A veteran at City Hall won’t be going after the top job after all.
After previously committing to run for mayor, River Heights-Fort Garry councillor John Orlikow now says he’s had second thoughts.
“I had to look into myself and say is this a journey I want to go on to?” said Orlikow. “I talked with my family and friends and this is not the journey I want at this point.”
Orlikow says the recent death of his mother has still left him grieving and he says he’s not sure he can give his all for such an important job.
“If you’re going to be mayor, it has to be 100 per cent,” Orlikow said.
“I know I can do that as a ward councillor, but for mayor, I really don’t want to be rude to people and if they’re going to give me their trust to do it, I have to be 100 per cent and I still have some issues to deal with myself.”
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Orlikow has served his ward since 2009, but wouldn’t commit to running for re-election this fall.
“Today’s been a really hard day. I feel like I had a lot to offer for people throughout the city of Winnipeg. I’m going to take a little time to think and decompress from the decision I made today and go from there.”
He says he won’t endorse anybody else during the race.
Seven candidates have registered to run so far: Scott Gillingham, Jenny Motkaluk, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Chris Clacio, Don Woodstock, Shaun Loney, and Rick Shone.
Candidates will have until September 20 to register and the election goes October 26.