Tuesday was the last day for mayoral and councillor candidates to be nominated for the municipal election, ensuring their names end up on the ballot next month. Three of those mayoral candidates also shared details of their campaign and what they plan to do if elected. Tracey Drexler Tracey Drexler shared her Living Well Community Safety Plan Tuesday, saying it focuses on improving how emergencies in the city are handled. “Under my leadership, the City of Winnipeg will establish a permanent fourth independent branch within our emergency services dispatch system full equal to police, fire and paramedics,” said Drexler. “When a citizen dials emergency services to report a non-violent social crisis, dispatchers will deploy crisis medics. This is a 100 per cent civilian, Indigenous-led, trauma-informed emergency response unit.” The unit would be connected with End Homelessness Winnipeg and work would be started to help with long-term housing and social supports, she said. “We’re replacing handcuffs with health care and we’re replacing the revolving door of the justice system with a doorway to a permanent home.” Money for the new branch would come from redirecting 10 per cent of the police budget, Drexler said, which would equate to $37 million. Drexler also announced she wants to create safety councils around the city that would help determine how to use safety funding for the area. She also wants to turn tax-delinquent properties over to Indigenous housing providers to create transitional housing. Kevin Klein Former city councillor and PC MLA Kevin Klein is calling for transparency at city hall, using a current motion focused on Transit Plus contracts as a prime example. He said council is currently pushing through a motion to repeal a compromise on Transit Plus contracts from 2023. When first announced three years ago, the motion required drivers to be employees of the contracted company, not independent contractors, annual wage-index increases in the contract be paid to the drivers, and that both winning and losing bidders be named in reports at council. Now, he said council is looking to undo that with a rushed process. “This is the standard that I will not tolerate as your mayor. We will not push things through without proper discussion, without a transparent approach. We will keep our word – when we make a promise or commitment, we will keep our word. We will pay people to do the work and provide exceptional service to Winnipeggers that we are not seeing today,” said Klein. “We need to run city hall in an open and transparent way.” This topic is set to be discussed at Thursday’s council meeting. Scott Gillingham Mayoral incumbent Scott Gillingham put his focus Tuesday on revamping the stretch of North Main Street. Gillingham said the area has been untouched for too long and change is needed to revitalize the area. “There are local businesses, tight-knit neighbourhoods, and tremendous history along this corridor. But there are also vacant properties, public safety concerns and aging infrastructure. The result is that hundreds of historic Main Street properties are a net economic drain on the city, doing significant damage to Winnipeg’s health, safety and self-confidence in the process. We need a plan that addresses these challenges together,” said Gillingham. To start the process of improving the area, Gillingham said the city would provide an action plan that would look at public safety and security measures, tax-increment financing to redevelop vacant and deteriorating properties, streetscape improvements, what events could be held to bring traffic to the area, and more cleaning and maintenance. “It may take years to build real momentum on this corridor, but that’s all the more reason to start putting the pieces of a plan together now.”
