Winnipeg's mayoral race officially got underway Monday as former city councillor Gord Steeves announced he wants the city's top political job.
He is the first candidate to officially declare his candidacy.
Steeves represented St Vital from 2000 until he stepped down to run for the PC Party of Manitoba in a losing effort in 2011.
He weighed in Monday on the scandals plaguing city hall with project cost overruns for fire stations and the new police station.
Steeves said city hall needs a change and a return to the way things were done when he was on council, just two years ago.
"A time when we took responsibility for our actions, a time when it did not take millions of dollars to be spent on audits and reports to figure out what the truth really was,” he said.
An audit released last week showed severe mismanagement and cost overruns for new fire halls.
Steeves served as the chair of the committee that oversaw the fire department when that program began in 2009.
“I don't think when I was protection chair that all of those things had come to light. I certainly wasn't aware of them,” said Steeves.
He also previously voted for former CAO Phil Sheegl, the person who oversaw the fire hall projects, according to the audit.
Sheegl resigned the week before the fire halls audit came out.
Steeves said the choice of Sheegl as CAO rests on the shoulders of Sheegl’s friend, Sam Katz.
“I believe that the responsibility for the CAO rests with the mayor,” said Steeves.
Mayor Katz, meanwhile, remained vague about his plans for the mayoral race in 2014.
“My timeline is my timeline as I’ve said before. I will make a decision when I make a decision,” said Katz.
Steeves is not the only person currently eyeing the mayor’s job.
Coun. Scott Fielding (St. James – Brooklands) resigned from the mayor’s cabinet last week and said he may run for the top spot.
Coun. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood – Tuxedo) also is mulling seeking the mayoral job.
Privacy lawyer Brian Bowman and former mayoral candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis could also enter the race for mayor.
“Someone who hasn’t been tied to the Sam Katz administration,” said Wasylycia-Leis.
Most of the candidates said they’ll decide by the end of the year.
In other council news Monday, Coun. Dan Vandal announced he's stepping down from Mayor Sam Katz's cabinet. Vandal previously announced he plans to seek the Liberal nomination in St. Boniface to run in the next federal election.
Katz will name his new cabinet within a week.
- with a report from Jeff Keele
