St. James council race wide open with Gillingham running for mayor

St. James and Scott Gillingham have been hand in hand since the 2014 election, as he has represented the ward at city council.

But now with Gillingham running for mayor, the race is wide open.

Winnipeg police officer and former mayoral candidate Tim Diack is running on a platform emphasizing transit safety, small business police assistance and community investment.

"What I see is that we have a city that's unsafe and we're not stepping up to meet the challenges. I'm offering solutions up front for critics to come and say, 'no we can't do that' and then find out the reasons," said Diack.

Lifelong St. James resident Kelly Ryback was at the forefront of efforts to save the John Blumberg Golf Course from being sold. He said if he is elected, he'll push the city to do things better and faster.

"I call my priorities ‘the seven P's’, which is: pavement, pipes, parks, police protection, performance and poverty. We have to focus on those and get back to those essentials," said Ryback.

Community organizer Daevid Ramey helped to make a street in the neighbourhood part of a four-street pilot project reducing speed limits to 30 kilometres an hour. He said he would be a voice for the people in St. James.

"Our city needs to be far more accessible to them, affordable for a lot of people. We need to make investments in our green spaces and places for people to gather. And we need to make sure the people feel safe," said Ramey.

Art City artistic director Eddie Ayoub said he brings 20 years of community engagement to the table and after sitting on several different boards and committees, he feels he is ready to help address the many challenges facing the city.

"I just love St. James. I am St. James. I am so invested in the neighbourhood, but because of all my other work city-wide, I have a huge investment in making Winnipeg a better place. In fact I've dedicated my life to it," said Ayoub.

The final candidate for the ward, Shawn Dobson, declined CTV's request for an interview. He is a former councillor who lost to Gillingham in 2018 when his St. Charles ward was added to St. James.

Chris Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said Dobson's previous experience could give an edge.

"Shawn Dobson would have the name recognition, would have voter lists; people who voted for him last time. He would have a better chance of identifying who his supporters are, and would have a better chance on getting the boat out on election day," said Adams.

Winnipeg's election is less than two weeks away on Oct. 26.