Dan Vandal floats a trial balloon in this morning’s Freep to test his support for a run at the Mayor’s chair in 2010.
Dan, let me save you a lot of time and money. Do it and you’ll get your ass kicked.
That’s not to say I don’t think Katz can be defeated. If the right candidate comes along — someone from the political middle with a clearly articulated and compelling vision for a better Winnipeg that’s not going to bankrupt us — then Katz is going to have to work at it, even with the benefits of incumbency.
But Vandal is not that guy. His vision is mushy. He’s a little too close to the unions and the more loony elements of Council. He doesn’t inspire.
If Vandal really wants to improve this city, then he’d be far more effective actually working toward that goal from his current position, rather than running an eternal campaign for a job he’s not going to get.
Filed under: winnipeg blog | Tagged: City of Winnipeg, dan vandal
How can he expect to be mayor when he scowls at citizens taking his picture in public?
http://www.chrisd.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dan-vandal-festival-du-voyageur.jpg
The Citizens Coalition should beg Terry Duguid to take another run at Mayor.
That’s a scowl? Cripes. You’d probably cry if the Policy Frog ever gave you his “Excuse Me” glare.
The Citizens Coalition should be looking at organizing against the unasked for and unsolicited changes to the City of Winnipeg Act that the province is bringing in. No more corporate or union donations pretty much hands things over to incumbents.
The secret to council power in this town isn’t the Mayor, it is the council seats. The civic NDP will rarely win a city wide vote but they can easily take a majority of council seats.
Terry Duguid ? You must be kidding Brodie. If all these people just cool their jets for another 5 years when Katz doesn’t run again they will all have their shot.
Agree with PF, Vandal would be slaughtered.
Honestly, does it really matter who the mayor is? It will be business as usual.
@PF – you’re correct, Vandal would be slaughtered. His appeal is too narrow. Better for all if the next challenger for the mayoralty post comes from outside council. Don’t who that would be, but a fresh face sure couldn’t hurt.
@Freedom – re: it matters not – I would argue that having somebody in the mayor’s office not beholden to the business elite would matter.
Katz has been mayor for 5 years now. Has our city even taken a step forward? Problem is the easiest way to win an election here is to hire more cops and get the elderly vote. What has that done for our city? Every type of robbery and assault is up this year, the only thing down is car theft.
I have no hope for our mayor and city council at this point. I have no idea who could run, get elected and actually make a difference. We can look forward to another 35 years of Lazerenko and Clement.
Terry Duguid would actually make a very good mayor but I can’t see him leaving ICID.
But, what about Dave Angus? He’s got some definite ideas on where the city needs to go and he’s well known.
Or, Gail Asper…
Duguid was good at being able to bring groups together – even in his after pol life roles. He might be a good candidate.
Win or not, it would be nice to have someone with civic background (though not on council) to run to at least make Katz have to work at some sort of urban platform rather than the “I like Sam” schtick.
My dad is still waiting for his free seniors’ bus fare !!
The solution for Winnipeg is not who will be mayor.
the solution lies in breaking up Unicity, restoring the Winnipeg area to several municipal governments as was the case prior to 1971. When the NDP amalgamated a number of prosperous cities and turned them over to the unions and bureaucracy.
It was a failed experiment.
Katz would make a fantastic mayor of Tuxedo.
Vandal as mayor, would then only be able to damage St. Boniface — not the entire region.
i agree with u PF 100%…Vandal has been my city rep for way too many yrs, don’t want him as mayor that for sure
Hey Regent Ave, sorry to burst u bubble but crime is down big time and YES our city has taken steps forward in last 5 yrs, baby steps maybe but still steps
When it comes to creative ideas, you are always supposed to think outside the box.
OK how about Phil Fontaine? attract more attention and senior level funding – yes – get the left vote – yes – get aboriginal vote out -yes hmmmmmm
OK how about Pat Martin ? motivated by the double dip situation – left vote for sure- name recognition good-
OK how about his LLoydship ? Never a plum he didn’t want to pick
OK -what about a disaffected MLA with ambitions but few chances? Ron Schuler maybe?
For that matter what about John Loewen?
And who could possibly rule out the return of grinning Glen
I think you get the point – outside the box could happen!
Uncle Bob, I think Ron Schuler would, but he doesn’t live in Winnipeg and to him, that is a major problem. He would make a great mayor , though.
And how could i overlook a certain former hockey player with political ambitions or an Olympic skater who enjoys publicity herself – and the list goes on …….
Now if you really have been playing with the magic mushrooms Reg Alcock
I think the person who declares early sets the tone for who else might try.
Perhaps Russ Wyatt is sufficiently annoyed with the current situation to jump in and would make a credible choice making other wild card entries more difficult.
I do agree that some Councillors need changing and the two named above come to mind pretty quickly with an emphasis on Lazarenko. I think that is where I would consider directing my own efforts. That tip of the balance is critical for the city as a whole
Hey James
When did that ever stop a determined politician?
Paul Hesse for mayor. Seriously.
Duguid would be an outstanding Mayor. Civic experience, a former try at the Mayor’s chair, a smart political operator, has brought hundreds of millions worth of investment to Winnipeg over the past 15 years through his advocacy for making Winnipeg a medical research hub, would be able to bring Liberals, moderate NDP’ers, and Red Tories together…
But never mind all that the Citizens Coalition will go with some nutso like Cerrali
Hesse should have run in River Heights and not been scared off by Orlikow and Currier. He would have beat those two and would be able to build for the big job in 2014.
I hear he’s Ignatieff’s choice to run in Winnipeg South Centre after Anitia Neville announces she is retiring this summer.
Sam Katz and his team have tapped into what the majority of Winnipeger want and believe in…until someone sets up and organization as efficient and well run as his, all talk is moot…
“Sam Katz and his team have tapped into what the majority of Winnipeger want and believe in…until someone sets up and organization as efficient and well run as his, all talk is moot…”
Maybe of the people who vote. What was it last time, 30%? I think given the option the majority would elect “none of the above.”
Uncle Bob , Russ Wyatt just came out in support of a 2 % sales tax increase as proposed by David Asper…..he would be eaten alive.
Are you also talking about Thomas Steen ??? Not in a million years, I told a certain conservative spokeswoman they were making a huge mistake getting him to run.
Brodie – You may be right about Paul Hesse running federally.
Sam Katz and his team have tapped into what the majority of Winnipeger want and believe in
So the majority believe in scam artists and shoulder shruggers ?
Good point, Regent Ave…
And Mr. Nobody, it is what it is….
Any mayor (including Sam Katz) who steps in has to contend with 2 things…
a) a council that is frequently more interested in being the official opposition than doing what’s best for their constituents
b) an administration that has rested on its laurels and inflated salaries for way too long
More often than not, it’s these two factors that impedes ‘vision’ and change, not the person himself.
Harvey Smith all the way! ;p
I second the Harvey Smith motion!
Looks like Trevor Kennard is not going for Neville’s seat again. With all his homophobic baggage and nutso so-con beliefs this will be a good thing for the Tories.
Hart Mallin will be a tough oppononet for Neville.
“Any mayor (including Sam Katz) who steps in has to contend with 2 things…
a) a council that is frequently more interested in being the official opposition than doing what’s best for their constituents”
Really? What is the last proposal Katz made that wasn’t passed? The makeup of council right now is pretty useless, the votes never waiver by more than 1-2 in either direction. A centrist mayor might get some things passed, a slightly left mayor might as well just bash his head against a brick wall for 4 years.
I just wish we could have a council without the petty BS, its supposed to be a group of independents, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Its clear this system isn’t working, might as well just let the parties in.
@ Regent Ave- I wouldn’t assume everything that comes before council is the be all, end all.
Katz and company probably aren’t going to bring anything forward that won’t be supported by the NDP endorsed candidates like Smith, Vandal, Gerbasi, Thomas and Orlikow, and a few “independent” councillors.
The loonie elements of council? Um that would be Katz and the right now wouldn’t it? Sorry to squash you Frogger but there are more loons on the right wing than the more humanist left wing.
Didn’t think someone like Vandal with more foresight and less conflict of interest than Katz would run again? I’d say watch him win what with voter apathy for Katz and everything Katz does.
Could we have a worse Mayor?
Worse Mayor than Katz that is…nope.
We could have a much worse mayor…easily. I shudder at some of the past candidates….lets remember, Katz won his first election handily…the following is a cut and paste from Wikipedia….
Winnipeg municipal by-election, June 22, 2004, Mayor of Winnipegedit Candidate Total votes % of total votes
Sam Katz 99,015 42.51
Dan Vandal 55,644 23.89
Allan Golden 34,562 14.84
MaryAnn Mihychuk 23,412 10.05
Garth Steek 16,497 7.08
Gordon Kirkby 1,986 0.85
Shirley Timm-Rudolph 801 0.34
Nelson P. Morrison 528 0.23
Natalie Pollock 453 0.19
And recalling that had over 60% in the last election…and the continued support he seems to enjoy, he is hardly to be considered a “loony”. I think that anyone thinking of becoming mayor need to strategize more, name call less, and actually get out in the public and find out what people (at least the ones who vote, myself included) want to vote for.
If someone is serious about taking on Katz they need to have a strong team of organizers in place by this summer at the latest.
I haven’t heard of any people of not sniffing around. I hear names like Angus and MacIntoish, but they only run if Katz isn’t. And the names I hear associated with the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition are nothing to write home about either.
I would think that anyone thinking of changing the direction of the city would be focusing on council for this next civic election. Even if Vandal could pull off a historic upset against Katz, he’d still face a majority of councillors who don’t agree with him.
That’s why I would expect that the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition is looking at the wards where they can knock off Tory councillors, and leaving the mayor’s chair for next time. If they put all of their efforts into a mayor, a failure will be very difficult to recover from.
Of course, since Katz’s opposition is all NDP, that still leaves some Liberal councillors who vote with the mayor. I wonder if they would be targeted too?
Can somebody tell me which councillors are aligned with each party?
@Chris,
Not sure about all the council members, but I do believe Mayor Katz is part of Wpg Facist-Biz Party and I think Steeves must be the leader of the Neophyte Suck-Ass Party. Of course, Lazerenko belongs to the Old Age Party, as does Smith. As for the rest, I will leave it to others to place them in their proper perspective.
Maybe it is time Katz packed it in as mayor.
I mean would Vandal stand idly by while tax pig David Asper now gets a property tax exemption for his private football club???
I am personally sick to my stomach at all the freebies David Asper is getting, all while he whines his face off about the need to RAISE taxes for the mass of people not in a position to soak them up in pursuit of selfish personal projects.
The billboard outside town ought now to read: “Welcome to Winnipeg — home of the David Asper & Family’s personal tax trough”.
ugh.
You know, now that I think about it, I might just support Vandal.
IF he makes an issue about the all the Asper Welfare that has taken place under Katz.
If this can become an issue, I will vote socialist for the first time.
Better socialism for everybody than socialism for the rich like we have under Katz and his buddy Asper.
Councilor’s General Political Alignment:
Justin Swandel-Liberal-Federal-Tory-Provincial
Mike O’Shaughnessy-Wishy Washy Federal Liberal
Gord Steeves-Liberal
Mike Pagtakhan-Liberal
Harry Lazarenko-Not really any
Bill Clement-Tory
Russ Wyatt-Liberal/NDP/Tory- Knows how to play all sides
Grant Nordman-Tory
Jeff Browaty-Total Tory
Scott Fielding-Big Tory
Jenny Gerbasi-NDP
John Orlikow-NDP/Liberal
Harvey Smith-NDP(even though they might try not to admit it!)
Lillian Thomas-NDP
Daniel Vandal-NDP
That’s the way I see it.
@brodie: that looks like a pretty good list to me.
Steeves is a Conservative not a Liberal. The rest are pretty accurate.
Steeves is definitely a federal Liberal. He has some friendships within the Manitoba PCs, but lays relatively low on the provincial scene in my observation.
Steeves has been a Provincial Liberal candidate as well hence why I have him as a outright Liberal. Once you toss your lot in with the provincial Lib’s and that sad crew it taints you for life!
I’m tainted for life? Awwww….
Not by the way Steeves talks, more far right than center or center-right.
I’d humbly suggest that Mr. Vandal, given his tutelage under former Mayor Murray, is more fed Liberal than anything else….or is he trying to court the more left-wing side to boost his chances?
And other than Swandel and Vandal, which current councillor would be any kind of mayoral candidate? Wyatt? Paghatkan? any of the PC young guns?
Gord Steeves talks “Far Right?”
“Far Right” is skinheads and Pat Buchanan and guys who want to privatize the money supply.
Newman, please name one thing that Gord Steeves has said that qualifies for this slander.
Have you ever listened to Steeves?
He’s about as middle of the road Liberal as you you can get. Talks tax cuts and crime and mixes in some bland environmental talk every so often to pander a bit left.
I quit listening to Gord Steeves years ago after he said something stupid. So good luck fining my memory of that long ago of what he said to place him on the far right.
So, in other words, you’re wrong, you’re just not willing to admit it. Fair enough.
Actually I am not wrong and if I was I would admit it. I simply don’t pick arguments online.
…except when you have the opportunity to label someone as an extremist without even being able to remember a reason.
For a disinterested observer, you are ironically interested.
If I were or you were to remember every reason for every action or every thought in life, we wouldn’t function.
More than one person has noted my ironic level of (dis)interest.
And I never asked you to remember every action or thought in life.
I just asked you to remember what it was that made you feel cool lumping a middle-of-the-road city councillor for a middle-of-the-road city government in with fascists and skinheads.
I thought it was a fair question.
Fair enough question. Perhaps to a leftist, then most on the right are extreme.
So our definition of extreme differs.
Yes. Under your definition, you don’t even have to say anything memorable to be a fascist.
Yes, you are right.
“Far Right” is skinheads and Pat Buchanan and guys who want to privatize the money supply.
@ DO, that was funny! (True but funny nonetheless.)
@Reagan, you are not branded for life. Run for the Tories next time, look how many votes Brian Fellows got. You could have won me thinks.
Thanks Riverman.
Although I’m nervous: if I said something funny, does that make me a fascist, too?
Actually, of those mentioned, Phil Fontaine sounds like a good candidate. I wonder if he’s interested in the job?