Steeves will not run for old council seat

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This article was published 10/10/2011 (4728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former city councillor Gord Steeves will not try to reclaim his old council seat.

In an email statement, Steeves confirmed he will not run in an upcoming byelection in St. Vital. He thanked his council colleagues, the people of St. Vital, city staff and his family for their support.

“I will stay connected to politics in some form, I am not sure how at the moment, but I will always miss the life I used to have as the city councillor from St. Vital,” Steeves’ statement said.

The byelection was called after Steeves resigned his St. Vital council seat in June to help the Conservatives try to unseat NDP Health Minister Theresa Oswald in Seine River constituency. The move came just a few months after he tried unsuccessfully to change provincial rules that require councillors to give up their seat to run provincially.

MLAs and MPs are required to resign their seat to run for another position, and Steeves questioned the constitutionality of the rules.

Oswald handily defeated Steeves on election night. The St. Vital byelection is slated for Nov. 26 and potential candidates have until Oct. 21 to file their registration and nomination papers. No rules prevent Steeves from taking another crack at council, and several other candidates have already registered to run.

Five candidates have registered to run in the byelection, including Brian Mayes, Greg Nordman, Mike Ducharme, Steven Hennessey and Carl Osato.

Another byelection will be held Nov. 26 for school trustee. Ducharme, a Louis Riel school trustee, resigned his school board seat to register as a council candidate. Trustee candidates can file their nomination papers starting Oct. 15.

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca