Former mayor Murray endorses Redden in civic election

Former mayor Glen Murray is endorsing Winnipeg mayoral candidate Noah Redden in Wednesday’s civic election.

Murray — who was the city’s mayor from 1998 to 2004 and came second in the 2022 mayoral race, narrowly losing to Scott Gillingham — endorsed the progressive 27-year-old on Tuesday morning, just a day before voters go to the polls.

“We have to compete in Winnipeg with larger, wealthier cities, and culture and quality of life, a vibrant downtown, exciting places to live, great public transit, all those things that we’re missing right now, that have been disinvested in, it needs that,” Murray told the Free Press.

“He represents that generation. I had my last hurrah, it’s time for people like me and Kevin Klein and Scott Gillingham to get out of the way and start nurturing a generation of Winnipeggers who are either going to step up in leadership positions in our city or they’re going to leave to places where they can participate.”

Murray announced the endorsement in a news release distributed by Redden’s team.

In the release, Murray called Redden’s platform a “thoughtful and pragmatic plan” to restore city neighbourhoods, boost the economy and modernize infrastructure.

“Noah has stepped up as a serious candidate, he’s coming up in the polls,” said Murray, adding he finds the candidate’s proposals for civic engagement exciting.

Redden, a left-of-centre candidate, has operated a grassroots campaign with a large focus on social media and few traditional media announcements.

Redden has pointed to increased investment in public transit and what he called “more compassionate care” for homeless people and those with addictions in Winnipeg as among his policy goals.

Murray encouraged Winnipeg voters who in 2022 cast their ballots for him or Shaun Loney — a social enterprise entrepreneur and activist who also ran a progressive campaign — to vote for Redden.

“Do (those voters) want four more years of what they’ve had, do they want the more conservative, right-wing response to politics, or do we want to get back to a city which is optimistic about its future, values its people and a city where we care for each other again? I think that’s the question,” said Murray. “If you do feel that way… please go in and mark your ballot for Noah.”

Once a low-polling candidate, Redden is now in third place with 14 per cent support, tied with candidate Mike Vogiatzakis, an Abacus Data survey released Friday shows.

Incumbent Gillingham remains in the lead with the support of 36 per cent of decided voters — 19 percentage points lower than a September survey conducted by Abacus for the Free Press.

The new data placed former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein in second place with 19 per cent support — a drop of four percentage points since September.

The latest poll gave Redden, a software developer who rents in Osborne Village, the biggest jump (10 percentage points).

Murray was deemed the front-runner in the 2022 mayoral race until allegations about his conduct at a former workplace surfaced against him in a CBC story, which some political experts said hurt his campaign. He lost to Gillingham by a narrow margin.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com