Evan Duncan elected to city council in Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood

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This article was published 26/10/2022 (216 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Evan Duncan was elected city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood in Winnipeg’s Oct. 26 civic election.

At deadline, Duncan had tallied 9,491 votes, approximately 2,636 more than his nearest competitor, well-known local radio host Hal Anderson.

Duncan, who previously finished a close second in the 2014 city council race for the ward, is a lifelong resident of the area and chairperson of the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood advisory group, which was formed by outgoing city councillor Kevin Klein, who chose to run in the mayoral race won by Scott Gillingham. Duncan has worked for Manitoba Justice for over a decade.

Duncan garnered 52.12 per cent of the vote while Anderson earned 37.64 per cent.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at Boston Pizza on Grant Avenue after his victory was declared, Duncan said his 2014 loss to Marty Morantz was a “heartbreaker.

”It was hard to do, it was hard to learn from that, but eight years later we came back,” Duncan added before thanking family, friends, campaign colleagues and voters.

“This is a loud and clear message that our community wants someone who is from our community and working for our community, and I will be that councillor.”

Gordon Penner finished third with 1,090 votes, while Brad Gross was fourth with 407 votes and Steven Minion came in with 367.

Klein was elected councillor in the ward in 2018. Prior to that, the area was known as Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge and represented by now federal Conservative MP Marty Morantz. Paula Haxivbeck won the seat in 2010 but stepped away when she ran for unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014. The late Bill Clement held the seat for 27 years before Haxivbeck was elected.

The Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood ward covers the far west portion of Winnipeg, extending to the Perimeter Highway and bordered by the Rural Municipality of Headingley. Within city limits, its neighbours are St. James to the north, Waverley West to the southeast and River Heights-Fort Garry to the east.

Duncan’s priorities include cutting red tape at City Hall, prioritizing safe communities, addressing the city’s crumbling infrastructure, preserving the ward’s green spaces and community-focused policing.

“I want to meet my council colleagues and the next mayor,” Duncan said. “I want to get in there and make sure that they know I’m there to work with them. I want to make sure that council and the mayor know we’re going to get things done for this city, and my first priority is to represent Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood.”