Whether you voted or not, here are some highlights from this fall’s civic election:
Katz wins mayoral race; both Sun and Free Press think “Play it again Sam” is an awesome headline
Sam Katz was reelected mayor of Winnipeg Wednesday night and will return to city hall to serve his third term in the mayor’s office.
When the votes were tallied, Katz had gained the support of 55 per cent of Winnipeg voters.
His main opponent, former NDP MP and MLA Judy Wasylycia-Leis, racked up 43 per cent of the vote, while candidates Brad Gross took two percent and Rav Gill took one percent.
“Play it again Sam” seemed like an appropriate headline to usher the mayor back to his office, as it graced the front pages of both the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Sun the following morning.
The kick heard round the city makes its way to NBC
An unfortunate incident, in which the mayor accidentally kicked a kid in the face during a charity soccer game made its way onto the Today Show.
Video footage of Sam Katz attempting to kick a soccer ball but instead kicking a young boy in the face was used in a mock attack ad that caught the attention Today Show host Matt Lauer.
The mock ad asked viewers if they want to reelect someone who “kicks children in the face”.
“Now that’s advertising,” said Donny Deutsch, an ad executive and Today Show panelist when discussing the best and worst political ads of 2010.
The video of Katz’s blunder also caught the attention of Justin Timberlake, as it was posted on his website, justintimberlake.com, in a blog post on the dangers of soccer.
Advanced polls set up at U of M to spur students on to vote, many still don’t
Advanced polling stations were set up in University Centre on Oct. 12 and 13 in the hopes that more students would vote in the civic election.
However, students the Manitoban spoke with said they were not aware of the platforms of the mayoral and city councilor candidates, but did think that voting was an important civic duty.
U of M professor Jared Wesley explained that the generally low voter turnout amongst students cannot be turned around simply by making it more convenient for students to vote.
He pointed out that the phenomenon stemmed from this generation of young people feeling more secure that their democratic freedoms will not be threatened, unlike past generations who lived through the First or Second World War or the Cold War.
The Canadian Federation of Students also tried to get students to the polls through their Students Vote campaign, which collected pledges from students to promise to vote in the civic election and launched a website where students could find information about the election more easily.
Gill promises to establish gay village for Winnipeg
In addition to promising to increase the number of surveillance cameras downtown and improving Handi-Transit service, mayoral candidate Rav Gill pledged to establish a “gay village” in Winnipeg if he was elected on Oct. 27.
Gill explained that he would form a gay village in the Spence neighbourhood or somewhere “closer to downtown” by using tax incentives, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
He explained that attempts in other cities, such as Ottawa, were his inspiration for the idea to label a neighbourhood in Winnipeg as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and two-spirited friendly, came from.
Pride Winnipeg chairperson Barbara Burkowski said the community would welcome the distinction but that such a feat would not happen overnight.
Smith wins another term as councilor after losing NDP endorsement
Incumbent Harvey Smith won another term as city councillor for the Daniel McIntyre ward after losing his NDP backing to Keith Bellamy.
Smith credited his large group of dedicated volunteers for his success in spite of difficulties in fundraising for his campaign without his NDP backing.
He beat out Bellamy, former co-chairperson of the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition Cindy Gilroy-Price, radio show host Lito Taruc, and John Cardoso.
Smith has been councilor of the ward for 18 years. Despite losing his NDP endorsement, he said he still supports NDP ideals and wants to continue to help the party.
‘They also have Cracker Barrel’: Free Press reporter Bartley Kives gets his own t-shirt
One of the most quotable remarks of the civic election came during from Winnipeg Free Press city hall reporter Bartley Kives during the CBC Manitoba-Winnipeg Free Press mayoral forum.
When the topic of discussion turned to water parks, mayoral candidate Sam Katz defended the $7 million price tag by noting that Grand Forks also had one. He was interrupted by Kives, who wittily remarked: “They also have Cracker Barrel.”
Not long after, blogger Chris D created a t-shirt with Kives’s picture and the now locally famous line, with net proceeds from sales of the t-shirt going to the Luxton Community Centre on St. Cross Street.
