Daniel McIntyre forum reexamines infrastructure, housing issues

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This article was published 08/10/2014 (4015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Six candidates are squaring off in a nearly identical rehash of the 2010 election, which saw the veteran incumbent re-elected. So, asked one bold voter Wednesday night, would any candidate consider stepping out of the race this time to narrow the huge field?

That was the most provocative question posed at a forum for council candidates in the Daniel McIntyre ward, which has been held for 16 years by Coun. Harvey Smith, 77.

“This is a fascinating question,” quipped challenger Keith Bellamy, who placed a close third in a tight battle for the ward in 2010.

Bellamy praised the commitment of the other candidates, saying they all want to make the ward better. But he acknowledged the crowded field.

“Would some of us appreciate it if there were fewer names on the ballot? Probably,” he said. “There’s way too many signs up to take down tomorrow.”

Other candidates, including insurance agent and Portuguese community leader John Cardoso, bristled at the suggestion some should drop out. Cardoso called the question out of order.

The issue is moot. The ballots are printed and it is too late for candidates to formally withdraw, though they could suspend campaigning.

About 50 people crowded into a small room at the Orioles community club to hear the six candidates square off, mostly about infrastructure and housing. The candidates were also asked about policing, city-hall efficiency and the decline of rooming houses.

Candidate Cindy Gilroy, who works as a constituency assistant to NDP cabinet minister Kevin Chief, offered the most concrete idea to tackle rooming houses, which most candidates said were a critical kind of affordable housing. Gilroy said the city and province should offer breaks on permits and licensing fees to reward good owners and to ensure fewer houses operate illegally. And she said grants ought to be used to help good landlords renovate and repair their properties.

Gilroy lost to Smith by roughly 100 votes in 2010.

Throughout the evening, Smith was the subject of some gentle jibes, and he delivered some of his own.

Cardoso said Smith frequently fails to co-operate with other councillors, choosing instead to antagonize them. But Smith went after Bellamy, the former treasurer of the Valour Community Centre, which Smith said got $1 million in city funding for a new gym at its Isaac Brock site thanks to him.

“You never phoned me. You never thanked me… I made that gym possible,” said Smith.

Smith often used questions on other topics to tout his role in rolling back a transit-fare hike in 2012.

“Everyone who takes the bus saves 20 cents because of my motion,” he said.

Also running are former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Dave Donaldson, who pledged to be a voice for the ward, and Godwin Smith, who asked voters to keep an open mind.

Another ward forum, this one on safety, is slated for Thursday evening at the Magnus Eliason community club.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca