Bowman bids adieu to city hall

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This article was published 21/09/2022 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman completed his final city council meeting on Thursday while offering no hints about his next job.

Following the meeting’s opening prayer, Bowman thanked fellow council members and city staff for their work over his eight years as mayor. Since he’s not seeking re-election, a new mayor is guaranteed to replace him after the Oct. 26 municipal vote.

Bowman expressed pride in council efforts to make Winnipeg more welcoming to diverse groups of people.

He thanked his wife and two sons for their support.

“Each of them has served Winnipeg for the last eight years and we’ve all enjoyed doing so,” said Bowman, his voice briefly cracking with emotion.

The soon-to-be-former politician kept quiet about his future plans, telling media that matter is a topic for another day.

Bowman announced in October 2020 that he would not seek re-election. On Thursday, he told media he doesn’t regret doing so.

“I’m at peace with the decision I made a few years ago… More recently, I’ve just been reflecting on what a privilege it has been to serve in this role,” he said.

When asked if steps toward reconciliation should be seen as his key stamp on the city, Bowman said he is proud of the progress but deems it a community effort.

“When it comes to reconciliation… it shouldn’t be seen as Brian Bowman’s legacy, this should be seen as Winnipeg’s journey of reconciliation because there was a lot of work going on in the community by absolute giants of reconciliation,” he said.

“I think we have changed the narrative and the discussions we’re having as a community now are a lot more honest and real than they were in the past when it comes to racism, reconciliation and human rights. That’s something I tried to lead on, tried to nurture.”

Bowman has not publicly endorsed any of the 11 mayoral candidates who will be listed on the official ballot. He won’t vote for anyone who fails to publicly commit to completing city legal actions related to the police headquarters project, he said.

“Winnipeggers need to know that the next mayor has their back, has taxpayers’ backs, and is going to hold people accountable,” he said.

An ongoing city lawsuit alleges dozens of defendants took part in a fraudulent scheme that inflated the cost of the headquarters construction project for their own benefit. The headquarters opened in June 2016 at a cost of about $214 million, well above its original $135-million price tag, and an external audit found the project was severely mismanaged.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga