#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 35 - This former party leader wants to be mayor
A couple of additional tidbits coming out of Mississauga, another BC mayor retires...and some changes coming to existing municipalities?
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.
Former Manitoba provincial party leader is running for mayor
Rana Bokhari, a Winnipeg lawyer who once served as the Manitoba Liberal Party leader, is running for the job to succeed incumbent Brian Bowman.
Bokhari, who studied at the University of Manitoba, was elected leader of the provincial Manitoba Liberals in 2013, becoming the youngest and first female visible-minority leader in the party’s history.
She led the Liberals in the 2016 Manitoba election, but was unsuccessful in boosting their political fortunes, losing her own seat in Fort Rogue to NDP leader Wab Kinew. Bokhari stepped down as leader soon after. Currently, she is a lawyer at the Winnipeg-based law firm Bokhari, Smith and Walker.
“I believe that we need a strong vision for the future. We've come through some very hard years. People have suffered financially, emotionally - all sorts of challenges that we've all faced during this pandemic,” Bokhari said.
“What I would really be doing different in this campaign is really just being my true, authentic self, being true to who I am as a woman, as a Pakistani woman, as a Muslim woman in the city, and just being authentic in every way possible, and that was something that wasn't able to do at that time.”
Bokhari joins a growing list of contenders for mayor, including 2018 runner up Jennifer Motkaluk, Councillor Scott Gillingham, Don Woodstock, Chris Clacio, business owner Rick Shone, former Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, social entrepreneur Shaun Loney, Desmond Thomas and Idris Ademuyiwa Adelakun.
Mississauga braces itself for ONE more election this year
We’ve had the June provincial election, upcoming municipal elections…and now there is at least one more election in Mississauga before this year is over.
Sven Spengemann, the Liberal MP for Mississauga-Lakeshore from 2015, announced he was leaving Parliament to take up a job at the United Nations. His resignation took effect on May 28, 2022.
A lawyer and former banker who held roles in the federal government, this would mark Spengemann’s second stint working with the UN. From 2005 to 2012 he served as a legal adviser and senior constitutional officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.
Spengemann won the federal Liberal nomination in 2014 and the following year was elected in Mississauga-Lakeshore defeating the previous sitting MP, Conservative Stella Ambler. He won a rematch with Ambler in 2019 and Conservative Michael Ras in 2021, averaging 47% of the vote in all three of his elections.
It is now up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call a by-election, which conventionally he has about 6 months to do so. Since Spengemann’s resignation took place at the end of May, we may be looking at a November by-election, if not earlier.
That could hamper things as Mississauga would still be in the middle of municipal elections. The expected vacancy in Ward 2 to vie for former councillor Karen Ras’ seat overlapping a federal by-election in the same district would make for some interesting campaigning tactics for candidates during that time.
I will try to keep everyone abreast of who the parties will nominate for the by-election as well as more ‘minor’ candidates in the running.
Needless to say, the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement until 2025, and the ongoing Conservative leadership race, could prove to be a major factor on the hustings.
Speaking of Mississauga…
There’s been a flurry of candidate registrations for the municipal election during the provincial campaign and on the heels of its end. No surprise to see Ward 7 Councillor Dipika Damerla file for reelection, fresh off in a losing effort to return to Queen’s Park as a Liberal MPP. Her only opponent at this time is Amir Ali.
Ward 2 is filling up with candidates as well since it is going to be an open seat, with Syed Jaffery, Silvia Gualtieri and 2020 Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Alvin Tedjo. Tedjo ran for Ward 2 councillor in 2014, as well as running for the OLP in 2018 in Oakville North-Burlington prior to the leadership bid.
The riding of Mississauga-Streetsville seems to be contributing to a bulk of recent candidate filings. Former federal Conservative MP Brad Butt, who represented the riding from 2011-2015, is running for Councillor in Ward 11, looking to replace retiring incumbent George Carlson.
In Ward 9, former Liberal MPP Bob Delaney, who represented the riding from 2003-2018, is running for Ward 9 Councillor. There are now seven vying to replace longtime Councillor Pat Saito besides Delaney, including school trustee Nokha Dakroub, Charbel Bassil, Isaiah Bryant, Frank Fang, Martin Reid and Mohammad Shabbeer.
And on a slight deviation, the most recent provincial Liberal to contest Mississauga-Streetsville, Jill Promoli, is now running for Public School Board Trustee for Mississauga Wards 6 and 11. Even though she lost, Promoli managed to boost the Liberal vote on June 2 back to second place. DISCLAIMER: I volunteered on Jill’s campaign and she is an incredibly passionate person in the realm of education, so this trustee bid would be an appropriate fit for her skill sets.
Another BC mayor announces retirement
Following the trend set this year by mayors in Langley Township, New Westminster and Victoria, Pitt Meadows Mayor Bill Dingwall has announced he is not seeking reelection after a public service career spanning 46 years.
Dingwall spent 36 years as an RCMP officer before getting elected to Pitt Meadows City Council in 2014. He served as a regular critic on the council of then mayor John Becker, and defeated him in the 2018 municipal election for the city’s top job.
New town being created in Alberta
On May 25, the Alberta government approved the amalgamation of the town of Black Diamond and Turner Valley into the Town of Diamond Valley, effective January 1, 2023.
Municipal and provincial officials cited the desire for more effective service delivery as one prime reason for the amalgamation. However, while the approval votes in Turner Valley were unanimous, the votes in Black Diamond to approve the union on council was a much closer 4 to 3 decision.
Elections for a new council will be held this November.
The renaming of Queen Charlotte
Finally, in what looks like a small example of reconciliation, a small island village on the coast of British Columbia is taking steps to regain its traditional Indigenous name.
The Village of Queen Charlotte was given that name in 1908 by white settlers. But during a council meeting on May 16, the village voted unanimously to restore the community’s traditional Haida name: Daajing Giids (pronounced daw-jean geeds).
Queen Charlotte Island itself was renamed Haida Gwaii in 2009.
"I cannot really describe the experience I'm going through right now because it's … respect. It's moving forward in a way that's respectful for the air, the land and the sea, and the people that live here on Haida Gwaii,” Mayor Kris Olsen told CBC, adding that the new name means “common hat”, or dancing hat.
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