Three Winnipeggers, hoping to become the 44th mayor of the city, wasted no time in launching their campaigns.
Jenny Motcaluk, Don Woodstock and Chris Clasio visited the city official’s office to officially register their campaigns on Sunday morning, the first day applicants were eligible to fill out the paperwork.
Motkaluk, a business consultant, finished second in the 2018 mayoral race with Brian Bowman, who is not running for another term.
She won 36% of the vote four years ago, but said on Sunday that she knew there would be even more competition in the wide-ranging race in 2022.
“This time it is an open place and I do not expect anything less, but I believe that this time I am a well-known name,” she said after addressing about 15 supporters in front of the town hall.
Motkaluk said she was not worried about potentially splitting the vote with other center-right candidates this year. St. James Earl. Scott Gillingham, who briefly considered a PC leadership campaign last summer, plans to run this year while Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood Coon. Kevin Klein and Manitoba Family Secretary Rochelle Squires can follow suit.
“I guess it depends on whether you decide I’m just a center-right candidate,” she said.
“The truth is, as we demonstrated last time, Winnipeggers from across the political spectrum have supported me – across the full spectrum of income, education levels, different types of jobs.”
Motkaluk said he intends to present fewer political positions than in 2018.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but I think we’ve focused too much on that, and we haven’t focused enough on giving Winnipegger a chance to really know who I am,” she said.
The manager of Motkaluk’s 2022 campaign is Fred Westfal, who led Progressive Conservative candidate Obi Khan’s successful provincial campaign for the Fort White provincial constituency in March.
Don Woodstock is also running for mayor. (Walter Bernal / CBC)
Woodstock, who owns a security business, is also running for mayor. He also ran in 2018 and finished fourth, garnering two percent of the vote.
In this campaign, he wore a soccer ball as a prop. On Sunday, he appeared at City Hall with a broom and encouraged Winnipeg voters to conduct a “clean-up” of the city council, voting for all incumbents.
“On October 26, I want people to give us a clean slate, brand new, brand new advice,” he said.
Woodstock also suggested that members of the council’s executive committee be in jail, claiming they support construction fraud.
Clasio also registered for mayor in 2018, but did not appear on the ballot. He said he intends to knock early to ensure there are enough valid signatures to complete the nomination process this year.
Clasio said as mayor that he would ensure that Winnipeg coordinated its planning more closely with the Winnipeg metropolitan area. He also promised more support for the technology sector and said he would turn the city’s public engagement service into a civic education service.
Chris Clasio registered to run for mayor in 2018, but failed to enter the vote. He registers in 2022 and hopes to complete the nomination process this time. (Walter Bernal / CBC)
Candidates for mayor must register before they can raise money for their campaigns or incur any campaign expenses.
River Heights-Fort Gary Kaun. John Orlikov, Gillingham and social entrepreneur Sean Loney have also announced their intention to run for mayor and are expected to register this week.
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