#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 47 - Updates in Winnipeg, BC and...Markham?
Welcome to another edition of #munipoli Matters, where we cover the often under-reported arena of municipal politics, local elections and civic government happenings.
Here is the latest summation of what is happening with municipal races across the country in the provinces that are holding local elections this year.
New faces for Winnipeg City Council as incumbents seek mayor’s job
Tim Diack, a Winnipeg police officer (beat cop) who finished third in the 2018 mayoral election behind incumbent Brian Bowman and current candidate Jenny Motkaluk, is making another run municipally, this time for the role of City Councillor in St. James ward.
No incumbent is running in St. James as current Councillor Scott Gillingham is running for mayor. Diack said his top two priorities would be improving safety on Winnipeg Transit and making the Winnipeg Police Service more efficient.
He will be facing former St. Charles councillor Shawn Dobson, cycling advocate Daevid Ramey, Art City artistic director Eddie Ayoub and retired businessperson Kelly Ryback for the seat in the municipal election.
Meanwhile, radio host Hal Anderson will also be running for council in the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood ward as incumbent Kevin Klein is also running for Winnipeg mayor. Anderson works for 680 CJOB and writes for the Winnipeg Sun.
“I’ve talked on radio, television and in the Sun about our city’s issues and possible solutions. I’ve always thought about running for political office to be a difference-maker, and that’s why I feel the timing is right for me… to roll up my sleeves and get things done,” Anderson, who worked in broadcasting for nearly 40 years, said on air.
This BC mayor may have a future in provincial politics
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West is being touted as a future BC provincial politician, after his name had been briefly bandied about as a potential successor to Premier John Horgan. West, elected with 86% of the vote in 2018, announced he would seek reelection.
The mayor said he intends to serve a full term if reelected, but with a provincial election scheduled in 2024 he might have to break that promise when current cabinet minister and Port Coquitlam NDP MLA Mike Farnworth retires.
West fits the profile of an uncontroversial suburban local politician: deliver the basic core services and work together with council. A political profile of that sort could provide the key for the BC NDP to continue to build the support they received since winning government in 2017.
Writer and musician to run for Socialists in Vancouver
Musician and writer Sean Orr announced he would be running for City Council, as part of the VOTE Socialist slate in the October municipal elections. He wrote a very poignant op-ed on the history of housing in Vancouver on driving his reasoning to run.
In other news
Dryden, ON: Current Councillor Shayne MacKinnon is vying for the Mayor’s seat after incumbent Greg Wilson said he would step away to concentrate more on running his business. MacKinnon, a former police chief, served as a councillor from 2012-2014 and again since 2018. Another Dryden mayoral candidate, Jack Harrison, is also running.
London, ON: Former city councillor Stephen Orser is looking to make a comeback onto London City Council, having filed papers to run in Ward 4. Orser represented the ward from 2006 until 2014, when he was unseated by current Councillor Jesse Helmer. Helmer is not running again in 2022.
Markham, ON: While Ward 2 is heavily contested as incumbent Alan Ho is running to be one of the city’s four regional councillors, Ward 7 just also became an open ward as Councillor Khalid Usman announced he would not be running again after initially filing to stand for reelection.
Usman, a chartered accountant, first served on Markham City Council from 1997 until 2006, when he ran for Regional Councillor. He sought reelection in Ward 6 in 2010 and came in fourth. Usman ran again in 2014 in Ward 7 and came in second, but finally returned to Council in 2018 in the same ward, winning with just 24% of the vote.
New Westminster, BC: Former BC MLA Chuck Puchmayr has thrown his hat into the race left open by the retirement of incumbent Jonathan Cote. Puchmayr was first elected to council from 1996 to 2005. From 2005 to 2009, he served as New Westminster’s NDP MLA until he stepped down for health reasons.
He returned to politics in 2011 when he was elected to New West’s city council, reelected in 2014 and 2018. Puchmayr will be running as an independent for mayor, along with two-term incumbent Councillor Patrick Johnstone, who is running with the NDP-affiliated Community First slate, and Ken Armstrong of the New West Progressives.
North Cowichan, BC: Two term councillor Rob Douglas is running for mayor. Douglas lives with his family near Mount Tzouhalem and previously worked in the pulp and paper, forestry and construction industries.
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