Local podcasters put city hall in spotlight

What began as an offhand comment in a conversation about Winnipeg’s upcoming municipal election has grown into a new initiative dedicated to getting more residents engaged with city hall.

When Winnipeg writer and artist Sam Beiko suggested there should be a podcast explaining what was at stake in the election, co-host Patty Wiens — who holds the volunteer title of ‘Winnipeg’s bike mayor,’ a role awarded by a global cycling advocacy organization — offered an immediate response.

“We’re gonna do that podcast,” she said at the time.

From there came Ballot Babes, a weekly podcast that breaks down city hall debates, municipal issues and council decisions in an effort to get people to the ballot box in the fall.

Neither Beiko, 36, nor Wiens, 53, is affiliated with any political party.

Since launching with their first episode, Why the BLEEP Should You Vote?, on Feb. 25, the pair have released nine episodes, which are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and in video format on YouTube.

Winnipeg’s civic election is Oct. 28 and Wiens and Beiko say they’re trying to address gaps in knowledge about local politics.

“Sometimes the few people who do come and vote are saying, ‘Well, I saw this person’s lawn sign, so I guess I’ll vote for them,’ but they don’t necessarily know if that person is going to represent their best interests,” Beiko said.

“There’s also an apathy; it’s kind of like, why should I bother voting? Nothing ever changes.’ But the reality is people don’t vote and then nothing changes.”

Only 37.5 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2022 municipal election.

“Sometimes the few people who do come and vote are saying, ‘Well, I saw this person’s lawn sign, so I guess I’ll vote for them,’ but they don’t necessarily know if that person is going to represent their best interests.”

“That turnout alone influences what’s happening in our own backyard,” Beiko said. “Everyone is sort of really dialed into U.S. politics and politics happening in different regions around the world, and they don’t really realize that their mayor, their councillors and their school trustees are the ones making decisions that affect them every single day.”

As for episode topics, Wiens said the podcast tends to focus on issues that directly affect residents’ daily lives, including city finances, transit and the division of responsibilities between different levels of government.

“We started by putting our ear to the ground and seeing what issues were coming up in meetings that affect us, because we want a livable city,” she said.

The hosts also hope to feature candidates ahead of the municipal election.

“We’re going to start interviewing these candidates, maybe not so much the incumbents… but in areas where there are no incumbents, or people who are running and want a platform,” Wiens said. “We have gotten some requests for them to be interviewed to talk about their platform, so I think that will be important too, to discuss and to ask from our perspective. ‘What are you promising? What do you actually think you can do?’”

So far, that has included an interview with Daniel McIntyre city councillor, Cindy Gilroy.

“I think that there’s a new way that people are getting their information now, and I think podcasts is one of those things that I think the younger generation is looking at more than, say, the news and stuff,” Gilroy said.

“I think that there’s a new way that people are getting their information now, and I think podcasts is one of those things that I think the younger generation is looking at…”

The councillor added that many residents are often unaware of the work taking place at city hall and in their own wards.

“Last election, I heard from a lot of people that indicated that, you know, I was doing lots of really great projects and great work, and they didn’t know about it,” Gilroy said.

“You have to be open to understanding what people are choosing to use as platforms and be open-minded to using them. Because I think that’s helped me really connect with my community in a different way that I never have before.”

The Ballot Babes podcast will continue releasing weekly episodes through Oct. 28

“We want to see people show up,” Wiens said. “We want to say, ‘OK, we did our job.’”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca