Sam Katz began his campaign for re-election as mayor Tuesday with an appeal to what many recent polls suggest is Winnipegers’ number one concern: crime.
Katz promised to increase the ranks of the Winnipeg Police Service by adding 58 more officers; he also promised 19 more operators for the city’s 911 call centre if re-elected in the October 27th vote.
“Winnipeg is a great city with so many exciting good things happening,” Katz is quoted in a news release. “But Winnipeg needs to be recognized as a city of opportunity instead of a city that’s being singled out for unacceptable national crime stats.”
Katz made the promise during a campaign kick off event at Central Park. The park was recently refurbished but the core area is still familiar to many Winnipegers as the scene of drug use and violent crime.
Katz promised the beefed-up police force could be paid for from existing budgets and federal funds already available for the purpose and promised to program cuts to make way the police hiring spree. The new positions would be assigned as follows, according to information released by the mayor’s re-election campaign Tuesday:
Katz’s rival, former NDP MP Judy Wasylicia-Leis, was also campaigning Tuesday and expected to respond to the announcement.
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