City worker, construction manager join three already-registered candidates running in Elmwood-E.K. byelection for council seat

A city employee and a construction project manager have both entered the race to become the next city councillor for Elmwood-East Kildonan.

After working multiple jobs for the city, current planning, property and development clerk Kyle Roche said he felt inspired to make his first foray into politics.

“I’m a city employee, I’m a citizen of the city. And, for years, I’ve seen (the city) falling short of where we should be and I am tired of sitting on the sidelines,” said Roche.

The council seat became vacant after the death of Coun. Jason Schreyer in April. The byelection is Oct. 25.

Roche holds an anthropology degree from the University of Winnipeg and has about five years total experience with the city, including posts in parks and bylaw enforcement, community services and assessment and taxation.

The 35-year-old said the municipal government is a great place to work but city hall decisions have, at times, been lacking. If elected to council, he’d push for a greater focus on maintaining existing core infrastructure, such as bridges, roads and sewers.

“We don’t drive on certain bridges because they’re not being maintained.… We need to focus on what we already have, the basics. (That includes) replacing the Louise Bridge, not just fixing it,” said Roche.

The city closed the Louise Bridge for an annual inspection and maintenance on May 23. It was initially expected to reopen on May 27, but the discovery of additional problems will keep it closed until next month.

Roche said he’d also push for the city to increase its investment in homeless outreach and greatly boost the municipal government’s staffing level.

The city recently awarded a $275,000 contract for homeless mobile outreach services to Main Street Project.

“Are we really trying to get people off the streets, if that’s the amount of money that we’re putting towards it? No,” he said.

A shortage of city staff has reduced service levels, he said.

“I work in the city…. There are many empty desks and offices and it’s not because people are working from home. We just don’t have the staff that we need. I hear my friends and neighbours complain about how difficult it is to get through to 311, to get permits done, to try to do anything with the city,” he said.

Roche said he believes council should ramp up efforts to secure a growth funding model from the province to provide more revenue for key city services and infrastructure. It should also reject major new projects like the Chief Peguis Trail extension, he said.

Abel Gutierrez, 42, has also registered to run in the byelection.

“It just felt natural. I wanted to contribute back to the community,” said Gutierrez. “My adult life has all been spent here in Elmwood. I want to give back to the community that gave me good opportunities.”

A project manager for a Winnipeg construction company and the vice-president of the East Side Eagles Football Club, he holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Red River College Polytechnic.

Gutierrez was born in northern Mexico and moved to Winnipeg in 1986.

For a time, he lived in Manitoba Housing while he grew up mostly in Elmwood.

“I came from a single-parent home. My mom raised me and my two siblings. We, unfortunately, had to go through the public housing system but everything has a silver lining.… There were great people in the community that supported me as a young individual,” said Gutierrez.

He said he believes the city needs more investment in recreation options for youth, such as drop-in centres and community centre renovations to help prevent crime.

“When the youth have something to do in the neighbourhood… they’re not out on the streets doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” he said.

He also said that ensuring the Louise Bridge is maintained and repaired as quickly as possible should be a key city council priority.

“It’s a crucial artery for this neighbourhood to connect to the downtown,” he said.

Community advocate Emma Durand-Wood, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 vice-president Carmen Prefontaine and child-care assistant Zekaria Selahadin have also registered to run in the byelection.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga