2022 Winnipeg Mayoral election

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by esquire

People gripe about the cops, but the sad fact is that we are a high crime city. We need the cops to prevent this place from turning into a scene from Mad Max, and anyone who thinks that safe injection sites and social workers will change that is living in a dream world. The cops know it. That's why there are so many of them.

If crime dropped 25% next year then yeah, a pile of them could get pink slips. But sadly, we need a police presence to keep some semblance of order.



I've heard it said that we should pay more. But mayor and council are not exactly subsisting on a poverty wage. $110K-$125K for council. $200K for mayor. Besides, if some genius law/engineering/accounting firm partner won't leave their lucrative practice to be a councillor for $110K, what makes us think they'll do it for $220K? How high would you have to jack up salaries for the money to start drawing that calibre of candidate?

At the end of the day I think council is relying on people who aren't in it only for the money. The City can never compete with the top professional services firms when it comes to remuneration.

The reason why we're ending up with career politicians (I count the career admin assistants to politicians in this too) is because of the opportunity cost for anyone that actually has a professional career.

Career politicians, people with nothing else to do or people who've retired is really what our choices are at this point.

I'm not going to leave my career in my late 30s-early 40s for a 4 year municipal term. Too damn risky, lose that income, lose that pensionable time. MLA and MP are way more attractive on the benefit side.

[esquire]

Thinking out loud here, but what about going back to part time councillors that would let people maintain their careers? I used to work for a large multi-billion dollar corporation where the board of directors flew in like 8 times a year for a day and a half of meetings. That was enough to get it done.

Directors focused exclusively on the big picture. Similarly, maybe councillors shouldn't be down in the weeds over minutiae like whether a Tim Hortons on Regent can have a 12' pylon sign instead of 20' or whatever. Maybe less is more.

[PaulR]

Upon thinking about this further, regarding the vote, the fact that Gillingham's win was razor thin does at lease show that there is appetite for modern, urbanist views. Imagine if Murray's campaign was more successful. The vote splitting wouldn't have occurred and he would have been elected. I'd bet my life on it. That is a pretty big silver lining for me. So if we can manage to find a candidate that doesn't have such a muddied past and who actively campaigns.......we could very well have what we've been wanting for a very long time; a progressive, urbanist mayor to make this a progressive, urbanist city.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility, people.

[thurmas]

I dont see any left wing urbanists in the wings for the future in this city. Loney seems ok but very low key guy who most in this town dont know.

Had Murray communicated clearly and consistently like Gillingham did in this ad below he would be mayor today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmgT9o6OIi8

[pacman]

Originally Posted by trueviking

again....i dont care about promises....elections are not promise shopping.

The federal government has already rejected Kenaston twice....they are funding rapid transit all over the country...not roads....Gillingham's promise to add a line item on everyone's property tax bill is ridiculous...you really think people in transcona are going to agree to a $200 line item for ten years to pay for a road in west kildonan?...those roads will never get built...it was just to get you to vote for him.

you wont get an argument from me that murray ran a dumpster fire of a campaign, but his resume and pedigree speaks for itself...i didnt need promises.

Just to get you to vote for him in a solid strategic decision, the guy basically shouted from the rooftops "I will raise your taxes, and also by the way one of my main priorities is to build a road in West Kildonan and you guys in Transcona will have to pay for some of it, vote for me please".... and he won!

What can anyone say to someone that proclaims he doesn't care about election promises when discussing an election because you know, umm resume and pedigree? I feel for you because your disappointment is obvious and real and I don't mean to pile on, but Murray's atrocious campaign would not bode well for his performance as mayor if he had won, especially since he conveniently built in an easy scapegoat as part of his platform.

[Sheepish]

TV... never mind promises, and leave the pedigree aside...what vision did Murray actually proffer?
He apparently did not support opening P & M. He wanted more money for Centre Venture. And I think he wanted more downtown concerts. Great!
What was his vision for what Winnipeg would be after two terms of a Murray regime? I never heard that from him...and that is the problem. They hear Loney loud and clear, and a lot of people voted for him, and took the votes from Murray. The election will not be undone. So collect like minded citizens with some influence and gravitas, and speak directly to the new Mayor about what is important, share your vision -and remind him that only 27% of those who voted...voted for him (and that actually represents less than 15% of all eligible voters, if my math is correct based on the actual turnout). Maybe he will listen.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I dont see any left wing urbanists in the wings for the future in this city. Loney seems ok but very low key guy who most in this town dont know.

Had Murray communicated clearly and consistently like Gillingham did in this ad below he would be mayor today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmgT9o6OIi8

I think the result speaks to the need for some of these candidates to build a political profile before running for the top job (yes I bang this drum always).

School trustee, council. Get involved there and build a brand. Aside from being a Katz or Bowman type candidate with such a public profile, simply throwing your hat in the ring for mayor with no political resume is foolish.

Would be awesome if Loney was on council today.

[BariasEC]

Originally Posted by PaulR

Upon thinking about this further, regarding the vote, the fact that Gillingham's win was razor thin does at lease show that there is appetite for modern, urbanist views. Imagine if Murray's campaign was more successful. The vote splitting wouldn't have occurred and he would have been elected. I'd bet my life on it. That is a pretty big silver lining for me. So if we can manage to find a candidate that doesn't have such a muddied past and who actively campaigns.......we could very well have what we've been wanting for a very long time; a progressive, urbanist mayor to make this a progressive, urbanist city.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility, people.

If he couldn’t manage a campaign that was his to lose. What makes you think he can manage a city.

Winnipeg dodged a bullet.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

Aside from being a Katz or Bowman type candidate with such a public profile, simply throwing your hat in the ring for mayor with no political resume is foolish.

People often say this, but that idea is overstated. We've had several rookies end up as mayor in recent years... Bowman, Katz, Thompson. Obviously they didn't just roll into town and win, they all had extensive business and professional credentials. But if having past experience as an elected official was that important, all three would have lost to the veteran politicians that ran against them.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by PaulR

Imagine if Murray's campaign was more successful. The vote splitting wouldn't have occurred

There will always be vote splitting on party lines, that cannot be avoided. If you assume the three sides have roughly equal core support though it is that swing vote that ultimately decides the election. That the vote in the top 2 and the next 2 were effectively tied tells me there wasn't a lot of votes shifting from Murray to Loney, at least in more of a way than from Gillingham to Klein. And it seems likely if Loney isn't in the race someone else fills that spot.

[WestEndWander]

Originally Posted by esquire

People gripe about the cops, but the sad fact is that we are a high crime city. We need the cops to prevent this place from turning into a scene from Mad Max, and anyone who thinks that safe injection sites and social workers will change that is living in a dream world. The cops know it. That's why there are so many of them.

Anyone who thinks that those types of additional resources would do nothing to assist in our current crisis is living in blithe ignorance. Can't arrest mental health problems and overdoses away no matter how many "cops" hire.

The belief that police are the only solution to these problems is absolutely bewildering to me. Every year we give the police more money and every year these problems continue to get worse. Why is that? Using your logic we should have begun to see a reduction is these problems by now.

City police need to undergo far more rigorous training than they do. 36 weeks? What a joke. Time to require an undergrad degree and two years of on job training before officially hitting the streets. Maybe then they can actually be of use in situations mentioned above, other than just arresting people.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WestEndWander

The belief that police are the only solution to these problems is absolutely bewildering to me. Every year we give the police more money and every year these problems continue to get worse. Why is that? Using your logic we should have begun to see a reduction is these problems by now.

Not at all. If addictions and crime keep increasing, you need more cops to mop up the mess. By all means improve mental health care, social work and what not, but those guys are playing the long game... police have to deal with the here and now.

I hate paying a huge chunk of every property tax dollar to pay for a bloated police force as much as the next guy, especially considering it could be going to something that could benefit me and my family directly (parks and rec, transportation, etc.). But such is life in a city with a disproportionately large substance-abusing underclass with all the resulting stabbings, assaults and robberies and other things that require immediate police attention.

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

People gripe about the cops, but the sad fact is that we are a high crime city. We need the cops to prevent this place from turning into a scene from Mad Max, and anyone who thinks that safe injection sites and social workers will change that is living in a dream world. The cops know it. That's why there are so many of them.

If crime dropped 25% next year then yeah, a pile of them could get pink slips. But sadly, we need a police presence to keep some semblance of order.

It's funny that we talk about the need for cops and how much we spend on them as a percentage of the city budget. But where are the cops? I hardly ever see any walking the streets downtown. They have downloaded a bunch of "undesirable" tasks to the Cadets. They can't all be investigating homicides. They don't actively ticket for traffic offences like they used to. They don't even bother with property crimes anymore.

Where are they?

[Sheepish]

BTW...was in Chicago recently (in both the Gold Coast and South Loop). There are police cars, lit up, on virtually every corner. It was a little weird at first. Not saying its a good thing...but in a city that has been plagued with murders and street violence like Chicago, this was their response to give people some comfort out on the street. And in an amusing twist...asking a lyft driver there about life as a driver in Chicago, his biggest complaint was....POT HOLES! (had to laught)

[esquire]

^ Not uncommon in big American cities, you see that in NYC, Washington, etc. It's actually amazing how visible the police are in places like that. Definitely nowhere near that in Winnipeg.

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Not uncommon in big American cities, you see that in NYC, Washington, etc. It's actually amazing how visible the police are in places like that. Definitely nowhere near that in Winnipeg.

I don't know why we don't deploy the cadets in that capacity. Instead we have them controlling lights out at intersections. For all their potential uses, I sure don't see the benefit to having them. They aren't deployed in any real fashion to walk the beat, so to speak, and I wonder on a daily basis when I see them as to what they actually do. So poorly underutilized.

Policing in this city is primarily targeted at the most socially disadvantaged communities. Yes, social intervention does work. Instead of arresting a shoplifter, for instance, there should be mobile social services unit that works with them to address the social determinants. You definitely aren't going to save them, but you can at least begin to address some of the issues they face, such as mental health issues and trauma.

Programs like safe injection sites do make a difference. There is lots of supporting literature that promotes harm reduction strategies. I would build a comprehensive facility downtown that allows for safe, supervised injection sites and social programming and substance use programs for those that want to abstain or get help. Even if just to talk to a professional; that can make a world of difference. We have to move away from this 'police state' model and work towards something else. Because clearly what we are doing isn't working.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Jammon

I don't know why we don't deploy the cadets in that capacity. Instead we have them controlling lights out at intersections. For all their potential uses, I sure don't see the benefit to having them. They aren't deployed in any real fashion to walk the beat, so to speak, and I wonder on a daily basis when I see them as to what they actually do. So poorly underutilized.

Policing in this city is primarily targeted at the most socially disadvantaged communities. Yes, social intervention does work. Instead of arresting a shoplifter, for instance, there should be mobile social services unit that works with them to address the social determinants. You definitely aren't going to save them, but you can at least begin to address some of the issues they face, such as mental health issues and trauma.

Programs like safe injection sites do make a difference. There is lots of supporting literature that promotes harm reduction strategies. I would build a comprehensive facility downtown that allows for safe, supervised injection sites and social programming and substance use programs for those that want to abstain or get help. Even if just to talk to a professional; that can make a world of difference. We have to move away from this 'police state' model and work towards something else. Because clearly what we are doing isn't working.

They do a lot of hours and hours guarding crimes scenes

[wardlow]

The post mortem is in:
(Courtesy of Jacques Marcoux on Twitter)

[wardlow]

Loney really walked away with the wealthy left-wing NIMBY vote.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by wardlow

The post mortem is in:
(Courtesy of Jacques Marcoux on Twitter)

Almost exact replica of how pc and ndp voters vote in the city