Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 23, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba Wednesday june 23, 2004 the Tahfs Vav so sgd ski the Tahfs Vav so sgd ski svs div a div so svs div a div so b1 City editor Steve Pona 697-7292 Winnipeg votes Rookie mayor in fishbowl Katz has Tricky Waters to navigate at City Hall by Mary Agnes Welch s am Katz jumped from one fish bowl into another. Yesterday he was just the affable operator of can West global Park the baseball stadium nicknamed the fish bowl because its the Home of his Winnipeg Gold eyes. Today Katz is the Boss of City Hall probably the most scrutinized Job in town. He is also facing the steepest learning curve of his life As the newbie at City Hall Home to some 30-year Council vet Erans and Many of the City a most Divi Sive issues. First Katz will have to familiarize himself with the arcane details of City government something former mayor Glen Murray excelled at. In the next few weeks Katz will Likely Field Tough questions on everything from what kind of larvicide City staff use to kill mosquitoes to More theoretical Urban planning questions raised by the proposed Waverley West subdivision. Hell also have to hire some policy wonks and communications staff for his office and choose his executive policy committee ? the councillors who make up the mayors inner Cabinet. Coun. Gord Steeves who sits on pc and pondered a run for mayor said that a easier said than done. Katz will have to strike the right balance of experience ability and political ideology to push his Campaign promises through Council. That a some Tough political manoeuvring Steeves sighed. Katz will have to win the respect of councillors such As Bill Clement an old timer who knows the budget better than just about anyone at City Hall and Russ Wyatt the Young Maverick from Transcona. The most and hell have to do it fast because seasoned some Controvert mayor in the Sial issues Are looming. History of the they include the world would already controversial Public use have a Tough facilities study time with this put which will one Likely Call for an extra $200 million ? coun. Gord in repairs to some Steeves wonders Community Cen How Katz will Han tres and the Clos dle the Controvert ing of others. Sial Public use the most sea facilities stud soned mayor in the history of the world would have a Tough time with this one said Steeves. This fall will see garbage user fees considered again. A report on a possible Buck a bag system is due in the next few months and is part of next years budget projections. Also this fall Katz will be expected to begin negotiations with the province for new funding under the newer Deal plan passed by Council last Spring. The newer Deal Murray a brainchild asks the province to share six cents a litre from its provincial Gas tax with Winnipeg giving the City an extra $66 million to spend on roads. Katz has been vague about his plans to pursue the newer Deal prompting some to wonder if it May fizzle. Councillors say the City a fiscal realities and a looming 2005 budget crisis May Force Katz to take Mur rays plan More seriously. The new Deal May not necessarily be dead because Katz May be in for some pretty interesting surprises when he opens the books coun. John Angus said. Angus said that if Katz wants to save Money he will have to explore contract ing out services such As garbage collection. But that could spawn a rough fight with one of Canadas most powerful unions the Canadian Union of Public employees. Ness career were with City Council during by Patti Edgar the mid to late-1990s when he tried to get Vanwest global Park built at the the Homegrown celebrity who fought Forks. Former mayor Susan Thompson City Hall to bring a Ball Park downtown is even refused to attend the Parks ground a Sam Katz moving into the mayors chair. Breaking ceremony in 1998. Sam Katz celebrated his Victory last while a recent probe research poll supporter celebrates the night at the Winnipeg convention Cen showed Katz having an 11-Point Lead tre where hundreds of supporters hoist Over his competitors the Challenge for new mayors de yellow signs and chanted Sammy his Campaign team was getting those Victory last the garb of the diverse crowd from Jean supporters to the polls. Night. Jackets to suit jackets represented How name recognition May have propelled his popularity Cut across Winnipeg. Him to the top but More than half of his Katz took to the stage to Rock band backing came from Winni Eggers under Queens we Are the champions and 35, the least Likely to go to the vote. Katz Don when he was in his Early 20s to bring quarters on main Street with the slogan promised his supporters a new kind of competitor Dan Vandal was excepted to ing some of the worlds hottest music i like results i like City one that looks Forward and does to be better organized on election Day Espe groups to the City As a concert promoter. For the next two weeks Katz scam Pine for Days gone past. Scially with his endorsement from labour after weeks of rumours that he would pain team dragged a podium across i know something about that kind of unions. Enter the race Katz called reporters to Winnipeg for press conferences. But attitude. I have faced it before. I heard but Katz had a Long list of Well known the Ball Park on june 1 to announce that while he was making announcements on people say the rolling stones will never supporters including Media Mogul David he would run for mayor then rushed to How he would quash bugs and boost the come to Winnipeg a baseball team will Asper lawyer Harold Buchwald Blue City Hall to file his papers just hours film Industry critics said he did to have never succeed in Winnipeg he said. Bomber Troy Westwood entertainer Tom before the deadline. A True vision for what he would do in the with each of those projects i brought Jackson and curler Jennifer Jones. Maybe i am one candidate who can mayors chair. Vision hard work and determination and Many were at last nights a Day party. Bring everyone together he predicted this in to the first time Katz has tried an unwavering belief in you the people the youngest son of holocaust sur with his wife Baillie and daughter Ava 2, to get elected to City Council. In 1989, he of Winnipeg and you never let me visors Katz grew up in the North end at his Side. Ran unsuccessfully against Glen Murray and West Kildonan. Katz quickly cobbled together a Cam and Joe Bova in fort Rouge. There a irony in Katz a bid to be mayor. His Many business ventures Range pain team that included tory organizer some of the greatest Battles of his Busi from opening a clothing store in bran Hugh Mcfadyen and opened a head. lineups election confusion anger voters by David Obrien and Jason Bell a High voter turnout and some confusion about which election was being held yesterday led to Long lineups at the polls and anger from disgruntled citizens. Some voters complained they had to wait More than an hour to cast their bal lot a waiting time that May have discouraged some people from voting. At Stanley Knowles school one woman who showed up without her voter card said she had to wait 70 min utes to cast her ballot. Ellenore Nelson said she had been through Many elections and had never waited More than 10 or 15 minutes but the situation seemed overwhelming for election workers yesterday. Nelson said she arrived at the school at 5 45 . And waited 30 minutes in one line to verify that she lived in the area then was shuffled to another line and waited 40 minutes before casting her ballot. It was totally understaffed. I a sure those poor ladies were stressed. I saw people walking out. They said i a not waiting in this ? meanwhile Many Winni Eggers wrongly believed they could vote in the june 28 Federal election yesterday. Some people even brought their fed eral election notices to the polls instead of their civic notices election workers said. And it took some explaining to per Suade them otherwise. We had a lot of that said Helen Klassen election director for the polling station at West Kildonan collegiate on main Street. There was some confusion we had to sort out with chief electoral officer Richard Kachur said each of the City a 166 polling stations had the same problem. A lot of people could to differentiate Between having an election yesterday and a Federal election this monday Kachur said. Adding to the confusion for Many Vot ers was the fact there was also a Provin Cial by election in the Minto constituency. The Minto by election ? called when former nip la Maryann Mihaychuk resigned to run for mayor ? was purposely scheduled to coincide with the civic election. But for Many the exercise was trying As they faced two lineups ? one for the provincial vote and another for the May Oral election. Although three of the City polling stations overlapped with provincial polling stations very few voters could actually cast both votes in one place. Tiffany Gibson spent 10 minutes wait ing in line at Isaac Brock Community club to vote for the mayor and was at a loss As to where to go to vote for her la. Nobody said anything she said. Both the City and elections Manitoba had officials on hand at the polls in Minto to help direct traffic. Elections Manitoba spokeswoman Mary Skander beg said there was some confusion but it was expected and easily handled. Everything seems to have moved Well she said. A civic election officer at the Stanley Knowles polling station said people who forgot their civic cards had to wait longer than those who had them. But she said the longest anyone had to wait was 30 minutes. Kachur said he doubted Many people had to wait much longer than 30 min utes. That a hard to believe he said when told some people complained about wait ing up to 90 minutes. ? with files from Mia Rabson and Nick Martin. . ;