A couple of the campaigns in Winnipeg’s Oct. 27 civic election are beginning to reek of desperation.
At the end of last week Sam Katz, running to be mayor for another four years, made robo-calls to a batch of voters, including me.
He attacked a promise by Judy Wasylycia-Leis, his main opponent, to end the city’s freeze on property taxes.
What caught me was Katz’s conclusion: “People should not lose their homes when there are other avenues to consider first.”
Huh? People lose their homes?
Sounds like the slippery-slope logical fallacy.
Then the Winnipeg Free Press reports that a regular taxpaying resident has received more than 100 messages from people returning Katz’s robo-call to the number that appeared on their caller ID.
So does Katz’s campaign apologize?
Nope.
Marni Larkin, his campaign manager, blames a phone company. “It has nothing to do with our campaign,” she tells the Free Press.
Then, in leafy River Heights-Fort Garry, those pesky traffic circles have some residents in a tizzy. Especially residents working for Michael Kowalson, who is running to unseat John Orlikow.
On the weekend an anonymous, badly written, nearly hysterical broadside appeared in the mailboxes of the good burghers of the district. Yes, I’m one of those burghers.
“OUR CITY COUNCILLOR JOHN ORLIKOW VOTED IN FAVOUR OF THESE CHANGES AT CITY HALL, SUPPORTED THEM AT COMMUNITY COMMITTEE AND CONTINUES TO DEFEND THEM.” All caps and underlined.
It spells Waverley Street two ways. Oh well, one is right.
Orlikow complained to the civic elections office, and he outed the authors as Kowalson supporters, including the wife of the guy Orlikow defeated in the 2008 byelection.
The demonstration that the flyer urged residents to attend on Wednesday morning attracted “dozens” of people, CBC reports.
Hey, boys and girls, there are just two weeks until election day.
Don’t make me call in Mom to referee.
