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Winnipeg Civic By-Election
Sat, 2011-11-26 23:46
#1
Winnipeg Civic By-Election
Sat, 2011-11-26 23:47
#2
[url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Mayes-leads-St-Vital-counc...'s grip on council weakens as NDP supporter Brian Mayes wins council by-election:[/url]
New Democrat Mayes is a litigator and real-estate lawyer who also sits on the board at the Deposit Guarantee Corporation and the Workers Compensation Board, coaches soccer and sits on a daycare board. He also served on the board of governors for Brandon University and served as a Brandon school division trustee from 2006 to 2010.A total of 10 candidates were vying to replace Steeves, including Marty Green, Steven Hennessey, Hammad Khan, Carl Osato, Terry Wachniak, Beverley Watson and Harry Wolbert.
Steeves resigned from council to run unsuccessfully as a candidate in last month’s provincial election.
Wed, 2011-12-07 14:54
#3
It's been done before. I believe the WIN coalition won a majority on council in the 1989 election. The municipal left did fairly well in 1998 too. As I think I've said elsewhere, the municipal left and centre-left needs to get itself organized into a 'rainbow coalition' that can bring NDPers, Liberals, Greens, neighbourhood activists, transit supporters, anti-sprawl/pro-density types and environmentalists under one banner (basically, everyone opposed to the 'business-as-usual' / pro-business / pro-developer / big-C and small-c conservative / pro-Katz crowd). I think a 'big tent' approach is the way to go and seems to have been the most successful method in the past. Plus a 'rainbow coalition' would blunt attacks that the opposition to Katz is just the "scary, scary NDP" trying to "take over" City Hall.
Wed, 2011-12-07 15:21
#4
It's been done before. I believe the WIN coalition won a majority on council in the 1989 election.
Did the left elect councillors in the specific areas I named, like St. Vital (home of Al Golden) and st. James? I was sure that Mayes' victory was breaking new ground.
That said, the Citizen's Coalition has done absolutely nothing to convince me that they're up to the task. One-on-one, the left seems to do well in by-elections, like River Heights-Fort Garry and St. Vital, but I really don't think a one-at-a-time approach is a good way to go for victory.
Wed, 2011-12-07 15:22
#5
Surprised that none of our resident Winnipeggers have commented on this big development?
St. Vital tends to lean right in municipal elections, especially that this is the ward that previously elected Al Golden. Unlike River Heights, when John Orlikow took a seat that tended to swing left and right, Brian Mayes broke new ground for the left by winning in St. Vital, qute convincingly over Mike Ducharme, who was considered Katz' candidate. So what happened?
I think part of it can be explained by Katz' unpopularity, and perhaps Mayes would not have done so well if Winnipeg voters were not willing to send the mayor a message. Yet, it seems things are slowly changing in suburban Winnipeg, that the suburbs want better. Gridlock is an issue in southeast Winnipeg, so it isn't surprising that infrastructure and transit were discussed. St. Vital is also, in many ways, representative of other Winnipeg suburbs, like St. Norbert, St. James, and Kildonan. If trends are changing in St. Vital, they are also likely changing in these other areas as well. These are areas Katz won quite handily just last year, but the trend shows that there may be large room for the Winnipeg civic left to grow. Could the 2014 election bring in a left-wing victory comparable to the COPE sweep of Vancouver in 2002, confining the right-wing to their strongholds in Charleswood and St. Charles?
Wed, 2011-12-07 17:10
#6
The Analyst
This is a pretty good development, even though the turnout was way too low in that by-election. How sustainable Mayes' position in St. Vital remains to be seen.
It's been done before. I believe the WIN coalition won a majority on council in the 1989 election.Did the left elect councillors in the specific areas I named, like St. Vital (home of Al Golden) and st. James? I was sure that Mayes' victory was breaking new ground.
That said, the Citizen's Coalition has done absolutely nothing to convince me that they're up to the task. One-on-one, the left seems to do well in by-elections, like River Heights-Fort Garry and St. Vital, but I really don't think a one-at-a-time approach is a good way to go for victory.
It's really quite disappointing, as the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition looks like it could have real potential if it was just better and more actively organized and better funded.
Wed, 2011-12-07 17:27
#7
This is a pretty good development, even though the turnout was way too low in that by-election. How sustainable Mayes' position in St. Vital remains to be seen.
It's about consistent with the turn-out whenever there is a by-election. Yes, it is low, but the issue there is increasing turn-out across the board.