Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 3, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Weekend special civil wars part 2 Winnipeg free press sunday september 3, 2006 a7 John Woods / Winnipeg free press Raj Sharma sales manager of a West promotions is Busy printing candidates signs these Days As City election campaigns heat up. What a your sign blossoming placards pamphlets Mark real beginning of civic Campaign by Bartley Kives and Mary Agnes Welch d using the wee hours of this morning As most Winni Eggers slept through the final sunday of the summer strange signs began to appear on your Neighbours lawns. We re not talking about crop circles or Bunches of twigs wrapped up in Blair witchy Little pack Ages. They re election signs and their appearance across the City Marks the real beginning of the 2006 civic election Campaign. Election Day is oct. 25. Pamphlets Are heading into the mail signs Are going up and candidates Are about to try every thing in their Power to Garner a nanosecond of your attention especially in a handful of wards ? namely St. Boniface St. Charles Daniel Mcintyre and River Heights ? where the Battle for Council is expected to be fierce. For me the election started a Long time ago. I be been out knocking on doors and i be been taken Aback by the interest both face to face and on the web said Jennifer Zyla a River Heights fort Garry Council candidate engaged in a Tough Battle for the affluent Ward with both incumbent Donald Benham and fellow challenger Brenda Leipsic. This is already on in River Heights but i under stand people had other things on their mind Dur ing the summer. But the kids Are going Back to school tuesday and people should be settled Back into their regular routines by according to the conventional political Wisdom municipal elections rarely generate the excitement of Federal and provincial elections although voter turnout tends to be respectable in Winnipeg ? 54.6 per cent Over the past five mayoral elections. This year candidates face two challenges As they try to make the Public care about the political process. For starters there a no polarizing personality or Over arching Issue facing the electorate ? la former mayor Glen Murray and his somewhat activist Agenda in 1998 and 2002. More significantly there a less of a race for mayor with incumbent Sam Katz facing Only two challengers ? activist Kaj Hasselriis who has behind the scenes political experience and former Cable to Host Ron Pollock. In the 2004 by election Katz battled four Power Ful contenders ? former nip la Maryann Mihaychuk and former Winnipeg councillors Dan Vandal Al Golden and Garth Steek. Previous mayor Murray fended off a formidable Challenge from Golden in 2002 and narrowly Defeated populist Peter Kaufmann in 1998. Casual voters will notice one change when they actually go to the polls. A new election Day Rule requires voters to prove their identity before they vote with either one piece of photo id or two pieces of id that list both a name and address. There were allegations of fraud in the past claims that people voted who were not the people they claimed to be said Marc Lemoine the City a senior election official. Our investigations did not turn up a single Case of fraud but we have made the in the meantime Winni Eggers can expect to hear the first of Many platform announcements from mayoral candidates Katz and Hasselriis. The mayor has a party planned for his Pembina Highway Headquarters on Friday and is expected to Issue policy announcements throughout the elec Tion. The main Challenge his Campaign team Whis pers will be avoiding the complacency that can plague candidates deemed to be overwhelming front runners. Hasselriis meanwhile plans to Roll out a Campaign platform some time this week and follow that up with policy announcements throughout the elec Tion. Late last week he was stumping in old Market Square introducing himself to lunchtime spectators at a free concert by Bluegrass band the d. Rangers. This is the first i be heard of a candidate running for mayor said entrepreneur Amanda Darnley who a about to open a business in East Kildonan after meeting Hasselriis. She said she cares about local politics but does to always play close Atten Tion. I like what he said about improving economic opportunities. But i have a feeling a lot of Candi dates say candidates for mayor and Council have until sept. 19 to Register and file nomination papers. Advance voting begins oct. 2. wards to watch who a who in your Hood by Mary Agnes Welch t hey say All politics is local but this time its for real. Without a dynamic race for mayor this election is All about what a happening in your backyard Down your Block and inside your Community club. Here a the Coles notes version of Ward races to watch plus a couple of potentially interesting wild cards and Well the rest of the snooze est. Lucky you if you happen to live in one of the battlegrounds. St. Boniface who a running former St. Boniface Council Lor Dan Vandal wants his old seat Back but he a engaged in a Back Alley fist fight with incumbent coun. Franco Magnifico former owner of the St. Boniface hotel. Why should i care its the Best race in town featuring two of the City a most interest ing politicians ? flamboyant and gregarious Magnifico is. Quietly competent Vandal. This Ward May also be a referendum of sorts on mayor Sam Katz a leadership. Magnifico is Katz a right hand Man Vandal was Katz a chief rival in the 2002 election for mayor and hearkens Back to the lefty Days of former mayor Glen Murray. What will happen Magnifico will do his Best to avoid saying anything politically incorrect like the time he joked he had incriminating pictures of a fellow councillor with sheep. Vandal will play up his a tis roots in the francophone Ward. And the proposed oly West Plant ? which Magnifico supports and Vandal opposes ? is sure to rear its porcine head. As for who will win its Way too Early to say. River Heights fort Garry who a running incumbent coun. Donald Benham is facing a Tough race. Tory organizer Brenda Leipsic is running with the backroom support of the mayors office. Meanwhile Jen Nifer Zyla a Small business owner and presi Dent of the Linden Woods Community Centre is also mounting a Strong Challenge with the support of local politicians such As John Loewen the former tory la. Why should i care Benham is Nicole Ritchie to Sam Katz a Paris Hilton. Their cat fights have kept City Hall buzzing for the last two years. Katz a staff will do whatever they can to make sure the former journalist goes Down but Benhams a Good campaigner and an articulate Guy and wont pull his punches. What will happen conventional Wisdom holds that Zyla and Leipsic could split the right leaning Katz Loving vote especially in Linden Woods. That would allow Benham to slide up the Middle. On the other hand Ben hams relentless needling of Katz rubs Many voters the wrong Way and he a been criticized for ignoring the mundane business of his Ward. Daniel Mcintyre who a running Trudy Turner the poised and professional Boss of the West end Biz is challenging coun. Harvey Smith who has the backing of the nip machine in the Ward. Also running a grassroots Campaign is Don Salter a political Rookie with More credibility than the average newbie. Why should i care Whooley its Gonna be Nasty. Elections in the West end almost always turn into Battles and already an Anonymous flyer dissing Turner has made the rounds. There Are also sexy issues in the Ward namely crime housing and poverty. What will happen Smith will probably be re elected to a fifth term but Turner has the backing of the mayors office and the business Community. St. Charles who a running its the biggest free for All in town with four credible candidates vying to replace retiring two term coun. Peter de Smedt. The Pool includes provincial finance expert and school trustee Kelly de groot Assiniboia chamber of Commerce Boss Grant Nordman labour endorsed educational Assis Tant Rene Lewis and Shawn Dobson who is running for a second time. Why should i care this is the Only Ward guaranteed to add much needed fresh blood to Council. Other than that St. Charles is almost wholly lacking in big issues unless you count the proposed Stop sign on Westwood drive and noise on Saskatchewan Avenue. What will happen nobody knows. Dobson did surprisingly Well four years ago in a bid to unseat de Smedt. Nordman has the backing of the mayors office and the business establish ment. Lewis has been door knocking for months but de groot appears to be the Best informed of the Bunch. Wild cards its an election. Anything can happen and we sure Hope it does. Point Douglas quiet but diligent Rookie coun. Mike Pagtakhan won his seat by Only 272 votes four years ago and could go Down to a Well orchestrated Campaign by 2002 runner up Tim Bednarski. Also running is Dean Koshelnyk a Community club Volunteer and specialist at a financial software firm. St. James Brooklands coun. Jae Eadie is facing a Challenge by Young conservative Scott Fielding an entrepreneur and pharmaceutical sales rep with close ties to fellow tories in the mayors office. Also running is Fred Morris who a campaigned against Eadie before. Social planning Council Boss Wayne Helgason who has a labour endorsement in the Ward has yet to Register and May pull out. Old Kildonan three candidates Are running against longtime incumbent Mike of Shaugh Nessy ? Carl Osato City worker Casey Jones and labour endorsed Ross Eadie who Cap tured 46 per cent of the vote in the Ward As a challenger in 1998. North Kildonan Young conservative Jeff Browaty is Worth watching As he tries to unseat 11-year incumbent coun. Mark Lubosch who oddly has yet to Register. Also running is Knowles Avenue resident James Viehweg. The rest of the races fort Rouge East fort Garry car Salesman Wilf Makus is trying to Best coun. Jenny Ger Basi even though she a a solid incumbent. Charleswood incumbent coun. Bill Clement is facing a Challenge from Livio Ciaralli. Mynarski Harry Lazarenko the mayor of the North end is facing a grassroots Chal Lenge by Arlene Draffin Jones a nurse and Community activist. St. Vital St. Norbert Transcona and Elm Wood if you live in one of these wards you can go Back to sleep now. Nobody is challenging the councillors in your area so far with Only 16 Days to go before nominations close. On the front Burner major issues facing Winnipeg in the 2006 civic election roads yeah we know the roads Are in pathetic shape. The real Issue is How exactly the City will find the $1 billion to fix them. New taxes a new Deal with Ottawa safety does the City need More cops better youth programs taxes everyone agrees the business tax should be phased out but few candidates have any idea How the City will Cope without the $50-million-plus the tax rakes in. Its the same Deal with property taxes. After years of freezes and cuts the City scoffers Are running on empty. Vision its the question that plagues Katz and should plague Council candidates. What kind of Winnipeg do candidates want and How exactly will they create it downtown revitalization momentum has stalled especially with the creation of Waverley West on the City a Southern Edge. How do we fix it councillors should care. Transportation there a sort of a plan to build a bus Way but no Money and no political will. What a the future of the Long planned rapid transit system and after a summer of Dis Cord Between cyclists and motorists what about Bike trails Community centres the City is in the first year of doling out $43 million for rec centres and Community clubs. Which clubs should close and which should get Cash to renovate what do you think the issues Are the Winnipeg chamber of Commerce thinks referendum questions would help spark interest in the civic election and cure a wave of apathy that they think has gripped City politics. What questions would you like the candidates to answer in this election what Issue is top of mind for you email us at Well run some of your questions along with some answers from candidates throughout the election ;