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Mayor Naheed Nenshi remains popular in Calgary but could be heading into the “danger zone” ahead of this year’s municipal election, says a pollster and analyst.

A Mainstreet Research poll conducted for Postmedia shows Nenshi with an approval rating of 60 per cent among Calgarians, with 35 per cent of respondents disapproving of how he’s handling his job as mayor.

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Mainstreet president Quito Maggi notes that the mayor’s approval has slipped from 65 per cent in the last poll done by the company in January.

While the numbers are still strong, Nenshi faces potential bumps in the midst of Calgary’s continuing economic struggles and unhappiness over issues such as property taxes, said Maggi.

“He has some challenges and he’s going to have a serious competitor, I think, in this election,” he said of the city vote set for October.

Nenshi will be seeking his third term as mayor.

“That’s when politicians usually start hitting that first danger zone for shelf life,” said Maggi.

Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson has a 62 per cent approval rating, while 29 per cent of respondents disapproved of his performance.

Mainstreet polled a random sample of 894 Calgarians using automated phone calls on Feb. 9 and 10.

The margin of error is plus or minus is 3.28 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

jwood@postmedia.com