Union coalition endorses Glen Murray's renewed run for mayor
CBC
Mayoral candidate Glen Murray has earned another labour endorsement, this time from a coalition of unions.
The Winnipeg Labour Council, a group of unions with approximately 43,000 members, announced Wednesday it is endorsing Murray's campaign to return to the mayor's office after an 18-year absence.
Murray served as mayor from 1998 until 2004, when he resigned almost halfway through his second term.
"Winnipeg families deserve a mayor who will stand up for what matters most," labour council president Melissa Dvorak said in a statement, echoing a slogan used by former Manitoba premier and NDP leader Greg Selinger.
The labour council also endorsed Murray during his first run for mayor in 1998. This endorsement provides the candidate with a logistical advantage in a race with 13 other contestants, as labour union members can be asked to serve as volunteers.
Murray previously won the endorsement of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg.
Mayoral candidate Robert-Falcon Ouellette is reviving a promise abandoned by Brian Bowman, Winnipeg's outgoing mayor.
Ouellette said Wednesday if he's elected mayor this fall, members of city council — as opposed to the mayor — would decide who sits on the powerful executive policy committee.
Ouellette said in a statement that council would hold an election to determine the makeup of EPC, which functions like the mayor's cabinet.
Bowman made the same promise when he first ran for mayor in 2014. He quickly abandoned that promise after learning the City of Winnipeg charter — provincial legislation that governs the city — requires the mayor to appoint councillors to EPC.
Ouellette acknowledged he needs the provincial government to change legislation in order to fulfil this promise, which is only the second pledge of his mayoral campaign.
His only other pledge also required a change to provincial legislation. In May, Ouellette promised to replace winner-comes-first mayoral voting with a ranked-ballot system.
That would require the province to amend the Municipal Councils and School Boards Elections Act, which governs the way the city holds elections.
Ouellette and Murray are among 14 candidates running for mayor. The other candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Jessica Peebles, Rick Shone, Govind Thawani, Desmond Thomas and Don Woodstock.
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