Vandal considers taking another shot at mayor's job

WINNIPEG — St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal might take another run at the mayor's office, setting the stage for a potential rematch of the 2004 civic byelection that saw him finish second to Sam Katz.

Against the backdrop of Katz's accusations the province is meddling in civic affairs, Vandal said in an interview he will decide this fall whether to run for mayor in the October 2010 civic election.

In 2004, Vandal lost to Katz by 43,371 votes in a crowded mayoral race that featured five high-profile candidates.

A rematch is possible next year, as Katz is expected to run for office for the third and final time. Katz supports the concept of term limits and has said he will not serve more than two full terms, in addition to his abbreviated first term.

Vandal, who served as St. Boniface's councillor from 1995 to 2004 before returning to office in 2006, will have to consider the pros and cons of a race against a well-known incumbent.

"I'm considering it, but I'm not in a position to make a decision right now. I have to talk this over with my family," said Vandal. He made his comments after the Doer government unveiled new campaign-finance reform rules similar to what the St. Boniface councillor tried and failed to get Winnipeg's city council to adopt on its own in March.

The proposed electoral changes, which include a ban on union and corporate donations, would neither aid nor hinder Vandal in a head-to-head race against Katz, at least on paper. In the 2006 mayoral race, the vast majority of Katz's campaign contributors were individuals, not corporations, though businesses such as Western Glove Works, Nygard International and the Gauthier Automotive Group were among the list of donors who forked over the maximum $1,500 donation.

Still, Katz and other city hall observers suggest the Doer government may be attempting to aid Vandal because the NDP's large pool of campaign volunteers could be more effective in a mayoral race with a reduced pool of campaign donations.

For example, in the close 2009 River Heights-Fort Garry byelection race between NDP-backed John Orlikow and Conservative-affiliated Geoff Currier, the NDP's machine appeared to have played a large role in Orlikow's victory.

"They have all these bodies they can move around. Employees take leaves of absence of all the time to work on elections. So how do you create an advantage for NDP-minded candidates? This is one way," said St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel, who supported Vandal's motion to ban union and corporate donations when council voted down the idea 11-5 in March.

"This is the part of politics I find distasteful and disgusting. There's some motivation for doing this. God knows what's going on," added Katz on Wednesday, suggesting elements within the Doer government -- although not the premier himself -- may be working to unseat him.

"I understand (Finance Minister) Greg Selinger and Dan Vandal are very close," said Katz, who nonetheless scoffed at the notion Vandal is ready for a rematch in 2010.

"I don't think Dan Vandal will run. I think Dan Vandal will only run if he's guaranteed he's going to win and that won't be the case. I don't think Dan Vandal wants to sit on the sidelines another four years, and I'm not convinced the government will give him another parachute like they did last time," Katz said, referring to Vandal's job with the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement following his election loss in 2004. "He was unemployed until the NDP gave him a job, paying more than a councillor, I might add."

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 4, 2009 A4