A rare defeat for Katz

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Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz suffered a rare political defeat after an ethics motion by Councillor Jenny Gerbasi was approved by council. (MARK REIMER/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

In a surprise 7-6 decision, council voted to ask the Doer government to beef up Winnipeg's conflict-of-interest guidelines by expanding the role of a provincial ethics watchdog or creating a new position to govern Manitoba municipalities.

The motion was actually launched in September by Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi during the heat of the debate over a lease renegotiation between the city and Riverside Park Management, a non-profit oganization that sublets city land to the Katz-owned Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball club.

At the time, Gerbasi and St. Vital Coun. Gord Steeves created a pair of rival plans to improve ethics and accountability at city hall. Five months later, Gerbasi's call for more provincial oversight prevailed while council shelved Steeves' motion, which called for enhanced expense-account monitoring, more protection for whistleblowers and the creation of a new accountability commissioner that would oversee both city politicians and bureaucrats.

Gerbasi, who has grown accustomed to losing votes in a Katz-controlled city council, conceded she was surprised her motion succeeded.

"It's certainly encouraging that the majority of councillors agree there is a need for ethical oversight outside of what we really have," she said, claiming Winnipeg's electorate is concerned about ethics at city hall.

Gerbasi's victory was made possible by the absence of two city councillors and the decision of two Katz allies, St. James Coun. Scott Fielding and North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty, to support her conflict-of-interest call.

Fielding and Browaty both said they would have preferred to see Steeves' motion succeed, but when that failed, supporting Gerbasi's plan was better than doing nothing.

"It was the right thing to do. It helps enhance openness and transparency. It's too bad it came from an angry, spiteful attack by Gerbasi on the mayor," Browaty said. "I don't like where it came from, (but) that doesn't change what it could achieve."

Standing on a city hall carpet where he usually gets to recount council successes, Katz said Steeves' failed accountability motion could have accomplished more than Gerbasi's call for conflict-of-interest oversight.

"Frankly speaking, I'm extremely disappointed we didn't go much further," he said, accusing opposition councillors of hiding expense-account irregularities. "There's no secret about that. Many councillors don't want people knowing when they're buying tickets to what type of events of what (political) parties they're supporting. Or what restaurants they're going to."

Wednesday marked only the second time Katz wound up on the losing side of a significant vote since he became mayor in 2004. In 2007, he backed Fielding's failed attempt to create term limits for city councillors.

Wednesday's loss was more significant because the conflict-of-interest motion was inspired by the Riverside Park Management affair, which the mayor has blamed on the media and his critics.

"It was an opportunity to go after yours truly, and they chose to do that," he said.

On the floor of council, some of Katz's allies argued in favor of ignoring the ethics debate, which Old Kildonan Coun. Mike O'Shaughnessy called a witch hunt.

"Why do we keep banging ourselves over the head for no good reason?" asked O'Shaughnessy. "The media love it. They have something to sell."

But in the end, Gerbasi's victory may be entirely symbolic, as the province claims it does not understand what council wants it to do.

"We'll be seeking clarification," said a spokesman for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steve Ashton. "It's not clear to us why they don't use existing legislation to do what they're proposing."

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

 OTHER SIGNIFICANT COUNCIL DECISIONS ON WEDNESDAY

Public consultation: Council voted 12-1 to accept an auditor’s report that called for more public input before council creates long-term spending plans. Elmwood Coun.

Lillian Thomas dissented because she wanted council to take concrete steps to seek more input, instead of just accepting the report.

Roadside memorials: Council voted to hold off on a plan to create a new bylaw that would place a 90-day limit on roadside memorials. The plan is going back to council’s protection and community services committee for further review.
 

No walk in the park

A chronology of the Riverside Park Management affair

Sept. 10, 2008: City council’s downtown development committee declines to renegotiate the terms of a parking-lot lease between the city and Riverside Park Management, a non-profit organization that sublets city land to the Winnipeg Goldeyes, whose majority owner is Mayor Sam Katz. City staff recommended the councillors erase a $233,000 tab for unpaid rent stemming from a con­troversial 2006 city reassessment of a Waterfront Drive parking lot.

Sept. 16: Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi and Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt call on the province to create an ethics commissioner in light of the Riverside Park question.

Sept. 17: Mayor Sam Katz’s cabinet approves the renegotiation after city staff concede they bungled the lease. Katz recuses himself from the vote. Documents show Katz was president of Riverside Park Manage­ment after the city’s acting property director initially recommended the lease renegotiation.

Sept. 24: City council votes 8-6 to renegotiate the lease. Katz again re­cuses himself. St. Vital Coun. Gord Steeves and Gerbasi launch a pair of competing motions to create more accountability and ethical oversight at city hall.

Sept. 26: Six city councillors ask Premier Gary Doer to launch a public inquiry. The call is rejected immediately.

Oct. 11: A Free Press investiga­tion into the relationship between the Goldeyes and Riverside Park Management reveals the for-profit ballclub nearly doubled its pay­ments to the non-profit organiza­tion between 2000 and 2005, from $575,000 to almost $1.09 million.

The original terms of the lease only required the club to pay $75,000.

The more rent a business pays during a given year, the less taxable income it has.

Oct. 22: Before city council can debate Steeves’ call for an account­ability commissioner and Gerbasi’s motion to ask the province to create new conflict-of-interest rules, Old Kildonan Coun. Mike O’Shaughnessy votes to ask council’s Secretariat Committee to study the ideas.

Jan. 19, 2009: The Secretariat Committee decides to ignore most of Steeves’ accountability motion and makes no recommendation about Gerbasi’s conflict-of-interest motion.

Feb. 18: Council ignores Steeves’ motion, but narrowly approves Gerbasi’s motion in a 7-6 vote.

— Kives

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 19, 2009 A3