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Katz presents State of the City address, hints he may run for mayor again
Mayor Sam Katz
Things in Winnipeg are looking up, according to Mayor Sam Katz, who hinted he will seek a third term in office.
On Friday, Katz delivered his annual State of the City address to a crowd of 1,000 at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce-sponsored luncheon at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Last year, the mayor used his address to complain the city needs a better funding deal with the province, as Winnipeg does not have enough funding to pay for new and existing infrastructure.
This year, Katz focused on the positives — including the downtown renovations of the Metropolitan and Avenue Building, the IKEA store and the overhaul at the Assinibine Park Zoo — saying Winnipeg is in a period of renewal.
The mayor made no new policy announcements, but reiterated the city’s pledge to reduce red tape for businesses through speedier permit process and adopting a national business number system. He said investors are lining up to come to Winnipeg, and the city wants to continue to support local communities through recreation and employment opportunities to keep the momentum going.
Following the speech, Katz hinted he may run for office again in 2014.
"Can you think of any reason why I should not run?" Katz said.
Katz was elected in a 2004 byelection, and previously supported the idea of term limits, saying two full terms as mayor should be sufficient. He will have served 2.5 terms when the civic election is held is 2014.
Watch the replay and highlights of the speech below.
History
Updated on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 1:08 PM CST: updates photo, live player
1:26 PM: updates with replay
1:40 PM: updates with full write-thru
4:11 PM: updates with full write-thru
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