Winnipeg's newest councillor won't choose sides in divisive chamber
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | 3:10 PM CT
CBC News
Winnipeg's newest city councilor says his presence at city hall won't push the divisive political spectrum to the left, even though the Liberals and NDP helped his campaign.
Many pundits speculated John Orlikow would join a city council faction in opposition to the mayor but the newly-minted councillor told CBC News that won't be the case.
"I believe I will be a constructive voice for River Heights that will appeal to all spectrums," Orlikow said. "My goal there is not to be an opponent of the mayor. It's to be the most productive councillor for my ward as possible."
Orlikow, who insists he does not belong to the Liberal or New Democratic parties, won the River Heights-Fort Garry municipal byelection Tuesday evening with 57 per cent of the vote. He received 4,392 votes while opponent Geoff Currier received 3,299.
It was a poor turnout in a ward with 55,000 eligible voters. Just 15 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot.
Orlikow, who lost the 2004 byelection in the ward, enters office with a long wish list: "We want to have safe communities. We want streets that are drive-able. We want to make sure that our budget is fiscally responsible. We want to be looking at alternative transportation. We want to be looking at rapid transit. We want to be looking at a lot of things," he told supporters following his victory.
The scene was much more sombre at Currier's headquarters, where the political team was caught off guard by the results.
"Well, there's still a lot of socialists in Manitoba and in Winnipeg. And Mr. Orlikow's a socialist," Currier said.
The battle for the council seat overshadowed the other vote in the ward for Winnipeg School Division trustee. Rita Hildahl took the seat with 38 per cent of the vote, or 2,427 ballots.
