Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 21, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press m onday june 21, 2004 a13 race for Council what the candidates Are promising key elements of the platforms of leading mayoral hopefuls by Patti Edgar h Ere Are the key elements of the platforms of the leading candidates in alphabetical order. All have vowed to hold the line on property taxes and everyone but Dan Vandal has promised to Start eliminating the business tax. Al Golden with 12 years As a St. Vital councillor on his resum the businessman is Tak ing another shot at the mayoralty. He is the Only candidate who has promised to donate his salary to Charity if he wins and he is self financing his Campaign. He does to solicit endorsements from big names but his Campaign material has quotes from former Assis Tant Deputy provincial minister Stan Puchniak and restaurateur Chris Argiriou. Campaign promises. Expand the boundaries of the Forks to include waterfront lands North toward Higgins Road. Golden would turn overgrown land near the Louise Bridge in struggling Point Douglas into an re Park and encourage the red River exhibition to move there. He says developers would put housing in the area without incentives. Scrap the $51-million first leg of a planned rapid transit route from Down town to the University of Manitoba and use the Money to bring More Post secondary students downtown. Eliminate non essential communications positions at City Hall and use the Money to feed the hungry at missions. Reopen the abandoned Waverley soc cer Complex at a Cost of $60,000. Attract a Western hockey league Junior squad to Winnipeg that he would Call the Junior jets. Expand the free seniors bus service he started in St. Vital to All parts of Winnipeg. Scrap the amusement tax. Sam Katz the Gold eyes president was the last of the five leading candidates to get into the race. He is a Well known name and a successful businessman with no City Hall experience whose Challenge was to come up with a platform in just three weeks. Campaign promises. Increase spending which would be offset by cuts in the consulting budget and savings achieved through competitive service delivery in areas like garbage collection. Lobby the province to eliminate the provincial education support Levy while phasing out the business tax starting in the City score. Give homeowners a 50 per cent Cut in City property taxes for five years if they build a new Home in an older neighbourhood. Don to hike taxes for 10 years for homeowners who renovate Homes 25 years and older valued under $175,000. Build on current efforts to fast track permits making the department a self financing Agency. Give store owners and residents More control Over parking on their streets in neighbourhoods where its hard to find a spot. Free transit for seniors from 9 . To 4 30 . Expanded free services for All riders in tourist areas. Spend $2.8 million on promoting the film Industry. Boost policing and Community patrols at a Cost of $2.6 million. How to vote tomorrow bring your voters notice or identification to your local polling station which will be open from 8 . To 8 . For More information on where to vote in your neighbourhood or what kind of identification you should bring see or Call 986-8500. Eral government. Maryann Mihaychuk. Crack Down on Petty crimes that undermine neighbourhood integrity Maryann Mihaychuk gave up a and safety. Provincial nip Cabinet seat to take a Gamble on becoming the City a next mayor. Her Campaign wheels Are a fire engine red 1955 Gumc pickup truck and Garth Steek her slogan is the real Deal a poke at former mayor Glen Murray a new Deal until recently the councillor for crusade. River Heights Garth Steek has gone from unofficial Glen Murray critic to a Campaign promises mayoral hopeful with the Campaign so. Create a seniors advisory committee Gan the Safe Road to a Strong and make bus transit free for seniors he is a lawyer by training who during non Peak daytime hours. Worked in the family furniture Busi. Market the area around the City a Ness before entering politics. Virology lab to biomedical and High tech companies making sure they have Campaign promises Access to City land. Expand downtown. Push for new and updated recreation development Agency Centre venture a facilities with the proposed $5.6-mil? mandate to allow it to recruit Compa lion Transcona recreation Park Topping Nies in those industries. The list of projects he wants to build. Set up a self supported tax increment with private dollars. Also will keep financing plan to encourage develop wading pools open All summer. Ments like Low income and student. Greater police presence downtown housing and to restore historic build including a special resource officer in Ings. All inner City schools Over the next four. Encourage development in areas that years. Already have existing infrastructure in. Adding 25 officers to police Force and place. Re establishing the police commission. Lobby the province to remove the reviewing the amalgamation of the fire education support Levy from City tax and paramedic departments and Bills. Adding 10 More firefighters. Spend $96 million More a year on. A skateboard Park in the North end roads and infrastructure with Money with the possibility of More around lobbied from the province and the fed Winnipeg in the future. Also wants to Start a youth advisory panel. Find $200,000 from the mayors Bud get for schools to buy musical instruments. Sell empty City lots to people planning to build a Home on the property for $1. Increase the threshold for Home Reno vation tax credits from $90,000 to $130,000. Dan Vandal hand picked by former mayor Mur Ray As his successor the sex St. Boni face councillor and Deputy mayor says Winni Eggers Are Happy with what City Council has accomplished and he will build on that momentum. Campaign promises. An extra $4.4 million in new spending each year to be found through efficiencies existing budgets year end surpluses the Urban development agreement and lobbying other Levels of government. Free admission to the zoo on Winnipeg Day which would celebrate the City a heritage once every August. Free swimming Friday nights at City pools and keeping wading pools open All summer. Fulfil Murray a Promise to double City arts funding by 2006. Find $500,000 in funding to keep a family violence intervention program running that pairs social workers and police. Increasing the Road repair budget by nearly a third by spending $3 million More on City roads putting All year end surpluses into a pothole Piggy Bank and lobbying the governments for a share of existing fuel tax. Create a downtown housing tax cred it program that gives developers a break on their municipal property taxes for three years for new housing projects. Create a productivity reinvestment tax credit that would give companies in key industries like aerospace or transportation moving to or expanding in Winnipeg a tax break. other candidates also running for mayor Are former Transcona councillor Shirley Timm Rudolph sex Saskatchewan my Gordon Kirkby former Cable to talk show Host Natalie Pollock and City employee Nel son p. Morrison. Kirkby a lawyer who was also the mayor of Prince Albert is the Only one in the Bunch who has held press conferences to outline his Campaign promises but has had trouble getting any reporters to show up. If he were to be elected mayor Kirk by would work to ensure a competitive tax Structure reduce red tape at City Hall demand adequate funding from the provincial and Federal governments to meet the City a infrastructure needs attract new business and promote Winnipeg As a prime tourist destination. He would also include aboriginals and All ethnic minorities in the eco nomic and social life of Winnipeg. The Little candidate with the big resum also promised a full review of the Waverley West development and he suggested slowing or eliminating plans for a rapid transit system. A recent probe research poll shows the four candidates collectively have Only support of two per cent of win nip Eggers. behind the scenes of election campaigns Mer councillor John Prystanski is also Ron Arnst who worked with Filmon Russ Tycho Nick was on Murray a exec and Lillian Thomas. A look at those working helping out. Ryan Craig once with the Ontario utile policy secretariat novelist Diane Vandal also has Strong support in the her supporters include Canad inns tories and Brad Salon an overnight Poulin did Public relations for Murray aboriginal Community. To get hopefuls elected ceo Leo Ledochowski grocery store operator at Job. And Rose Passante was Murray a chief owner Peter Kaufmann Liberal la Katz a supporters include David of staff at one time. Garth Steek Here a a look at some of the key people Kevin Lamoureux and nip Back Asper Harold Buchwald Crocus a his Campaign manager is Karen former Manitoba Hydro manage behind the campaigns of the main May Bencher Chris Aglugub. James Umlah and Developer Hart Lawlor who has worked Many Provin Bruce Macfarlane is running Steek a Oral candidates. Mallin. Cial and Federal nip campaigns while Campaign once again and Veteran lib Sam Katz actor Tina keeper and Boxer Donny eral fundraiser Rod Zimmer is drum Maryann Mihaychuk Hugh Mcfadyen a local lawyer is Al Golden Lalonde Are bringing celebrity to the Ming up the Cash. For a former nip Cabinet minister running Katz a Campaign. He was Gary Al Golden is paying for his own Cam Campaign. Steek a former executive assistant Mihaychuk has a tangle of political Filmon a Deputy Campaign manager 1999 pain and his 23-year-old son Brock is vandals supporters include Higgins Angie ritalin is the Media coordinator. Stripes in her Campaign office. And he was a local organizer this year managing the efforts. International owner Brenda Higgins initially endorsing the Campaign Are Jackie Schreyer who does Media rela for the tory leadership Campaign of author Miriam Toews inner City activist councillors Peter Desmedt and Russ ions is a member of the Liberal party. Belinda Stronach. Dan Vandal Tom Sims Winnipeg labour Council Wyatt and Many firefighters including her Campaign manager Shaun Rocan Manitoba senator Terry Stratton is a lots of Glen Murray supporters can president Heather Grant jury and coun Union president Alex Forrest. Is the son of tory la Denis Rocan. For Campaign adviser and the team includes be found in vandals Headquarters. Pillors Mike Pagtakhan Jenny Gerbasi ;