A conversation with mayoral candidate Chris Clacio

The youngest candidate in Winnipeg's mayoral race says he's ready to become the next generation of leadership in our city.

Chris Clacio was among the first candidates to register in the 2022 Winnipeg municipal election.

At 30 years old, he is the youngest candidate among the 11 running for mayor. But Clacio said in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg that his youth is an asset.

"I feel like young people want to be engaged in their city, and the only way young people will be engaged is seeing another young person running for public office," he said.

Clacio said his top priority if elected mayor is to replace the Office of Public Engagement with the Office of Civic Engagement, which will help citizens get things done in their neighbourhood.

"For example, if you wanted to create biking infrastructure in your local street, they would go to this office, connect you with your city councillor, and the city planners who implement the construction," said Clacio.

When it comes to the top issue of crime and safety, Clacio said he would cap the police budget at 20 per cent of the overall city budget. "We make the assumption that if we have more cops on the streets, that will reduce crime. As you can tell, crime has not been reduced," he said.

Clacio also said Winnipeggers have to reframe the way they think about homelessness, which he calls "homesickness."

"I've worked with a lot of urban indigenous young people in the North End," said Clacio, "and they talk about how we have to start talking about our relatives on the streets as 'relatives' and not just 'homeless individuals,' because they're citizens."

Clacio said his plan to end homelessness in Winnipeg would focus on the downtown area. He also said he would work with city council to keep property taxes the same.

"We really need to engage the next generation, we've heard a lot in the past about the new generation of leadership, I think it's time for a next generation of leadership," said Clacio.