‘This is Mr. Bowman’s Winnipeg’

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This article was published 24/09/2018 (2712 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Close to 120 members of “The Jenny Army” rallied Monday night for mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk at an event one month before the Oct. 24 civil election.

At the CanadInns Polo Park rally, Motkaluk revved up the mostly middle-aged crowd talking about public safety and putting down the leadership of her main rival, incumbent Mayor Brian Bowman.

“There are people in this room tonight myself included who grew up in a Winnipeg where we didn’t lock our doors at night…where leaving your belongings in your car outside your house wasn’t an open invitation to vandalism and violence,” Motkaluk said. Bowman isn’t to blame for “all the increases in crime,” she said.

“But until Oct. 24, this is Mr. Bowman’s Winnipeg and it’s on his watch that riding a bus or taking a walk at any hour of the day or night can no longer be considered a safe activity,” she said. “Is that the Winnipeg we want for our kids? For our seniors? What about for ourselves? As mayor, I promise you something – this is going to stop,” she told the crowd that included several of Bowman’s critics such as Winnipeg councillor Jeff Browaty, former mayoral candidate Peter Kaufman and Qualico’s vice president of community development Eric Vogan.

“We’re done putting band-aids on bullet wounds,” said Motkaluk. “…We’re done losing the battle to keep our streets safe.” The candidate didn’t say how she would keep the streets safe or what it would cost but she said she knows how she’d pay for it.

“Why don’t we spend some of the money that Mayor Bowman wants to spend opening Portage and Main and lets put it towards solving our crisis of crime instead?” Motkaluk went after Bowman for supporting the opening of Portage and Main to pedestrians, which is now a ballot questions for voters on Oct. 24. The intersection was closed to pedestrians in 1979, as part of a deal with developers and property owners on the intersection corners to construct the underground shopping concourse.

Motkaluk said reopening Portage and Main is one of Bowman’s “vanity projects” that he’s paid more attention to than issues like public safety that should be his priority. Motkaluk said aside from safety, infrastructure and growing Winnipeg’s economy are her two other priorities that have also been neglected under Bowman’s watch.

“Our ability to grow has a been a major challenge for our current administration,” said Motkaluk, who has her own consulting firm. “Even the effects of a cultural phenomenon like Folklorama – which should act as a global testament to our culture and diversity – can’t be fully realized when you can’t offer visitors and new Canadians a safe and prosperous place to live,” she told the crowd while taking shots at the mayor for his expansive social media presence.

“Brian Bowman sees Folklorama as nothing more than 43 photo opps.”

A late-August online poll found that a majority of Winnipeggers were uncertain as to who they want as mayor.

It found that 57 per cent of voters remain undecided as to who they’d endorse for mayor.

Bowman has the support of 22 per cent of respondents, with his closest challenger — Motkaluk — at 11 per cent.

Seven other candidates — Chris Clacio, Tim Diack, Umar Hayat, Venkat Rao Machiraju, Desmond Thomas, Doug Wilson and Don Woodstock — split the support of five per cent of respondents. Ed Ackerman, a late entry, was not included in the online poll of 600 Winnipeggers conducted in late August by Probe Research for the CBC.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca