Democracy is a civic election issue

Scott Gillingham should be worried — very, very worried. Not just because he’ll likely win the upcoming mayoral race for no better reason than the lack of a tenable, progressive alternative, but because longtime, and in some cases, progressive councillors are currently quitting his administration.

And they’re not going quietly.

Just take Coun. Sherri Rollins’ (Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry) recent announcement that she would not be seeking re-election. When she cited the reasons she won’t be running again, she dropped a bit of a bombshell.

In addition to citing the mayor’s lack of transparency on issues such as homelessness, she also observed that he and his advisers “increasingly sideline the public service.”

In other words, Mayor Gillingham doesn’t listen to the advice of his own experts.

Worse still, she maintained that she and other councillors have struggled to even get a meeting with Gillingham to discuss critical issues such as homelessness, public safety and affordability.

But if that sounds bad, the worst was yet to some. In fact, the most damning and alarming comment in her exit interview was this:

“As a councillor, I have come to believe that I can no longer do the work in the way I think it should be done … It looks increasingly like an executive team that is valuing compliance and not fearless advice from council”

Yup, I can almost hear your response, and believe me, I said pretty much the same thing: “Are you kidding me? An executive council with Gillingham at the head is running our city? Did this city suddenly morph into a corporation? Is democracy in Winnipeg under threat?”

Well, if Coun. Rollins is right, the answer to that would be — “Yes, it is.”

Because here’s the thing. Your representative on council is supposed to be there to represent your interests. And if your representative is being shut out of key aspects of the decision-making process, then so are you and every other citizen who voted for them.

And that, my friends, is anti-democratic.

So, short of begging somebody else to run for mayor, what the devil are we supposed to do?

Well, what we should definitely not do is buy into the belief that this is all somehow unstoppable, or worse, inevitable.

Instead, we need to inform ourselves about who is running for council in each of our wards and then vote. Because right now we have the chance to stem the anti-democratic tide by ensuring that whoever replaces councillors like Rollins are outspokenly progressive.

That is — outspoken enough to publicly call out the mayor’s office and his executive policy committee of five, when they act like they run this city and can blithely ignore the concerns of 10 other councillors.

The good news, based on my research, is that we have quite a few progressive candidates to choose from, not only to replace the five councillors who have quit, but also to challenge incumbents.

First off are Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) and Emma Durand-Wood (Elmwood-East Kildonan), who are already on council and have a very good track record as progressives who put community first.

In addition to working with their constituents to expand greenspaces and upgrade park and community facilities, both voted against the Chief Peguis extension and promote a “fix what we have first” approach to infrastructure spending.

Other progressive candidates running for the first time include community organizer Natalie Smith in Mynarski, St. James project manager Tyler Chrichton, and North Kildonan labour leader Orvie Dingwall. Also on the progressive list are small business owner Louise May in St. Norbert and Transcona’s Lora Meseman, executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres.

There are a number of other progressive candidates to choose from in wards from St. Vital to River Heights-Fort Garry and Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry.

So, if you want to find out who’s running in your ward and ask them some hard questions, check out the city’s election 2026 web page. All of the candidates are listed, along with links to the websites that outline their priorities.

And please, if you want representatives who will fight to make our city more resilient, equitable and green, then cast your vote for someone who will not only push for that but for a more transparent, democratic system of governance.

Erna Buffie is a writer and environmental activist. To check out your candidates: https://www.winnipeg.ca/city-governance/wards-elections/2026-election/information-voters/registered-candidates