Tight race of newcomers to replace O’Shaughnessy

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This article was published 07/10/2010 (5773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The battle to replace veteran Coun. Mike O’Shaughnessy is heating up, as Old Kildonan candidates try to gain ground by promising increased support for businesses and police officers in the city’s northernmost ward.

The wide-open race is a fight between three newcomers — Devi Sharma, Casey Jones and Robert Chennells — in an area where one-third of residents identify themselves as visible minorities.

Sharma, O’Shaughnessy’s former executive assistant, appears to be winning the lawn-sign war in parts of the ward, which may indicate an early edge in places such as the Maples, Garden City and Mandalay West. She wants to eliminate the small business tax to give entrepreneurs a break and increase police presence and support for youth programs to keep children and teens out of trouble.

“(Voters are) concerned about community safety and want to maintain programs for youth in the community,” said Sharma, who is the executive director of the Maples Youth Activity Centre and publisher of the Indo-Canadian Telegram. “Active youth is a healthy community.”

On her heels is Jones, a longtime city worker who first took a crack at politics in the 2006 election and finished third in this ward.

Jones, who currently works in the city’s solid waste division, said he is “creating a buzz” by focusing on improving traffic flow and safety on routes such as Leila Avenue and Jefferson Avenue and his plan to get citizens and police involved in making the neighbourhood safer.

He wants police to hold workshops to teach residents how they can protect themselves and their property from crime.

Also running is Chennells, who wants to boost business development in the area by creating business improvement zones, which he said will increase the tax base. Chennells, who started his own interior renovation business, also wants to expand northbound and southbound Main Street to three lanes at Chief Peguis Trail and reduce the speed limit to 60 kilometres per hour to improve safety.

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca