Nordman hoping to return to City Hall

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This article was published 05/10/2018 (2856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Grant Nordman has some “unfinished business” at City Hall. 

The 68-year-old Westwood resident served two terms as city councillor for the former St. Charles ward from 2006 to 2014 when he was defeated by Shawn Dobson. 

Nordman is campaigning on his prior experience and what he refers to as a common-sense approach to governance. 

“On Oct. 25 I can hit the ground running. These other guys, as nice as gentlemen as they may be, will be a year or 18 months before they even know where the bathrooms are,” he said. “It takes everybody a while, I was like that in 2006.”

Under the category of unfinished business, Nordman says he wants to create more off-leash dog parks in Winnipeg — something he was vocal about during his time on council.

“We have nine dog parks and some of them are just laughable,” he said. “I really think it’s come to a time and place where we should make every effort to separate dogs so that they’re not in places like Assiniboine Forest.”

Nordman would also like to see his household battery recycling program expanded to Charleswood and Tuxedo. The Batbox program, which he started as a pilot in Westwood in 2013, helps divert dead batteries from the landfill through a doorstep pickup service. To date, the program has collected more than 5,000 pounds of batteries. 

“It’s one way everybody can be green,” he said. 

According to Nordman, infrastructure is the top concern for residents in the ward but the candidate said only so much can be done without raising property taxes or getting more money from the province.

“We are a creature of the Province of Manitoba… the money has to come from them and we can’t just do as much as we’d like,” he said. 

Another issue he’d like addressed by multiple levels of government is opioid and methamphetamine addiction in Winnipeg.

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“We have to do that in concert with the province’s department of health and the federal government to take away the ability of people to make meth.”

While on council, Nordman was appointed acting deputy mayor and sat on the executive policy committee and was the council representative for the partnership of the capital region, a position that works with communities surrounding Winnipeg. 

“There are important things that we can work together on without being electorally-connected,” he said, pointing to foreign investment as an example.

Of his goal for council should he be elected, Nordman said: “I think we need a calmer, more compliant and respectful environment and I think I can bring that — I don’t want to be the cop at City Hall, but if I have to I can because of those three years as speaker.”

He is single and has three adult sons. 

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.