The gauntlet was thrown down by Abbotsford mayor Ross Siemens earlier this week and it was answered back by Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles.
The municipal leaders of the opposing cities in the 2025 Calder Cup Finals have mutually agreed that the losing city's mayor must now wear the jersey of the winning city and a photograph documenting the donning of that article of clothing must also be shared to social media.
The News learned that Siemens initially laid out the challenge following Abbotsford's win in game six of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday (June 8).
"Mayor Siemens has reached out to Mayor Lyles to see if she would be interested in participating in a friendly mayor-to-mayor challenge that would see the mayor of the losing team香蕉视频直播檚 city wear the winning team香蕉视频直播檚 jersey and post a congratulatory photo on social media," stated a member of the Abbotsford city communications staff.
Lyles proceeded to accept the challenge on Tuesday (June 10).
She has served as the 59th mayor of Charlotte since initially winning in 2017 and has also won elections in 2019 and 2022. Lyles earned 68.4 per cent of the vote in 2022 to earn her third term as mayor. Prior to winning in 2017 she served as mayor pro-tem starting in 2015 and she was also elected to Charlotte city council for the first time in 2013.
Lyles is a member of the Democratic Party and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Queens University of Charlotte and a Master of Public Administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as the community outreach director for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which took place in Charlotte and nominated president Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden for re-election.
, one of her top achievements was the expansion of the Charlotte Area Transit System. She has also helped the city collect $150 million towards affordable housing projects, benefiting more than 5,000 families.
Lyles also had to help the city recover after the deadly east Charlotte ambush, in which four law enforcement members were killed on April 29, 2024.
Siemens has served as the sixth mayor of the City of Abbotsford since Oct. 15, 2022 and prior to that was a councillor from 2014 to 2022. He also became the youngest councillor in Abbotsford's history when he was elected to the position in 1986 at the age of 23. He won the 2022 mayoral race by earning 64 per cent of the vote.
, he left politics in 1991 to work with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in Hong Kong. Along the way he had the opportunity to work with Teen Challenge in Macau and also taught English at Shenzhen University in China for a semester. Upon returning to Canada, he eventually purchased his family's business, Hub Motor Service (Siemens Garage Ltd.), established by his grandfather in 1954 in downtown Abbotsford.
He also serves as the chair of the Abbotsford Police Board, the Abbotsford Airport Authority and the Fraser Valley Regional District board. Siemens was tasked to deal with some of the aftermath of Abbotsford's devastating flood in November 2021 and has stated better flood preparation is a continuing goal. He has also spearheaded construction of a new Abbotsford Police Department headquarters and on highway improvements.
The best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals series begins in Charlotte on Friday (June 14) at 4 p.m. Game two is also in Charlotte on Sunday (June 16) at 1 p.m. Games three and four move to Abbotsford on Tuesday (June 17) and Thursday (June 19). The Abbotsford games begin at 7 p.m.
Continue visiting for ongoing coverage of the series.
