Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 13, 1980, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg Frise february Liberal Richard Mercier left and new Democrat Cyril keeper right Are battling hard to be the one who dumps tory Bob keeper out to bar Lane by Tom Goldstein and John Sullivan with National Public opinion polls holding firm during the final stretch of the Federal election at least one Winnipeg Riding appears to be destined for a change in represent and Liberal Richard Mercier and new Democrat Cyril keeper Are battling hard to be the one who dumps progressive conservative Bob Lane is struggling just As hard to ensure his stay in Ottawa will last More than seven the other candidates in the five member marxist Leninist Linda Lloyd and al cannot be Given much of a even As a businessman and longtime party was expected to take the Riding in a walk last his ant Campaign of keeping his hand open and Mouth is regarded to have contributed heavily to his narrow 893 vote margin Over the Dps Frank this the 47yearold incumbent is Bob Lane is taking an extremely High profile and because of Ive received he Lane says the biggest Issue in the constituency is the gasoline excise tax contained in the ill fated tory cites Trudea phobia no matter where i its the 18 nobody going to be Hurt by it but the users its i he claims he is hanging on to the 39 per cent of the vote he received in May and expects to capitalize on Well Public sized rifts within the nip and linger ing the incumbent also plans to let his Short record in office speak for claiming credit for having a number of mail boxes returned to the constituency and having played a behind the scenes role in getting the government to delay metric i feel that i have been vindicated in Winnipeg James a member expected the sense that the Homework i have done has produced results in this con he while Lane says he Doest beat his own Liberal Mercier is More than Happy to do it for Active and vocal the 32yearold a broadcaster Bangs away vigorously at lanes parliamentary which Mercier claims is Well of he never quotes anything he said because Hes said the younger brother of Manitoba attorney general Gerry Mercier 1 think the people of this constituency want someone Active and they wont accept an my who wont by far the most aggressive of three main Mercier is Back for a second try for the using the same scatter gun approach which won him per cent of the but while having to make up some votes to catch things Are different for the liberals in Wirin Peg James this Mercier has been the party Candi Date from the Start and Doest have to play catchup like he did when he was a Las minute draft to replace Darcy Mccaffrey who was bounced for publicly criticizing Trudeau Mccaffrey is Merciers official agent indicating the rift in the local party organization has and unlike Mercier says the Trudea phobia of the past has if we Felt there was a lot of anti Trudeau do you think wed have him speaking at James collegiate tonight the Liberal candidate is confident hell be the constituency next we have two swings going the National swing and the swing against Bob Mercier dismisses the nip with the same scorn he regards who cares about the nip the people know they wont form the gov while nip candidate keeper shares Merciers National Dis agrees the per cent of the vote the party polled last time is at least the 36yearold City councillor who Defeated the late mayor Robert Steen to win Redbone Ward in the 1977 municipal election keeper says there has been no discernible reaction to the headline grab Bing departures of his predecessor Syms and la Sid Green from the party and the threatened defection of former provincial Cabinet minister Bud who resoundingly lost the win James nor has he seen any fallout for run Ning for parliament before his Council term of Redbone Falls within the Federal generally acknowledged to the most progressive of the Fourman municipal nip keeper does not see himself As the wild eyed Radical his opponents might like to make Mutual putdown i dont see myself As an ideologue or i guess i see myself As an outspoken he adding Lloyds doctrinaire presence in the race helps counteract any image prob lems he might he also sees the Lan Mercier fight As a local variation of the National Clar Trudeau game of Mutual put people Are tired of they want to know where youre coming from and where you while downplaying it keep ers Campaign literature provides a biographical Titbit which Likely wont Hurt his prospects he lived As a youth with the parents of popular for Mer provincial nip now gov de keeper admits Hes hoping for an upsurge in Liberal support but not too much to and with Public opinion holding against the such a switch could be All that needed to Send keeper to but a larger swing could Send Mer Cier either 18 will probably be a bad night for Winnipeg Assiniboine solid tory support the voters in Winnipeg Assini Boine supported the tories in every election since 1953 with the exception of this time things Arent going to David in a repeat performance As would be giant will parlay the 17point National Liberal Lead into a respectable showing but the Garland will once again go to tory Dan the Square awed won by More than votes in the second largest margin in the a is Likely to convince Only a few thousand of these voters that Joe Clarks alleged incompetence is a National nor will Mata score Many at least in his own with claims of provincial tory diversion of Federal health and education quite Happy with their Blanket of local conservative just Yawn and Roll More damaging to Mckenzie will be his own party 18cent excise tax in crease on a shocker in the West Mckenzie is countering with the Crosbie budgets Energy tax credit for Low and Middle income but he be Overly in the final Winnipeg Assin Boine will vote tory Naper Max Independent Peter Penner and marxist Leninist Rubin Kantorovich Are not Winnipeg Birds Hill bigger margin for nip nothing has happened in the last eight months to swing any of Bill Blaikie May supporters to the his Only real the 28yearold who hides his grizzly ear form in the cloak of a United Church has earned National exposure As one of the Bright Young spokesman for the nip and should have Little trouble boosting the margin he won Over Dean Whiteway last issues Are the predictable ones of leadership and Economy with a seasoning of medicare Wor Ries but tory real estate broker John Froese has made Little headway with the Ridings a Quarter of them Are in where Blaikie is something of a local Liberal Ron Wally May ride the National Liberal coattails to better his record in May by a thousand or but hell draw More from the conservatives than from ensuring a comfortable margin for the new Winnipeg North third decade for Orlikov with charges of complacency ringing in his new Democrat David Orli Kow should March easily into his third decade As an my with a margin of votes or Orl Kows tory business Man Roy and Liberal anthropologist Walter have tried to sting the incumbent with claims that Hes ignored his but the Ridings largely ethnic voters have heard that song before and appear relatively satisfied wit the 61yearold Job Security is the number one con Cern among the Young homeowners of the Ridings Urban and Orli Kow has the Corner on that he won More than half of the suburban vote last time despite the tory lure of mortgage interest tax al lowing for some slippage to the Liber should do almost As Well next is using the time honoured tactic of belittling the Dps third party status and choose a government Mouth of an opposition but that also a familiar tune and the electorate just wont Winnipeg North Centre no threat to Knowles Stanley Knowles is so secure in his intercity Haven that opponents might As Well be asking voters to believe in the sugarplum in the Liberal and conservative Challenge to Knowles is so negligible this time that the 71yearold United Church minister is spending More of his time helping nip protege Cyril keeper in his attempt to win James Riding than stumping his own not that Knowles is Overly Compla Hes still up at the crack of Dawn and on the backing up his Low Campaign letters to cons tit sent with soft reminders of his life Long fight for medicare and social the conservative party should be grateful to mortician Joe for accepting the thankless task of opposing Knowles not once but twice in the space of a Harold a 27yearold commodities fills a similar role for the Manjit Singh for the marxist Lenin its and Paula Fletcher for the communist party round out the slate of North Centre premiers make themselves scarce tories in foreign climes while Joe could use some help from his friends Vancouver poor Joe Clark moans that Hes been done in by his but you could make a Case that its his friends who have done More damage it is most interesting to note All the prominent tories who supposedly could have helped Clark in this but have chosen not taking it on the Lam like burglars with some hot Silver we will recall that a prominent theme of the Short and unhappy life of the Clarkia parliament was that unlike Pierre got along with the no More no More gunslinger merely sweetness and it was drummed into the electorate by the tories that there want a single provincial Liberal government left in the All of them having deserted lonely As we mercifully wind Down this one would think there want a single tory one All has been All has been Clarks Junior partners have slunk for Allan Fotheringham cover and developed a sudden interest in foreign most prominent of has been Ontario Premier Bill who gives All indications of not having too much regard for the abilities of its no secret that the High powered operatives around the big Bluema Chine by Early last fall were entirely unimpressed with some of the boy scouts around the the Davis peo ple went so far As to commission a poll demonstrating the plunge in Clarks popularity in Southern Ontario and took it to they were while this Campaign slogged through its first Davis sunned himself in he returned for a supposed endorsement of giving him a handshake like a wet fish before the cameras a Queens but then Shook his head slowly from Side to Side when into the said that Davis would be campaigning vigorously for the Davis interpretation of in the vital closing Days of the was to disappear into the again on a so called Trade Mission to new York and not too Many tories Peter Lougheed of Alberta was pre pared to go even further to put some distance Between himself and the Man that Clark once worked the Man who didst even stay in the Ottawa civic Centre for the final balloting that elected Clark Leader in the Man who owns a province with 21 solid tory seats this Man Hast done a single thing to help Clark in this Lougheed first fled to the perils of a hawaiian Beach for fear that he might bump into a tory Lawn he had barely returned when he left unannounced last week for a 10day tour of european financial a ploy that will keep him safely out of the whole another tory Sterling Lyon of has done nothing to help although this is probably useful is regarded As the single most unpopular politician in and Clark would willingly Chip in 25 Bucks for his Honolulu theres the Case of Brian Peckford of the newest and most energetic of the tory instead of a been an demanding noisily and naively that Clark Pua in writing before 18 the provinces right to its offshore Oil boo the headline Row helped instead Pierre Trudeau and the Clar Peckford detente is Chilly at the there is the Case of Bill Bennett of where so reds Are we footed tories in disguise and there the use usual crossover in voting is up to his fetlock in Petty scandal and Clark Doest dare touch him with a 10foot the Only tory Premier with the verve or the nerve to come right out for Clark is new Brunswick Dick hat Field As happenstance would have he fractured one of his walking legs at Christmas and although his Tongue Hast been his gait of what is the Good tory pre Miers of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Are of no on the National it All contrasts so vividly with what can be if the heart and desire Are Saskatchewan Allan Blakeney is stumping the whole province on behalf of de Broadbent and when the nip chief comes to he joins with Dave Barrett in a highly successful tandem act that proved so valuable last for the even Don Macdon who had to dry by has visited 32 Ridings across the fighting Tor his but Clark with seven tory premiers supposedly on his Only one been any real use to him theres something else missing be Side the Lyon by staying away ;