The mayoral ballot is set for Winnipeg’s Oct. 26 civic election.
Winnipeggers will have 11 mayoral hopefuls to choose from, in a race that does not include an incumbent.
Current mayor Brian Bowman, who has served in the city’s top job since 2014, announced in fall 2020 that he wouldn’t be running for a third term.
That decision leaves Winnipeg choosing a new municipal leader this fall. Those candidates, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Idris Adelakun, engineer
Rana Bokhari, lawyer, former leader of the Liberal Party of Manitoba
Chris Clacio, entrepreneur
Scott Gillingham, current city councillor (St. James) and former finance chair
Kevin Klein, current city councillor (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) and businessman
Shaun Loney, non-profit founder, community advocate
Jenny Motkaluk, entrepreneur, runner-up in 2018 election
Glen Murray, mayor of Winnipeg from 1998-2004, former Ontario MPP
Robert-Falcon Ouellette former Member of Parliament (Winnipeg Centre)
Rick Shone, businessman
Don Woodstock, businessman, transit driver
Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray has held a strong lead so far, says Christopher Adams, an Adjunct Professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba.
“Kevin Klein has since thrown his hat in the race since polls came out in June, Scott Gillingham is another name that is quite familiar as a past councillor and we’ve also seen Shaun Loney who’s attracted labour and NDP folks in the province.”
He believes there are many topics motivating voters this election.
“There are concerns by voters about homelessness, concerns about infrastructure, the quality of our roads, and people have concerns about property crime, there are lot of businesses in Winnipeg who are concerned about the security of their business.”
Incumbent city councillors will be acclaimed in two Winnipeg wards when the municipal election rolls around next month.
As of Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. deadline for would-be candidates to submit their nomination papers, no one had stepped up to take on either Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), or Markus Chambers (St. Norbert).
Chambers, who serves as deputy mayor and the chair of the city’s police board, is also a relatively new face at City Hall. He was elected in 2018, becoming the first Black man to take on a council role in the city’s history.
Of the incumbents facing acclamation this year, Sharma — council’s speaker — is the longest-serving, having been elected in 2010.
Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge — East Fort Garry) was running unopposed until the entry of candidate Michael Thompson into the race Tuesday afternoon.
That ward is one of a number of two-candidate races, including Daniel McIntyre (Cindy Gilroy and Omar Kinnarath), Elmwood-East Kildonan (Jason Schreyer and Ryan Kochie), North Kildonan (Jeff Browaty and Andrew Podolecki), and Waverley West (Janice Lukes and Pascal Scott).
Meanwhile, Point Douglas (Vivian Santos, Joe Pereira, Moe Eltassi), River Heights-Fort Garry (John Orlikow, Brant Field, Gary Lenko), St. Boniface (Matt Allard, Nicholas Douklias, Marcel Boille), St. Vital (Brian Mayes, Baljeet Sharma, Derrick Dujlovic), and Transcona (Shawn Nason, Russ Wyatt, Steve Lipischak) each have three candidates facing off.
The remaining three wards each feature five candidates.
Hal Anderson, Gordon Penner, Evan Duncan, Steven Minion, and Brad Gross will compete for the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood seat.
In Mynarski, incumbent Ross Eadie is up against Natalie Smith, Aaron McDowell, Ed Radchenka, and Steve Snyder.
St. James, another ward with no incumbent, includes candidates Eddie Ayoub, Kelly Ryback, Tim Diack, Daevid Ramey, and Shawn Dobson.