Mayor made rookie mistake

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This article was published 05/02/2015 (3925 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You might not be able to build Rome in one day, but you sure can destroy Camelot in a matter of hours.

At the start of this week, Mayor Brian Bowman marked his first 100 days in office by highlighting all his good deeds since he moved into Sam Katz’s old digs.

A mere two days later, Winnipeg’s rookie mayor was effectively called a liar by the most popular man in the city, True North Sports & Entertainment chairman Mark Chipman.

The co-owner of the Winnipeg Jets, who appears to enjoy publicity as much as a Siamese cat revels in an ice bath, stood in front of reporters Wednesday and declared he’s disappointed with Bowman, regretted publicly endorsing the privacy lawyer during the 2014 mayoral race and then delivered a political gut-punch to the rookie.

You know that True North development proposal for a pair of downtown properties south of Graham Avenue? You know, the one Bowman has been demanding to hear details about since the middle of January? The one that sparked a public airing of accusations and counter-accusations between the mayor and CentreVenture, the city’s downtown-development agency?

Well, Chipman says, Bowman has known about the $400-million proposal to build three towers and a public square since November, when the new mayor attended a Jets game with provincial cabinet minister Kevin Chief. Chipman said Bowman and Chief were shown a promotional video about the project in the True North chairman’s office, which offers a view of the land in question.

This creates a credibility problem for Winnipeg’s new mayor, who said in January he did not meet with Chipman and did not know much about the proposal beyond “rumours and rumblings.”

The proposal involves the construction of residential housing, potential office space for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, retail stores, a public square and a new hotel on a Manitoba Public Insurance-owned surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St. — optioned to True North partners since 2012 — and the former Carlton Inn site at 220 Carlton St., owned by CentreVenture.

For weeks, Bowman blasted CentreVenture for signing an option on the Carlton Inn site while another corporation, construction company Stuart Olson, was obligated to build a hotel on that land.

Bowman denounced this option as a secret deal. He excoriated CentreVenture staff and board members. He declared city hall would no longer tolerate backroom conversations about real estate, especially in the wake of Katz-era real estate and construction scandals.

After weeks of silence, Chipman gathered reporters into the bowels of the MTS Centre, the Excalibur-like source of his power and popularity, and called out Bowman for failing to disclose what he knew about the “True North Square” proposal and when. One of Bowman’s claims — that it’s unclear what land True North intends to develop — was destroyed by a video that clearly illustrates the construction of two towers at 225 Carlton St. and a third on 220 Carlton St.

Quaking in frustration, Chipman said he could no longer stand by while his company’s reputation was impugned. He compared the past few weeks to what he went through 15 years ago, when True North’s plan to demolish Eaton’s on Portage Avenue to make way for the MTS Centre was met with a series of lawsuits.

Chipman said respected minds told him there was nothing untoward about signing an option on the Carlton site. He asserted council has ordered CentreVenture to breach a contract by offering up the site to other developers. Chipman vowed not to sue, but said he’s now reconsidering the development until trust is re-established with city hall.

It’s unclear whether that’s possible. Chipman also conceded he learned of the availability of the Carlton Inn site while he was serving on CentreVenture’s board. He said he was only trying to resolve the Carlton debacle for CentreVenture and create something positive for the city. Shindico Realty officials issued similar explanations when asked to explain why they got involved in Winnipeg’s fire-paramedic station replacement program.

Nobody comes out of this looking good. Chipman faces a conflict allegation, even if he did recuse himself from the CentreVenture board and quit shortly afterward. Bowman appears to be disingenuous, doing whatever it takes to appear righteous in the face of previous city malfeasance. Stuart Olson looks like a bad-faith actor in its commitment to build a hotel for the RBC Convention Centre. The convention centre board looks like a bunch of amateurs for failing to sign a construction contract with Stuart Olson.

Sam Katz created a mess during his first few months in office by cancelling what’s now the Southwest Transitway. But even the distracted, disappointing Katz couldn’t manage to alienate his biggest backer and drive a bulldozer through the reputations of so many well-regarded people as quickly as Bowman has managed to do in the short time he’s served as mayor. Perhaps Bowman should have come to office with more politically experienced staffers. Perhaps he had no one at his disposal to offer tactical advice.

Whether or not you agree with him, it’s clear our rookie mayor had no end-game strategy in mind when he decided to engage in a game of mutually assured destruction with Mark Chipman.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca