ISSUE 18 - Introducing Winnipeg's potential mayoral candidates
ISSUE 18 - Introducing Winnipeg's potential mayoral candidates
Also: other Manitoba municipal pols' shenanigans , the latest from BC and some positive vibes from Ontario
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we discuss all about municipal elections and the often unreported area of local government across Canada and beyond. Lately, I realized my topics have mainly focused on Ontario and BC, but let’s not forget there are municipal elections scheduled in Manitoba as well.
The capital city and the largest municipality, Winnipeg, contains around 55% of Manitoba’s entire population so municipal election focus will likely centre around the city and its environs.
One big development is that there is finally some movement in the race for Winnipeg’s next mayor since incumbent Brian Bowman announced he would not be seeking a third term.
Several Winnipeg city councillors want the city’s top job
Besides social entrepreneur Shaun Loney announcing the first mayoral bid in Winnipeg, a number of city councillors have announced they will be or stating their intentions to do so. Here are some of those names based on reporting from CBC and the Winnipeg Free Press, with their ward names in brackets:
Councillor John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry)
Councillor Scott Gillingham (St. James)
Councillor, also deputy mayor, Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River)
Councillor Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood)
In addition to the incumbent councillors Jenny Motkaluk, a business development consultant who ran in 2018 and finished second to Bowman, also said she is considering another run.
Orlikow said his priorities as a mayoral candidate would be equity, job creation and making Winnipeg ‘one of the greenest cities in North America’. Chambers, a first term councillor elected in 2018, said he ‘remains very much interested’ about a mayoral run, although he also called Gillingham ‘a true leader’.
The St. James councillor said it was ‘very likely’ he would be putting his hat in the ring. "It is very likely the voters will see me as a candidate for mayor of Winnipeg," Gillingham said. "After seven years on council I've seen a number of opportunities to make city hall work better for Winnipeggers."
Klein said he’s “having conversations with a whole bunch of community leaders” in Winnipeg to ‘ensure he could effect change’ if he becomes mayor. The Charleswood incumbent said while Gillingham was a nice man, he did a poor job managing the city’s finances as finance committee chair.
Mayoral campaigns may be registered from May 1 to September 21 and nomination period for both mayor and council candidates runs from September 15 to 21.
Winnipeg councillor in hot water, attended meeting while driving
But while Bowman has, no pun intended, bowed out of seeking another term, he’s still the mayor and councillors aspiring to replace him continue to show up for work. Unfortunately in the era of virtual meetings, even elected councillors have taken some liberties as to how they go about doing so.
Last month, Councillor Matt Allard (St. Boniface) was caught driving during a council meeting, which he was attending virtually along with other councillors at his home but at some point went out to pick his daughter up from day-care. Allard, a single father, said she unmuted him while he was driving, so he was not operating the device.
“It’s those kids I live for, and my number one job is being a father,” he said, adding that he set up a hands-free device and was complying with the Highway Traffic Act.
This led to a rather awkward exchange between Allard and Councillor Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), who was chairing the meeting, as to what constitutes “a seat” during a council meeting under the city council procedures. Other councillors chimed in, such as the aforementioned Councillor Markus Chambers.
“When I see someone driving, during a meeting, I just think that is distracted driving,” added Councillor Sherri Rollins (Fort-Rouge East Fort Garry). Allard said he wanted clarification and changes to the rules, adding that he was not happy about the slander and libel hurled at him and having his integrity questioned.
Other local politicians in Manitoba in trouble
Meanwhile outside of Winnipeg’s borders, a pair of local councillors from neighbouring Rural Municipalities (RM) found themselves in trouble for two very different reasons.
RM of West St. Paul, MB: local councillor Dorothy Kleiber has been suspended for 60 days for breaching a provincial bylaw about confidentiality. The suspension started January 31 and ends on April 1. Kleiber has cried foul, saying this was a politically motivated attack ahead of the pending municipal election.
Mayor Cheryl Christian filed a complaint back in June of 2021. "Things we discuss in confidence have to be kept in confidence," Christian said. "This is quite serious. We have an obligation to keep confidential matters confidential." Kleiber will be required to issue a letter of apology to council, complete an online Manitoba code of conduct training course and an ‘emotional intelligence’ training course within 30 days of being required to do so.
RM of St. Andrew, MB: Councillor Matthew Prychun faces calls to resign or face serious consequences for being recorded on a video mockingly laughing at a visually impaired man struggling to get through a crowd during an anti-vaccine mandate rally in Winnipeg, according to the Winnipeg Sun.
Prychun, the Ward 1 councillor for the RM just north of Winnipeg can be heard laughing multiple times in the video while watching the person try to walk through the crowd and at one point laughs after saying, “Oh boy, this guy’s going to have trouble.”
The video was originally posted to the councillor’s Facebook page but then taken down, but several copies circulated throughout social media and many of the responses online called for Prychun to resign.
What’s more bizarre is that Mayor Joy Sul was stripped of some of her duties and responsibilities as mayor back in 2019, including her ability to speak on behalf of the RM. The Winnipeg Sun did receive the following statement of Sul’s reaction as a private citizen:
“I’ve viewed the video and I’m embarrassed and disappointed as any regular resident would be. By no means is this a representation of the wonderful residents in St. Andrews who are rightfully upset. This is not acceptable behaviour by anyone.”
British Columbia happenings
Surrey, BC: In what is being seen as an ‘affront to local municipal democracy, Surrey City Council had been considering a bylaw to ban new ethics complaints filed by residents ahead of the 2022 BC municipal elections.
Mayor Doug McCallum, who originally was in favour, then backtracked and introduced a motion to remove this item from the agenda, which was passed without debate. “The work of the Ethics Commissioner is valuable and the misinformation circulating about the bylaw is unfortunate,” a statement from McCallum reads.
“If the motion is approved by Council, I will ask the Ethics Commissioner to bring a report to a future open Council meeting for consideration on how to improve the bylaw. The goal is to strengthen the bylaw to ensure the Office of the Ethics Commissioner is not used for partisan purposes during the election period.”
Surrey Councillor Jack Hundial said before the land use meeting, that “regarding the mayor’s decision to pull this off the agenda, it should never have been on in the first place.”
The mayor could be feeling the heat as he was recently charged with public mischief over allegations that someone ran over his foot at a grocery store altercation, facing push-back from his plans to establish a local police force and he’s facing a challenge from a sitting councillor who was once part of his municipal political party.
Wells, BC: The February 5 municipal by-election to fill three seats for council and a mayor have finally taken place. Here are the results from the town’s Facebook page:
Former Quesnel councillor Ed Coleman has been elected mayor over former district councillor Jordan Rohatynski by 89 to 27 votes. Meanwhile, Dorothea Funk, Jennifer Lewis and John Aitken won the three available seats on council, with Aitken and McDonagh both getting 45 votes, resulting in a tie for third place.
The newly elected councillors will be sworn in on February 22.
This by-election was prompted by the mass resignation of all but one councillor, Rohatynski amongst them, and the resignation of the mayor who declared a perceived conflict of interest as an employee of a prominent mining company operating in the town. The newly elected members will now join Mandy Kilsby, who was the only remaining member of council to stay on after the en-masse resignations.
UPDATE: In an email to me Donna Forseille, the Chief Administrative Officer of Wells, there is a judicial recount taking place at the Quesnel courthouse. Forseille provided this statement upon the conclusion of the recount. McDonagh was declared as the winner of third councillor seat.
Ontario updates
Here are a few stories about municipal politics that are of a more positive nature in the province of Ontario.
Ajax has launched a candidates event program to allow residents to host their own candidate forums for the 2022 municipal elections. Neighbourhood and community groups, faith-based institutions, incorporated not-for-profits serving Ajax residents, local media outlets and post-secondary institutions can apply for $1,000 to host an event for candidates running for mayor, local and regional councillor in each of Ajax’s three wards as well as Durham Regional Chair.
A local organization is looking to boost the number of female candidates running in the Prescott and Russell United Counties region east of Ottawa. The group’s info sessions will be primarily in French (since this is a Franco-Ontarian region) but they have partnered with two other groups which will offer sessions in English. Currently, only 21% of elected officials in Prescott-Russell are female, despite the region being 51% female in total population.
A short profile on the new mayor of Nairn and Hyman Township. Frederic Diebel, 22, is a law student at Lakehead University, is one of Ontario’s youngest mayors.
Story has been updated to include remarks by Donna Forseille on the judicial recount.
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