Ideas, choices missing from mayoral campaign

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2022 (1311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s an editorial that could cause Brandonites to pause and wonder “what if?”

In the July 2 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, that newspaper’s editorial board wrote that “Mayoral races in Winnipeg seldom come close to matching a run for the roses in excitement, but the anticipation is definitely heightened as the 2022 campaign has the potential to be the most fascinating civic electoral sprint in decades.”

The editorial added that “The mayoral election, which hits the finish line Oct. 26 when voters cast their ballots and the results are tabulated, has a field of 11 candidates who offer voters a wide variety of experience, policies, name recognition and backgrounds … There’s much for voters to consider, and whether this expanded field with so many recognizable names will pique Winnipeggers’ civic-electoral interest remains to be seen.”

It ended with this: “For the first time in a long time, the run for this city’s mayoralty really does have the air of a full-field thoroughbred race. Winnipeg would be well served by a turnout that ensures the candidate who ends up in the winner’s circle truly has the majority support of an enthusiastic and engaged citizenry.”

Since the publication of that editorial, a 12th candidate has entered the race to become Winnipeg’s next mayor. Others could still emerge.

Compare that to Brandon, where Coun. Jeff Fawcett is the lone candidate for mayor. If no opponent steps forward before the Sept. 20 filing deadline, Fawcett will be acclaimed as our next mayor.

It would be the second mayoral acclamation in a row for the Wheat City, as Rick Chrest was unopposed in the 2018 mayoral election. In other words, it has been eight years since Brandonites have had the opportunity to hear, consider and vote on different visions and plans for the city.

Compare that to Winnipeg’s mayoral campaign, in which there have already been a flurry of recent announcements and promises by many of the candidates.

Scott Gillingham is promising to fast-track affordable housing projects in Winnipeg and hire a city advisor on homelessness to help address that problem. He has also released a wide-ranging crime prevention strategy.

Shaun Loney has promised the installation of 500 level-two electric vehicle charging stations around Winnipeg if elected. He is also promising to speed up the city’s transition from diesel to electric buses, and to create a “MetroMobility” app that integrates buses, electric vans and bikes into a seamless system. He is also promising to create a “nightlife mayor” position to act as a liaison between the city and the arts and culture sector.

Glen Murray is promising to ground the Winnipeg Police Service helicopter and spend the savings on additional beat cops and drones. He is committed to ensuring the city produces net-zero waste and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, more affordable housing projects, infrastructure repairs and a “bold new partnership in shared governance with Indigenous people.”

Rick Shone is also offering a new approach toward work with Indigenous Winnipeg residents, including an “Embracing Winnipeg” strategy that would create two new full-time positions within the city’s Indigenous relations division. Those staff would provide a co-ordinated access point for local programs that provide training, education, scholarship, employment, literacy, nutrition, child care, housing and cultural supports.

Rana Bokhari is promising to increase access to recreational spaces and facilities, along with a strategy to reduce combined sewer overflows and a major upgrade to the north end sewage treatment plant that would be completed by 2033. The price tag could easily exceed $1 billion.

Jessica Peebles is promising to improve supports for women, hoping to make Winnipeg safer by ensuring city programs help address trauma that can lead to crime.

Those are just a sample of the many promises made in the past three weeks by only some of Winnipeg’s 12 mayoral candidates. They show wildly different visions for Winnipeg’s future and solutions for some of its challenges. They give Winnipeg voters genuine choices.

That’s not happening in Brandon. There are no promises made by our lone candidate, no ideas to consider, and no potential solutions for the many problems our city is grappling with.

For the second election in a row, we are missing out on the once-every-four-years opportunity for our citizens to play their democratic role in charting our city’s future.

We aren’t discussing competing visions for public safety, economic development and infrastructure. Nobody is talking about property tax rates, water and sewer rates and recreation facilities. Electric vehicle charging stations, emergency services, affordable housing, urban sprawl and environmental issues aren’t on the radar.

What about the future of the Keystone Centre and its grounds? Are safe injection sites a good idea or not? Should we revitalize downtown or just level it and start over?

The absence of discussion and debate on so many big issues is a big problem for a city as socially, ethnically and economically diverse as Brandon. It means that an acclaimed mayor cannot be sure he or she has a genuine mandate to address those issues in the manner he/she wants to.

Building consensus here is hard because polls have shown that a good portion of our population feels their concerns are not a priority, and that their participation is not valued. Valid or not, there is a widespread perception that important decisions are made by and for the benefit of a small, established group.

It is a “perception problem” that will only worsen until sincere, concrete steps are taken to encourage a greater percentage of Brandonites to participate in the electoral process as candidates and voters.

That takes leadership and courage. Most of all, it takes a sincere, sustained commitment to making our city and the lives of all its citizens better.

Who besides Fawcett has the courage to provide that leadership? Who is committed to working for the benefit of all Brandonites, and not just the old boys club?

With just three months before the election, the clock is ticking.

» deverynrossletters@gmail.com

» Twitter: @deverynross