Council candidates for Elmwood-EK make their case

Elmwood

East Kildonan

Residents of Elmwood-East Kildonan will go to the polls on Saturday, Oct. 25 in a byelection to elect a new city councillor.

The byelection was triggered when the late Coun. Jason Schreyer died unexpectedly on April 29. The following seven candidates are all vying to represent the area.

Emma Durand-Wood, 44, is a freelance writer and editor with a background in library and information technology. The Glenelm resident has been involved in a number of community advocacy groups, including the Glenelm Neighbourhood Association, the Elmwood Business Coalition, the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, and Trees Please Winnipeg.

“I did not think I would ever be doing this,” she said about her candidacy for city council. “But so many of my neighbours and people I know through community work encouraged me to run, and wanted to step up and be involved in this community-driven campaign, which has brought together people from across Elmwood-East Kildonan.”

Her drive to run centres on a desire to have a “community that is great for kids and seniors.”

“That looks like safety, first and foremost, safe from crime but also safe moving through our communities,” she said. “It looks like great services, recreation, libraries, stronger transit, and building on the power and capacity that already exists within community to get everybody working towards a safer, stronger, healthier, Elmwood-East Kildonan.”

If elected, Durand-Wood said she would “bring a spirit of collaboration to council, to build bridges and find common ground to find council work together and move forward.”

Abel Gutierrez, 41, grew up in Elmwood and remains involved in youth sports in the area. A coach and vice-president of the East Side Eagles Football Club, Gutierrez said he decided to run for council because he wanted to see more options for grassroots youth engagement.

“Everyone talks about infrastructure. That’s great. I agree,” he said. “But I think if we want to reduce crime and turn the corner, it starts with kids. The kids in our neighbourhood need to have programming in this area, need to have those opportunities. It’s grassroots. That’s how we get the safer streets tomorrow, by investing in the kids today.”

If elected, Gutierrez, who has spent his career thus far in construction, said he would push to see increased investment in Elmwood-East Kildonan.

“I would like to see derelict buildings turned into housing. I will always advocate for development in our area,” he said. “I also want to see things like food insecurity addressed. I’m an advocate and believer in some of the programs Jason (Schreyer) started. I will make sure those programs aren’t forgotten.”

Braydon Mazurkiewich, 37, is an auto finance broker who has been involved in politics behind the scenes for the last two decades, including the campaign of Elmwood-Transcona MP Colin Reynolds.

The lifelong area resident said he felt compelled to put his name on the ballot because he feels the area has been “neglected” by City Hall.

“South Winnipeg is growing, the streets are paved of gold up there, and here the sidewalks are broken,” he said. “I’m deeply concerned by the neglect in the area.”

If elected, Mazurkiewich said he would work to have a new Louise Bridge built, as well as replace derelict properties with new housing developments.

“My job would be to collaborate with other city councillors, to move the city forward in a positive direction instead of the negative direction,” he said.

Carmen Prefontaine, 52, has worked for the City of Winnipeg for the past 16 years in a variety of roles. The East Kildonan-resident said she has been involved in politics, in one way or another, “basically my whole life.”

“Jason’s sudden passing was unexpected,” she said. “I hadn’t been intending to run for city council. But this happened, and I thought, this is an opportunity to represent my community.”

Prefontaine identified fixing “crumbling infrastructure”, crime and public safety, and better allocating the city’s funds as priorities if elected.

“I’ve been representing and advocating for people for years,” she said. “I understand the commitment necessary to do that, and I have a proven track record of doing what I say I’m going to.”

Kyle Roche, 34, has worked within the City of Winnipeg in multiple departments, both in administration and geographic information systems. The Elmwood resident, who grew up in East Kildonan, said he was prompted to run for city council after comparing Winnipeg’s response to municipal issues to those of other municipalities across Canada.

“The more I’ve read, the more I wanted to see change,” he said. “It really is system-wide, so it’s hard to pick any one issue. One thing I’ve been saying is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel here, but we can look to other municipalities, or even our own past. Winnipeg was one of the first cities to pioneer a housing first strategy. But instead of building on that success, we have decided to not continue those programs.”

Along with being aggressive on derelict houses, Roche said that, if elected, he would push for commitment to replace the Louise Bridge, as well as properly funding Winnipeg Transit.

“I’ve watched council and committee meetings for years and years, they have people telling them what they need to do and they ignore that, then act surprised when what they were told would happen happens,” he said.

Zekaria Selahadin, 25, is a recent graduate from the University of Winnipeg’s international development program. He’s lived in Elmwood since his family arrived in Canada from Ethiopia in 2004.

“I was looking at how the area has been run and what needs to be done,” he said. “I thought I should put my hat in the ring.”

Priorities for Selahadin, if elected, would be addressing food insecurity, housing, and active transportation infrastructure.

“I want to incentivize food security. I want to incentivize missing-middle infrastructure, like infills, and more bike lanes,” he said. “There are a lot of things we could do to help build an active community.”

Christian Sweryda, 38, is a law school graduate from the University of Manitoba currently at work on his master’s of law degree. Leading up to Schreyer’s death, Sweryda worked as his executive assistant. The two worked closely on community projects, such as the grocery access program and the food hub, which were developed in conjunction with the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation.

“The grocery access program has gotten bigger than we ever imagined,” Sweryda said. “We doubled week-over-week during the summer.”

Sweryda, who has been granted an extension on his law studies to run for council, said he put his name forward because he wanted to ensure that the programs and vision he and Schreyer were working on continue.

“I think I’d be good at the work. I have a long history of advocating at city hall. I felt well suited for it,” he said. “I would work on road safety, crosswalk improvements. Jason was very passionate about the Louise Bridge. Jason liked my deep analysis on city spending and city policy, and that is something I hope to bring to city council. I have ideas of how we can help with encampments and some of the issues with crime in the neighbourhood.”

Advance voting at City Hall (510 Main St.) is underway, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, until Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Advance voting will also be held in Elmwood-E.K. at Chalmers Community Centre (480 Chalmers Ave.) between Oct. 14 and 16 from 4 to 8 p.m.

All voters must bring valid identification showing their name and current address, such as a driver’s licence, in order to vote. Voters are encouraged to bring their voters notice to streamline the process.