Off to the races First-timers with something to prove run for city council By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 15, 2022

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/07/2022 (894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Joe Pereira almost lost everything because of addiction — now he hopes that experience will help him win a seat on city council.

The former real estate agent, who is vying for a seat in the Point Douglas ward, said he has been clean for more than two and a half years. He thinks his background makes him a perfect choice to help people with addictions and those who are homeless.

“I feel there’s a need for political will about homelessness, addictions and crime,” he said.

“I stopped my addiction myself so I have a sympathetic feeling. I think much more can by done by the city.”

The ward he wants to represent is home to a high number of vulnerable and at-risk people. Many live in tent camps set up by the Red River, and rely on social agencies for basic needs.

Pereira is one of six rookie candidates in the city’s 15 wards who have tossed their hat into the civic politics ring.

A seventh candidate, Shawn Dobson, is a former city councillor, but he lost his re-election four years ago when he had to run against Coun. Scott Gillingham after boundary changes eliminated his St. Charles ward. Because Gillingham has opted to run for mayor, the St. James seat is wide open.

But the seat Pereira wants isn’t vacant. Vivian Santos is the incumbent in Point Douglas, one of the oldest in the city. It stretches from the Red River and the Exchange District in the east, to Weston and Brooklands in the west, and north to Tyndall Park and Inkster Gardens.

Santos, who was stripped of the acting deputy mayor role last year because she was the only councillor who refused to disclose if she had been vaccinated against COVID-19, hasn’t filed her registration papers. In an email, she said she will file them next week.

Pereira was a real estate broker until the Manitoba Security Commission banned him from practising in the province after it was determined he had “committed fraudulent acts.”

“Only after I’ve got past my addiction did I realize I’m not a realtor– the only thing that will make me happy is helping people now. And that’s what I want to do as a councillor: help people.”
– Joe Pereira

The commission found that in March or April of 2018, Pereira took a total of $3,000 from two potential tenants of a commercial building, used the money for himself, and when they asked for the money back, he claimed he had “compromising videos” of them so they shouldn’t try to get a refund.

Pereira said the bottle caused him to lose his career and 27-year marriage.

“I’d be willing to explain my story to (the victims),” he said, noting they were reimbursed through insurance. “I’ve slowly been trying to build my name and my reputation back.”

“I want to be an inspiration for people who have lost their stuff because of addiction. Only after I’ve got past my addiction did I realize I’m not a realtor — the only thing that will make me happy is helping people now. And that’s what I want to do as a councillor: help people.”

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The Mynarski ward might prove to be a barn burner: the sitting councillor will face off against his longtime former executive assistant and the activist who helped save the West Kildonan library.

Ross Eadie is running for re-election after representing the ward for a dozen years. But Aaron McDowell, his executive assistant during all that time, is running against him. McDowell was let go last month.

According to Eadie, he was planning to run for mayor this election, and McDowell planned to run for his open seat, but about a year ago, Eadie was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Eadie said he had surgery last year, and is cancer-free, but it meant he wasn’t able to begin the unofficial process of garnering support for his candidacy a year before the election.

Eadie said when he told McDowell he decided to run for council again, it sparked an argument.

“I’m running to represent Mynarski and I think I do a good job — but the voters will tell.”

“My biggest problem is my community, which I’ve lived in my entire adult life, is burning down and no one on council is doing anything about it.”
– Aaron McDowell

As for McDowell, he didn’t want to say what had happened between Eadie and himself.

“I won’t delve into the weeds,” was all he would say.

McDowell was clear about the issue he’s passionate about: fires in vacant homes and businesses.

Posing for a photograph in front of a house on Alfred Avenue that had been hit twice by arsonists, McDowell said the fires — and the lack of city response in the aftermath — have fuelled his campaign.

McDowell said the city should demolishing the house to reduce the risk to nearby residents, as well as other buildings rendered derelict after being damaged.

“The City of Winnipeg has failed to take care of these structures in a proper legal manner,” he said. “We are subjecting the public to life-and-death issues.

“My biggest problem is my community, which I’ve lived in my entire adult life, is burning down and no one on council is doing anything about it.”

Meanwhile, the third candidate, Steve Snyder, who is a member of the Seven Oaks Residents’ Association, Bike Winnipeg, and YIMBY (Yes In My Neighbourhood), recently helped save the Jefferson Avenue library from being moved to the Garden City mall. He had been living with his family in Australia, but returned to the area about a year and a half ago.

“I walk through this neighbourhood and I just see it changing. People don’t have that pride anymore,” Snyder said.

“There needs to be more pride in the neighbourhood. Through my work with the residents association, (the Friends of) Kildonan Park, and the library, I have the leadership to make this a better place.”

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In Daniel McIntyre, a veteran city councillor is squaring off against a candidate who was born in a refugee camp and would like to see a future without policing.

Cindy Gilroy is a two-term councillor, who was a school trustee before that.

Omar Kinnarath, whose parents were refugees from Laos and Pakistan, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and was a baby when he came to Winnipeg 43 years ago.

But while Kinnarath has pushed for defunding the police — and wants to see the department’s budget reduced by 10 per cent — it’s not the issue uppermost with him or the citizens he speaks to.

“I don’t feel the incumbent has done a good job for us,” he said.

“During the pandemic, the community was in tatters and, at various times, it felt like I was doing her job. People reached out to me.”

Kinnarath said the late Harvey Smith, the longtime councillor for the area, did a better job of communicating with his constituents.

“I feel like I’m cut from the same cloth,” he said.

As for the future of the Winnipeg police, “we need to re-imagine community safety.

“We know more money to police does not reduce crime. The last 15 years have shown that.”

Kinnarath said before that happens, crime and homelessness have to be eliminated.

“We can’t just flip a switch.”

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In St. Boniface, it’s a restaurateur against the incumbent.

Nicholas Douklias, co-owner of Helios, a Greek restaurant that morphed into a catering business during the pandemic, is running against Matt Allard, who was elected in 2014. Before that, he was a small business owner and CEO of the Francophone Chamber of Commerce of St. Boniface.

Douklias said he has a recipe for electoral success but he refused to divulge its contents. He plans to release his platform later.

For now, Douklias said he is a lifelong resident of the area who also works in the area.

“I’m ready to represent this community,” he said.

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It has been four years since Dobson represented a portion of the St. James ward — and he is ready to do it again.

Dobson, a carpenter with the St. James School Division, keeps his running shoes under his desk so he can quickly slip them on at the end of the day and start pounding the pavement and knocking on doors.

“I still had to give it a lot of thought (before deciding to run),” he said. “It’s a large responsibility.”

Dobson said some of the issues he championed in the past — doing more to fix potholes, for example — have proven to be hot topics.

“I like to say all the potholes wouldn’t have happened if I’d have been there the last few years,” he said.

Dobson said the city has to plow the snow off sidewalks faster and more efficiently.

“I have a very good understanding about how to get things done at city hall,” he said.

But retired businessman Kelly Ryback, who once dressed up as the Buzz mascot for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, isn’t worried he’s facing a former councillor in the race.

“I welcome the competition,” Ryback said.

“I want to work to improve city hall and the service to the citizens.”

Ryback, who helped persuade the city not to sell the John Blumberg golf course to developers, said earlier in the campaign he wants to focus on what he sees as the core essentials of the city: pipes, pavement, parks, police, paramedics/fire and poverty.

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Several incumbents have no challengers:

— Jason Schreyer in Elmwood-East Kildonan,

— Sherri Rollins in Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry

— Jeff Browaty in North Kildonan

— Devi Sharma in Old Kildonan

— John Orlikow in River Heights-Fort Garry,

— Markus Chambers in St. Norbert-Seine River

— Brian Mayes in St. Vital,

— Shawn Nason in Transcona

— Janice Lukes in Waverley West

And there is one council seat with no registered candidates. Kevin Klein hasn’t filed papers to run in Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood. He said he planned to file them soon.

Candidates have until 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 to submit registration to run for council.

To be eligible, candidates must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older as of Oct. 26, 2022, a Manitoba resident, a voter, and not disqualified by law.

Candidates need to file nomination papers with a minimum of 25 signatures of voters in the council ward they want to run in.

The election is set for Oct. 26.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca