An Update

So, since last time, there’s been a civic election… did you catch it? The lacklustre campaign was followed by a lacklustre outcome and lacklustre results — Mayor Sam Katz won more votes than his three competitors combined (104,379 for Katz vs. 38,227 for Marianne Cerilli, 22,401 for Kaj Hasselriis, and 4,444 for Ron Pollack) and most incumbent candidates easily won their wards. The real surprises (if you can call them that this time) were in River Heights – Fort Garry where Donald Benham lost to Katz supporter Brenda Leipsic; and in St. Boniface where Katz’s buddy Franco Magnifico lost his seat to the man he succeeded in the ward, Dan Vandal – likely due to the OlyWest issue which Franco strongly supported.

Two other incumbents were knocked off — Mark Lubosch in North Kildonan by Jeff Browaty and Jae Eadie in St. James-Brooklands by Scott Fielding. Add to that Grant Nordman’s win in a fairly wide-open St. Charles, and the Sam Katz Party is alive and well going into the next four years of council.

Today, Mayor Katz announced his cabinet Executive Policy Committee. No surprises really, except that Point Douglas’ silent man and former Deputy Mayor Mike Pagtakhan was dropped. As people are already saying, regardless of his coziness with Mayor Katz, he did represent an “inner city” voice on EPC (albeit an often-unheard of one). Now, with the councillors from River Heights-Fort Garry, Charleswood, Old Kildonan, Transcona, St. Vital and St. Norbert making all the major decisions for the next four years, our elected officials may begin to develop a more suburban outlook on this city.

In the meantime, we can only wait and see how things go in the inner city (and, in the city as a whole) … Hopefully Marianne Cerilli’s words at the debate at the U of W—if Sam Katz is reelected we won’t recognize the city in four years—won’t prove to be prophetic.

Leipsic and Katz: one step further to a ruling Sam Katz Party

I wrote on the 10th that Sam Katz and Brenda Leipsic, candidate for councillor in River Heights, were intent on working together, though an official endorsement by the Mayor’s campaign team hadn’t yet been forthcoming. Well, as of yesterday, it’s there:

“ MAYOR Sam Katz made official yesterday what he’s been denying for months — Brenda Leipsic is his choice for city council in River Heights.At a press conference at Leipsic’s Academy Road campaign office, Katz called the fundraising consultant a positive candidate who will bring innovative ideas to city hall.

…

For months, Katz has said that, unlike previous mayors, he’ll be up front in his support for council candidates. But yesterday’s announcement, which comes 12 days before the civic election, follows months of tacit support for Leipsic’s campaign, including a recent poll in River Heights to determine whether Katz’s endorsement would aid her.

…

Leipsic is a longtime friend of the mayor’s chief of staff, Ryan Craig. They have both been active in the provincial conservative party. Leipsic helped organize Katz’s Winnipeg City Summit in May and was given the high-profile job of introducing the keynote speaker, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to a crowd of about 800 people.

The mayor’s campaign has also polled in the River Heights ward — as well as in North Kildonan, where young conservative Jeff Browaty is challenging a left-leaning councillor — to determine whether voters would be swayed by Katz endorsement.

But Katz said “allegations” that he has supported Leipsic since early summer are simply false.”

-Winnipeg Free Press, October 14

No surprise there, especially in light of news coming out this past week about incumbent and vocal Katz critic Donald Benham having issues with his city-issued credit card. Strategic move on Katz’s and Leipsic’s part.

So, who’s the next Conservative party member friend of Ryan Craig’s to get the official mayoral endorsement less than two weeks before the election?

The probabilities of a Sam Katz Party-dominated Council are looking more and more real. Winnipeggers should really think how they’re going to vote, taking into account not only the next four years, but the city’s future further on down the line. Do we want this party in office indefinitely?

Winnipeg’s Civic Electoral Parties, or Dissenting Voices Unwelcome?

Even though they’re officially not allowed (insofar as they won’t be indicated as being members of a party on the actual ballots come October 25), there’s a couple civic political parties running this time around.

The Winnipeg Green Party is running a slate of six candidates across the city, bringing much-needed democratic choices to their respective wards. The Greens share a platform, campaign website and manager and the strength their collective voices and the voices their supporters adds up to.

The second party running (aside from the traditional union- and NDP-backed candidates), however, is much more low key about its party affiliations, so much so that the media had to give them their (fitting) name: The Sam Katz Party.

Yep, the incumbent mayor’s got his own political party and he, the leader himself, is doing a lot for the rest of his candidates: signing nomination papers, handpicking campaign staff for others, knocking on doors, opening campaign headquarters (and vice versa)… needless to say, the man sure knows who he wants joining him in the Council chambers come October 26.

The Winnipeg Free Press’ Mary Agnes Welch wrote on September 22:

“Katz rejected the suggestion he has an organized slate, saying instead he is simply helping out quality candidates. “I would actively campaign for any individual who I thought would make a good councillor,” said Katz.”

Unsaid, but assumed, of course, is that those “good councillors” in Sam’s eyes will be ones who will support the mayor many more times than not.

For the past two years, Katz has arguably been building his team and its easy to see who’s already on it: Councillors Pagtagkhan, Clements, Magnifico, O’Shaughnessy, Steeves, Swandel—basically EPC plus more who wish they were. That’s already almost half of Council, and he’s looking for more this time around.

In wide-open St. Charles, Grant Norman is Katz’s go-to guy.

“Grant Nordman understands how to invigorate a community through economic growth and attention to infrastructure. His solid track record and experience as President of the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce make him an ideal Council choice for the residents of St. Charles.”

In River Heights, Brenda Leipsic’s endorsement by the mayor’s office has been quieter, but the desire to work with the administration is evident:

“Winnipeggers want action and results,” she told a crowd at her campaign office. “Not endless bickering.”

As well, even her campaign slogan: “A Positive Voice” [emphasis mine] is a jab at incumbent Donald Benham and his perceived role as an unofficial Sam Katz critic (and here) in Council.

In North Kildonan, former Tory youth wing member Jeff Browaty wishes to “work with the Mayor and City Council, not sit as an ‘opposition’ councillor” (as opposed to sitting councillor Mark Lubosch who has taken the opposite side as the mayor on various contentious issues lately) while his counterpart in St. James-Brooklands, Scott Fielding, has the same political history (and alleged friendship of Sam Katz’s chief of staff Ryan Craig) was recently appointed by Sam Katz himself to the Winnipeg Convention Centre’s Board of Directors to represent on the City’s behalf.

Should these candidates get in, Council will be heavily stacked in Katz’s favour.

Now no one is rationally suggesting tha tthe mayor has some diabolical scheme up his sleeve that he needs an overwhelming majority on Council to bring forth to and then have support, but a Sam Katz Party—often being yes-men and women (or at best totally like-thinkers)—would do little for reasoned debate (as it exists even now in its battered form) for the next four years at least. It is interesting that one would need to be marketed as a new “positive” councillor in wards whose incumbent is more of a critic and as a councillor who would “work with” the mayor on the issues. Isn’t the implication there that being a critic, or disagreeing with the mayor on issues is somehow incorrect or wrong?

Those councillors who don’t automatically support Katz may be seen as “negative” or “against cooperation” but their roles are very, very important in light of decisions that will affect Winnipeg’s future well-being. They may have different visions for the future of Winnipeg—but because he’s mayor, Sam Katz’s vision is somehow the better one worth pursuing? So much for the reasoned voice of dissent in this democracy then; we don’t need it.

…and it’ll be a muted debate

Today’s Free Press (unlinked because it’s subscription only) has an article telling us that there’s nine, NINE mayoral debates scheduled (after so long hearing of none). By all accounts, Kaj Hasselriis, Marianne Cerilli, Ron Pollock (though he says he wasn’t inivited to the CJOB or Global TV debates) will be attending all nine, but Sam Katz will only be attending four.

“All three other mayoral candidates are criticizing Katz for passing up other debates, but his campaign manager Ryan Craig said the mayor simply has no time to accomodate more events.

Funny that the other three candidates have the time to show up to all nine and hear from and talk directly to the people. That’s too bad, especially for the students at the University of Winnipeg who were no doubt hoping that the incumbent mayor would show up to their debate on the 11th. Instead, he’s doing CJOB and Red River College’s KICK 92.9 radio stations, Global TV, and—the only debate where the public will be allowed to participate—the traditional Chamber of Commerce/Winnipeg Real Estate Board.

So what’s he showing the public (and the university student population specifically) is that he doesn’t need to care about their concerns, doesn’t need to listen to them. For a candidate who declares that he wants to create “a city where there are jobs and opportunities for our youth,” he’s sure not doing much to listen to them and what they really want (and I can guarantee it’s much more than an inner-city Christian rapper is telling him behind closed doors).

In the end, Katz is losing out though. He’s likely facing a much stiffer test from challengers Kaj Hasselriis and Marianne Cerilli on the campuses in the city than he is from the general public, so this would have been an opportune time to tap into a constituency he may not have had in his grip before. So his absence means that the other two will be able to further cement support for them for October 25th. Unfortunately, if they don’t win, then the youth’s voice in this city will be lost—again.

A debate!

Mark your calenders, folks, because we’ve got a mayoral debate coming. The five major post-secondary students’ associations (the UWSA, UMSU, UMGSA, AECUSB, and RRCSA) along with CBC Manitoba are hosting a mayoral debate on October 11 at 12:30 pm in the University of Winnipeg’s Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (3rd Floor, Centennial Hall).

More details to follow.

The Youth of Winnipeg Today, Expressed

A comment piece appeared in the University of Winnipeg’s student weekly last week entitled “Stepping on Winnipeg’s Spirited Energy“. In it, its author James Patterson argues that youth issues have, once again, been largely being ignored in this year’s election – which would no doubt mean that the coming civic government would be equally youth-unfriendly – and have only been brought to the table by the youths themselves engaged in what many in this city have deemed to be unacceptable: a 75-minute bike through downtown and the inner city on the last Friday of each month at 5pm. Of course, this has ride sparked enormous debate in the city about cyclists, motorists and the rights to the road, but what has remained throughout is the condescension and skepticism that has remained with much of Winnipeg’s establishment views on the city’s youths. But, as Mr. Patterson points out,

“Critical mass is a perfect indication that Winnipeg’s youth are willing to step up and be part of this city. It shows a vested interest by youth for their community in a society that preaches that youth do not care, because they don’t vote.”

Has any official, elected or running, recognized this? If they have, I have yet to hear anyone come out and say “you know what, Critical Mass, while I may not agree with their tactics, they at least they’re out there making a point and showing that they care about the future of this city and I’m going to seriously get to work on that when I’m elected.”

Like it or not Winnipeg, those youth and many others like them (talk to people around one of the university campuses in the city), represent much of this city’s future. Ignoring them in this election campaign or, more critically, once the civic government is formed will be so at a risk to this city’s future. Mr. Patterson sums up his article quite succinctly:

“With a hype-filled civic election unfolding and given that in the last three years the city has gone from a sense of renewed optimism to having to defend itself against Globe and Mail articles that portray Winnipeg negatively, it seems like a good time to realize that Winnipeg’s future is at a very real crossroads. The question is: Are our supposed leaders going to simply continue the romantic prose of a dynamic, creative and progressive city found in their think tanks, focus groups, branded idioms and election platforms or will they move to the hard part? Action. The City’s youth have started to figure this out. Hopefully our appointed leaders can find a way as well.”

I hope so too.

(For alternate forms of media in this city, I urge Winnipeggers to pick up copies of many of the free weeklies that abound such as The Uniter or listen to radio such as CKUW, KICK or UMFM. The Free Press, Sun and CJOB have their places, but reporting on ‘the other side’ of things isn’t one of their strong suits. Hence this viewpoint not having an outlet until now.)

A Civic Election Issue

I made mention a week or so ago that everyone’s ‘favourite’ city, Toronto, was holding its own civic election a mere three weeks after Winnipeg’s will have taken place. I also talked about Chicago’s Bike 2015 Plan, the comprehensive alternative human-powered transportation plan that the City of Chicago was implementing to make the metropolis an attractive place to cycle (and walk, and take public transit).

Put the two together and add some more progressive organizations (including the Sierra Club and Mountain Equipment Co-op) and what do you get? TCAT, or the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation, a group aiming

“to make cycling and pedestrian issues a major factor in the upcoming municipal election. (from the spacing.ca/wire)

Furthermore,

it has developed a platform of important issues that should be addressed by the city, and will be conducting a candidate survey.”

Funny how the issue of sustainable transportation is rearing its head both in Canada’s largest city as well as in Winnipeg just before their respective civic elections. It would do the candidates in Winnipeg’s election (though some would be well aware of them already) well to pay attention to the questions and issues being raised in Toronto, because similar issues have been and will continue to be brought up here as long as there seems to be little action on Council to cater to forms of transportation other than the private automobile.

The Winnipeg Green Party Enters the Fray

Just a few days ago I bemoaned the fact that the upcoming Winnipeg civic election what sorely lacking in interest, candidates and, ultimately, democracy. Today, things are a bit different, and my faith in the state of the city a bit more buoyant.

This morning, the relatively new Winnipeg Green Party announced that it was running a slate of six candidates in various wards around the city in an effort to bring various issues, including the Olywest Hog Processing plant and Rapid Transit, to the campaign trail. (For the record, they’re for rapid transit and against the Olywest plant).

Also, the six ridings they’ve chosen to run candidates in—St. Vital, Elmwood, Mynarski, St. James Brooklands, Transcona, and St. Norbert—include the four that were previously uncontested, bringing an element of grassroots democracy to those wards, and, most importantly, ensuring that the councillors in Transcona, Elmwood, St. Norbert and St. Vital will be kept honest and won’t be as easily acclaimed. The people have choices now when they approach the voting booth on October 25.

The Greens represent a significant leap in Winnipeg civic politics: One, they’re running openly as a party with the same essential platform (other councillors may be endorsed by a particular party – the NDP, the Conservatives, etc., but that’s usually more hush-hush). And, two, their platform focuses on Winnipeg as a whole, as one entity that can not simply be split up neatly into wards where one ward’s problems suddenly end at their boundaries. The challenges facing Winnipeg as we move forward—environmental, social, economic—can only be solved by taking the entire city into account and working together for the good of the whole. Like a particular human health problem, if one ward, one piece of the puzzle is faltering, then this living organism that is the City of Winnipeg as a whole suffers.

The State of Democracy in Winnipeg and its Causes and Effects

In less than two months now, on October 25, Winnipeggers will go to the polls to elect the mayor and 15 councillors who will lead Winnipeg for the next four years, bringing with them the new ideas, vision and energy that elections toend to bring to governments everywhere.

Or not.

As was written in the Saturday, September 2 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press:

“On Oct. 26, the day after the election, Winnipeggers could wake up to a city council with only one new face, the rookie rep for St. Charles, a seat vacated by the retirement of two-term Coun. Peter De Smedt.”

And how telling that is. For a city that seems to be lacking an identity and a vision, we, its citizens, we’ll likely be getting what we ask for come the late fall election.

Four councillors out of 15 total are likely not going to face any opposition—Lillian Thomas in Elmwood, Gord Steeves in St. Vital, Russ Wyatt in Transcona and Justin Swandel in St. Norbert—and the culture of incumbancy that exists at City Hall means that there may only be four real races to mention: the aforementioned St. Charles, Daniel McIntyre, River Heights and St. Boniface.

Democracy doesn’t seem to be alive and kicking in Winnipeg.

For a point of reference, Toronto’s civic election set for November 13 this year sees all of its 44 city wards being contested, and, amazingly (from a Winnipegger’s point of view), 38 out of the 44, or 86.3% being contested by three or more candidates. A legacy, perhaps, from the tenure of Mayor David Crombie, elected in 1972, who had a clear vision for his city and left the attitude of a grassroots democracy in Toronto (if any Torontonians are reading this, I apologize for if I’m taking liberties and making assumptions that may be somewhat contentious).
John Lorinc’s view of the current Canadian city as presented in his 2006 book The New City describes this as

“a generation of idealistic, urban-minded reformers—spurred on by the likes of Jane Jacobs and … Crombie—infused new energhy into local politics.”

So where in Winnipeg is something like this “new energy” that Toronto saw thirty years ago (and ostensibly still seems to retain at least in the number of different voices and visions being heard (and actually debated!))? While the beginning of such a vision may be there with Mayor Sam Katz’s main competitor, Kaj Hasselriis, the rest of the election is turning out to be a matter basic civic duties that should be taken care of no matter what.

So why is there such a lack of enthusiasm in the City of Winnipeg to run or to for the populace to demand change?

It stems from a lack of confidence in the power of City Council to accomplish much and serve their constituants, and more imporantly the entire city. It comes from staleness of council as a result of no term limits when it seems to be something that—through a cursory (and admittedly unscientific) poll—the populace of Winnipeg seems to want, yet won’t stand up to the politicians and demand. It comes from a lack of real ideas and courage eminating from City Hall, touching the citizens they represent to make the changes needed to bring this city into the 21st century. It comes from a small Council where the promise of a promotion to the Mayor’s Executive Policy Committee (and its subsequent pay raise)—which in the end makes all the real decisions—overrides quality debate and conflicting, real visions for the city. And it stems from being a city that simply doesn’t take itself seriously anymore. No one’s shown Winnipeggers how their city can once again be a force nationally and beyond, so they don’t believe it’s possible or worth it.

Hopefully Winnipeg City Council will realise that real changes need to begin with them before the citizens of their city can and/or will be actively be engaged and made to be interested partners in the all around success of Winnipeg.

Too bad it likely won’t be this version of City Council. But prove me wrong, please prove me wrong.

Playing Catch-Up

On a warm early August afternoon in downtown Winnipeg, Mayor Sam Katz finally officially threw his hat into the ring to face reelection as Mayor of Winnipeg, several weeks after main rival Kaj Hasselriis had done so. All issues regarding his waiting so long to register aside, Mayor Katz’s early election promises to prune trees, cut grass, clear snow and pick up litter are, to put it mildly, uninspiring. I’d be willing to grant Katz the benefit of the doubt for a more-than lacklustre half-term in office thusfar, preferring to save the big promises for an election for a full four-year term, but, not surprisingly on my part, Katz is preferring to stick to the basics then, and is preferring to stick to the basics now. For a politician who wants the city—Winnipeg—under his charge to be “a vibrant city that attracts young people”, he’s going to have to do more than ensure basic civic services are met to not only attract new young, ostensibly educated and creative, people, but to keep its own creative, educated young people.

Where’s the long-term vision for an exciting city that is not merely a place to grow up in and move on from; for a city that will grow sustainably, smartly and in a way that is attractive to not only its often loyal residents but to those from elsewhere. As one of those young people who has grown up in this city, I am seriously doubting Winnipeg’s future at this point, and especially my future here. I don’t want a city whose mayor’s first priorities are to provide basic services—I can get that anywhere—but a city where the leadership from the top on down gives some civic inspiration for its residents. For a mayor who has a separate “Youth” page on his website, I’m not sure who of my peers Sam is listening to. But listening to those who have actually seen what cities can be—what Winnipeg can be—might upset the city’s large Lowest Common Denominator population from where Sam seems to draw a lot of his supporters. He may have won in a landslide in 2004 based on his name, but there’s thankfully a growing body of public sentiment that’s beginning to think otherwise. And they’ve now got a mayoral candidate to thinks he can lead them—one of those creative, educated and enthusiastic young people who will make people who truly care for a vital urban centre take take a close look at in Kaj Hasselriis. Look him up and compare the election platforms: who has the more interesting, creative and forward-thinking ideas, leading to a better Winnipeg in the long run?

Sam, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do with Kaj, not least of which is catching up with the city’s most valuable asset, the younger and forward-thinking people who really will have a say in how this city grows into the future. Unless, of course, we have too many more years of visionless leadership.

(note: This is not a direct endorsement of Kaj Hasselriis per se – official platforms, debates and discussions have yet to be revealed and proceeded with, but first impressions do count, especially in love and politics.)