2002 Winnipeg municipal election explained

The 2002 Winnipeg municipal election was held on 23 October 2002 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.

Glen Murray, the city's centre-left mayor, was re-elected to a second term over challenger Al Golden.

Results

Councillors

• Greg Bozyk was a sales representative for a security company at the time of the election. He indicated that he was putting $10,000 of his personal savings into the campaign.^[1] Boyzk supported budget increases for police and firefighters.^[2] After his defeat, he was quoted as saying, "The people of Elmwood deserve what they get. We're going to continue to be a have-not area... we're going to continue to be the Newfoundland of Winnipeg."^[3]

• Carol Miles was the 44-year-old director of finance for the Canadian Food Grains Bank.^[4] She was endorsed by the New Democratic Party and the Winnipeg Labour Council,^[5] and called for community policing in areas with high crime.^[6]
• Bob Cook was a 57-year-old retired policeman and president of the Transcona Golf Club.^[7] His candidacy was supported by Shirley Timm-Rudolph, the ward's outgoing councillor. Cook called for an increased police presence in the community, and opposed a suggestion that Transcona's police station could be moved to another part of Winnipeg for efficiency purposes.

School trustees

Winnipeg School Division

2002 Winnipeg election, Winnipeg School Division, Ward Three (three trustees elected)

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(incumbent)Mike Babinsky	10,892	23.97
(incumbent)Liz Ambrose	7,243	15.94
(incumbent)Roman Yereniuk	5,918	13.02
Luba Fedorkiw	5,158	11.35
Kevin Rebeck	3,644	8.02
Neri DiMacali	3,096	6.81
Don Smith	2,890	6.36
Alana Brownlee	2,820	6.21
Stan Tomchuk	2,371	5.22
Rylan Reed	1,405	3.09
Total valid votes	45,437	100.00

Electors could vote for three candidates. The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.

• Kevin Rebeck is a Manitoba labour leader. He is a former records clerk with the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board, and joined the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in 1991.^[8] He wrote against provincial workfare programs in 1995, arguing that they ignored the real problems of the job market while targeting the victims of high unemployment.^[9] He was chosen as vice-president of CUPE Manitoba in 1999, and became the union's interim president in late 2003 when Paul Moist left to lead the union's federal affiliate.^[10] Rebeck was confirmed as the president of CUPE Manitoba by provincial delegates in April 2004, and said that he would work to empower members at the local level. He has also served as vice-president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, general vice-president for CUPE National, and second-vice president for the Winnipeg Labour Council.^[11] After the election of Stephen Harper's government in the 2006 federal election, he took part in an unsuccessful effort to preserve Canada's national child-care program.^[12] When CUPE Ontario endorsed a resolution supporting the international campaign to boycott Israel in 2006, Rebeck wrote a public letter indicating that no similar resolution had been passed by his organization. He wrote that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was "complex", and called for dialogue that would "respect the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinian and Israeli people".^[13] Rebeck sought the federal New Democratic Party nomination for Elmwood—Transcona in the buildup to the 2008 federal election, and received the support of the Manitoba Federation of Labour.^[14] He lost to Jim Maloway, who was later elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding.

River East Transcona School Division

2002 Winnipeg election, Trustee, River East Transcona School Division, Ward One (two members elected)

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(incumbent)Colleen Carswell	5,041	33.46
(incumbent)Mary Andree	3,136	20.82
Ken Silk	2,856	18.96
Carl Schneiderat	2,846	18.89
Dwayne Charles	1,185	7.87
Total valid votes	15,064	100.00

Electors could vote for two candidates. Percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.

• Mary Andree was a school trustee in Transcona from 1962 to 2006. She served as chair of the Transcona-Springfield School Division on more than one occasion, and was elected to the successor River East Transcona School Division in 2002. Andree was temporarily removed from the Transcona-Springfield School Board in December 1968, after a former trustee brought forward a charge that she benefited financially from her position on the board. The presiding justice John R. Solomon dismissed the charge in January 1969, and reinstated her to the board. Andree described the charge against her as "malicious".^[15] She later opposed the creation of a separate Transcona-Springfield French School Board in 1985, arguing that there were not enough French-language students in the area to justify its creation.^[16] In 1994–95, she led the Transcona-Springfield Board in requiring school staff to take six days of unpaid leave over the course of the year.^[17] She helped adopt an Equity/Race Relations Policy for the division in 1996,^[18] and supported contracting out bus services in 2000.^[19] In 2005, she supported an unsuccessful attempt to rename Wayoata Elementary School after Terry Fox.^[20]

2002 Winnipeg election, Trustee, River East Transcona School Division, Ward Three

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Bob Fraser	2,275	57.12
David Greskiw	879	22.07
Khalid Mahmood	829	20.81
Total valid votes	3,983	100.00

• Khalid Mahmood is a frequent candidate for public office in Winnipeg. He ran for city council in 1986 with an endorsement from the New Democratic Party, and later ran for a school trustee position in 1995, 1998 and 2002. He has served as president of the Pakistan Canada Cultural Equation of Manitoba.^[21] During celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of Pakistan's independence, he called for better relations between Pakistani and Indian Canadians.^[22] He has also been acting president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association.^[23] In the 2002 election, he called for tougher anti-bullying measures and supported standard tests.^[24] He was elected to the board of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils for 2004-05 and 2005–06.^[25]

St. James-Assiniboia School Division

2002 Winnipeg election, Trustee, St. James-Assiniboia School Division, Kirkfield-St. Charles Ward (three members elected)

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(incumbent)Linda Archer	5,561	28.50
Kelly de Groot	4,932	25.27
(incumbent)Bruce Chegus	4,375	22.42
(incumbent)Jan Paseska	2,531	12.97
Deborah Weddall	2,115	10.84
Total valid votes	19,514	100.00

Subsequent by-elections

City council

• Natalie Pollock is a former musician and talk show host, and has campaigned for Mayor of Winnipeg three times. She attended Grant Park and Kelvin high schools in Winnipeg, and audited courses in Political Science at the University of Manitoba.^[26] She and her brother Ron Pollock worked as musicians in the 1960s and 1970s, under the names "Ron and Natalie O'Hara". Dionne Warwick produced one of their songs in 1968, and three of their songs hit Billboard Magazine's easy-listening charts in the early 1970s.^[27] Pollock later ran her father's podiatrist office, and unsuccessfully sought a Liberal Party nomination in the buildup to the 1984 federal election. In the late 1980s, she and her brother hosted a cable-access television program called "The Pollock and Pollock Gossip Hour".^[28] A report in the Winnipeg Free Press asserts that the program featured "off-beat political interviews" and "often-provocative dancing by Natalie". The show was canceled in 1990. Pollock subsequently brought forward a sexual discrimination complaint, asserting that she had been let go because the cable station believed viewers were bothered by her protrusive breasts. The cable station denied this, and said that the show was canceled for other reasons including "promoting sexual stereotypes". The complaint was subsequently dismissed.^[29] Pollock first campaigned for Mayor of Winnipeg in 1992 in the aftermath of this controversy, and finished fifth in a field of seventeen candidates. She ran again in 1995, promising to launch a constitutional challenge to prevent the sale of the Winnipeg Jets hockey team to the United States.^[30] She finished sixth out of seven candidates. In the 2004 by-election, she called for an aboriginal police chief and legal marriage for gays and lesbians, while opposing the privatization of municipal services, anti-smoking regulations, and the city's proposed Waverley West extension.^[31]

• Roland Marcoux has a Bachelor of Science degree in Adult Education from the University of Minnesota, and has a background in consulting, training and economic development.^[32] He was elected president of the Old St. Boniface Residents' Association in December 2001, and held the position until 2005.^[33] He supported the federal-provincial-municipal Community Initiatives program, and championed development of Old St. Boniface as a residential rather than an industrial neighbourhood.^[34] Marcoux was elected to the board of directors of St. Boniface General Hospital in 2006, and became a director of Entreprises Riel in 2007.^[35] As of 2009, he is an associate director of the Esty Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade.^[36]
• Tom Scott was the owner and operator of a store called The Chocolate Affair on Provencher Boulevard at the time of the election.^[37] In 2002, he wrote a letter to the editor opposing councillor Dan Vandal's plans for tax credits that would promote residential housing in St. Boniface. Scott argued that the credits should support existing businesses instead.^[38] During the 2004 by-election, he pledged to revitalize Winnipeg's French Quarter with street-scaping and French-only signs.^[39] He supported a municipal effort to enhance Provencher Boulevard's francophone character after the election,.^[40] He was the business community's liaison on a post-election project to enhance Provencher Boulevard's francophone character, *Émile Chartier was born and raised in the St. Boniface area of Winnipeg. He is a professional sculptor and a community activist.^[41] He was president of the Old St. Boniface Residents Association in the early 2000s, and served on a committee that reviewed proposals for Winnipeg's Provencher Bridge.^[42] Before running for office himself, he worked on campaigns for Dan Vandal and Greg Selinger.^[43] Chartier was the first declared candidate in the 2004 by-election.^[44] He called for new affordable housing projects, and promised to turn industrial land over to new developments.^[45] After the election, he opposed plans for a new condo development in an historically sensitive area of the ward.^[46] He opposed the city's decision to open a Salisbury House restaurant on the Provencher pedestrian bridge in 2005, and argued in favour of a restaurant that would promote Franco-Manitoban cuisine and culture.^[47] Surprisingly, Chartier supported incumbent Franco Magnifico against former councillor Dan Vandal in the 2006 municipal election.^[48] In 2007, Chartier and Denis Savoie created a popular 15-metre long sand sculpture at The Forks called "The Mosasaur".^[49] As of January 2009, Chartier serves on the board of directors of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.^[50]
• Marcel Boille was a real estate agent with Royal Lepage. He expressed frustration with the number of dilapidated homes in St. Boniface, and called for financial incentives for developers during the 2004 by-election.^[51] He was charged with not filing an audited list of donors after the election, and was prohibited from running in 2006. He pleaded not guilty when the charge was brought to court, arguing that the law was being selectively enforced.^[52] Newspaper accounts do not indicate how the matter was resolved.
• Derek W.J. Hay was the co-owner of three hotels at the time of the 2004 by-election. He promised a business approach to government, and proposed a small business park for an abandoned Canada Packers site in the ward.^[53] He was elected to a one-year term on the executive of the Manitoba Hotel Association in July 2004, shortly after the municipal by-election.^[54] In 2006, he was elected to the executive of the Gyro Club of Winnipeg.^[55] He campaigned against long-weekend alcohol bans in provincial campgrounds during the same period, arguing that his profits had declined since the ban was implemented in 1995.^[56] Hay was returned to the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Hotel Association in 2007, and was re-elected in 2008.^[57]

Notes and References

1. David O'Brien, "Who's going to win?", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 August 2002, A3.
2. Leah Hendry, "Definition of neighbourhood becomes key election issue", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 October 2002, A11.
3. Bozyk's comment refers to Newfoundland's historical status as a have-not region of Canada in 2002. See "Council sees few new faces after vote", 24 October 2002, A10.
4. Carol Sanders, "Transcona win sends message: new councillor", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 October 2002, A10.
5. "Winnipeg Labour Council lists candidates it will back", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 August 2002, A16.
6. Nick Martin, "Pining for police", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 October 2002, A6.
7. Leah Hendry, "Timm-Rudolph decides to call it quits", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 September 2002, A16.
8. "Union boss wants a minority gov't", Winnipeg Free Press, 3 April 2004, B4.
9. Kevin Rebeck, letter to the editor, Winnipeg Free Press, 27 January 1995.
10. Mary Agnes Welch, "Moist set to lead Canada's largest union", Winnipeg Free Press, 30 September 2003, B1.
11. http://www.kevinrebeck.ca/ Kevin Rebeck (biography)
12. "CUPE backs Liberal child care program", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 April 2006, online edition.
13. Kevin Rebeck, "Manitoba's CUPE different" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 2006, A16.
14. Mary Agnes Welch, "Blaikie wannabes lining up in Elmwood", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 December 2007, A7.
15. Winnipeg Free Press, 11 January 1969, p. 3; Winnipeg Free Press, 1 February 1969, p. 3. The former trustee who brought forward the charge was Gerald Shields.
16. "Winnipeg trustees halt bid for a French school board", Globe and Mail, 30 December 1985, A4.
17. Aldo Santin, "Forced savings vanish", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 February 1996, A4.
18. Glen MacKenzie, "Transcona-Springfield school division fights racism through awareness", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 March 1996, 3.
19. Nick Martin, "Division giving parents a refund", Winnipeg Free Press, 30 November 2000, A1. A strike over this issue was settled in January 2001, with an agreement that protected existing jobs but allowed subsequent replacements to be contracted out. ee Nick Martin, "Drivers vow fight in coming election", Winnipeg Free Press, 4 January 2001, A3.
20. Nick Martin, "School changes rejected", Winnipeg Free Press, 25 April 2005, B1.
21. Carol Sanders, "Agent, web firm in dispute Would-be immigrants stuck in Pakistan", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 July 2005, B1.
22. Nick Martin, "Celebrations mark 50 years of freedom for Pakistan, India", Winnipeg Free Press, 14 August 1997, A6.
23. Nick Martin, "Vigil held for Afghan refugees", Winnipeg Free Press, 9 October 2001, A5.
24. Nick Martin, "Amalgamation a hot issue", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 October 2002, local section.
25. Karen Wade, "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 July 2004, A8; Karen Wade, "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 25 July 2005, B5.
26. Glen MacKenzie, "Answers", Winnipeg Free Press, 4 July 1995, C2.
27. Tom Blackwell, "Kicked off tube, TV's jiggle queen to run for mayor", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 July 1992, E9.
28. Lorne Roberts, "Light and Magic", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 July 2006, E4; Bartley Kives, "Ron Pollock joins race for mayor", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 June 2006, B3. In 2005, the show was featured in a three-day festival called "Garbage Hill", celebrating Winnipeg's early cable access programs. See Randall King, "Local artists revist the wacky, wonderful world of Winnipeg's cable access television and classic commercials", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 2005, D1.
29. See Les Perreaux, "Colourful siblings sue over snub", National Post, 4 April 2001, A3.
30. Nick Martin, "Sparks flying at forum", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 October 1995, A1.
31. Patti Edgar, "Four fringe candidates in race for mayor", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2004, B2; "Candidates share privatization positions", Winnipeg Free Press, 9 June 2004, B3; Patti Edgar, "Suburb support tepid", Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 2004, B1; "Here's what the new mayor plans to do first", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 June 2004, A12; "Fringe candidates rack up tiny share of vote", Winnipeg Free Press, 23 June 2004, B3.
32. "Who wants to represent city's francophone centre", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2004, B3; Roland Marcoux, Marcoux Hince Consultants. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
33. "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 January 2002, B5; Patti Edgar, "Heritage Buildings at Risk", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 July 2005, B2. The latter article identifies Marcoux as past-president of the association.
34. Nick Martin, "'Take your profits and take a hike,' say St.B residents", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 January 2004, B2.
35. "Manitoba movers", 23 October 2006, B6; "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 September 2007, B7.
36. http://www.esteycentre.ca/marcoux_bio.htm Roland Marcoux
37. "Who wants to represent city's francophone centre", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2004, B3.
38. Tom Scott, "Use funds to support existing businesses" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 December 2002, A13.
39. Jason Bell, "St. B candidates promise renewal of French Quarter", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 June 2004, B4.
40. "Provencher Boulevardto get $800,000 facelift", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 August 2004, B3.
41. Michael Thibault, "Sculptor chisels out reputation for carvings", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 May 1997, 1. He has been an organizer of the Festival de Voyageur over many years. See Tony Davis, "Here come the voyageurs", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 April 1994 and Gabrielle Giroday, "Warmth forces festival to cancel dogsled races", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 January 2006, A3; Kevin Rollason, "Festival du Voyageur warms up winter again", Winnipeg Free Press, 10 January 2007, B3.
42. Bruce Owen, "Police beef up presence at St. B river parks", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2001, A3.
43. Jason Bell, "Businessman joins St. B council race", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 May 2004, B9.
44. Patti Edgar, "Council byelection heats up", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 2004, A4.
45. Mary Agnes Welch, "Election battles begin brewing", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 2004, B2; Jason Bell, "St. B candidates promise renewal of French Quarter", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 June 2004, B4.
46. Kevin Rollason, "City rules against St.B condo proposal", Winnipeg Free Press, 30 September 2004, B3.
47. Mary Agnes Welch, "St. Boniface critics nip at plan to put Sals on bridge", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 February 2005, A1.
48. Mary Agnes Welch, "Rivals prod Vandal on hog-plant stance", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 October 2006, B4.
49. Joe Paraskevas, "Sand sculpture: history in the unmaking", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 2007, B11.
50. http://www.wag.mb.ca/htmlfiles/ABOUT/board_of_governors.asp Winnipeg Art Gallery - Board of Governors
51. "Who wants to represent city's francophone centre", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2004, B3; Jason Bell, "St. B candidates promise renewal of French Quarter", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 June 2004, B4.
52. "4 fail to file list of donors", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 July 2004, B1; Mary Agnes Welch, "Judge fines, reprimands civic candidates", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 2006, A4.
53. "Who wants to represent city's francophone centre ", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2004, B3; Jason Bell, "St. B candidates promise renewal of French Quarter", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 June 2004, B4.
54. "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 July 2004, C8.
55. "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 June 2006, B8.
56. Sean Moore, "Petition says scrap bans on booze in campgrounds", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 August 2006, A5.
57. "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 May 2007, B7; "Manitoba movers", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2008, B8.