Mayoral Forum

One of my school assignments this week was to sit in on the media forum which featured Winnipeg Mayoral candidates Judy Wasylycia-Leis and Sam Katz. This event was basically part press conference, part town hall meeting, part debate, and part school yard mudslinging. As I am working on my quote and sourcing techniques for journalism, I put pen to paper in an effort to grab as much of the juicy stuff as I could.

Having never been to an event like this before, I found it to be quite fascinating, and a little entertaining. The two candidates seemed to show very little admiration for each other, as evident in some of their quotes. Below are some of my favorites.

On the subject of rapid transit as a priority in both candidates’ platforms, Wasylycia-Leis said “ The biggest problem in this city is a mayor who doesn’t keep his word on rapid transit.”

In response to Wasylycia-Leis’ constant pressing about the secrecy of the ‘contract’ the city supposedly has for water and waste treatment management, Katz said “It’s time to teach all the candidates that run for mayor how a city works.”
Adding, "when this becomes a reality, I would be happy to share all the information on this sewage treatment plan."

It seemed to me(and possibly to Sam Katz) that Wasylysa-Leis kept beating a dead horse on that one. In another sermon of her's on the alleged '30 year deal', Katz had to interrupt her to say "For the record there is no agreement like I already said." adding "Council Voted to save us money, not sign a deal."

I suppose if Katz was able to give a much more updated picture on what official stage the waste management and treatment 'deal' situation was at, he may have put the subject to bed a lot sooner.
Instead he said things like "thanks mom" in response to Wasylycia-Lies 'put your plan on the table!' browbeating.

Sam Katz appeared to be good at working the room. Drawing several cheers from the audience which largely consisted of CreComm students. At one point when he was naming off his top three priorities to accomplish if elected, which included a nod to getting an NHL team in Winnipeg, and drew big applause among the crowd.

With the Civic election coming right around the corner, I'm finding myself getting very interested in the outcome...

j