The poll thrusts the Calgary lawyer and ex-firefighter into a much brighter spotlight. He’ll be scrutinized very carefully as a potential mayor, not just as a guy giving Nenshi a hard time.