What to know in St. James ward before Winnipeg's election

Five people are running in the wide-open race to represent a west Winnipeg ward at city hall.

The St. James seat was left empty when Coun. Scott Gillingham announced he planned to run for mayor.

The ward, which stretches out to the west Perimeter Highway, includes Polo Park, Deer Lodge, Crestview, Heritage Park, Sturgeon Creek and Silver Heights.

People in Winnipeg will head to the polls on Oct. 26 to vote for a new mayor, school trustees and councillors in 13 of the city's 15 wards. Councillors in the other two wards have already been acclaimed — meaning they automatically hold on to their seats — after no one ran against them.

• More from CBC on the Winnipeg election

In the 2018 election, just under 44 per cent of the people eligible to vote in St. James cast a ballot for their ward's council seat, data from the city clerk's office shows.

Here's what you need to know before election day in St. James.

Who's running?

Eddie Ayoub is the artistic director for Art City. He also served on the city's OurWinnipeg Community Advisory Council.

Tim Diack is a police officer in Winnipeg's Point Douglas area. He finished third in the city's 2018 mayoral race and sought the provincial Progressive Conservative nomination in Point Douglas in 2017.

Shawn Dobson was on council for four years before his ward was dissolved when boundaries were redrawn before the 2018 election. He ran in the St. James ward that year and lost to Scott Gillingham, who's now running for mayor.

Daevid Ramey is a communications manager at Ikea. He's board president of the Bourkevale Community Centre and was also involved in getting the area included in a pilot project to lower some speed limits to 30 km/h.

Kelly Ryback is a retired businessman who's worked with companies including Bell MTS and on the Pan Am Games. He's been campaigning in St. James since spring. He was also the Winnipeg Blue Bombers mascot Buzz for 16 years.

What are they promising?

Ayoub says he'd focus on safety initiatives like increased lighting, reduced traffic speeds on residential streets and citizen safe walks. He would also expand free after-school programs in the area, create a youth job bank, encourage neighbourhood block parties and consult seniors on future projects.

Diack says he'd push to increase spending on community spaces and focus on improving the city's 311 service and safety on transit buses. He would also advocate to improve accountability at city hall and for changes to bylaws on vacant buildings.

Dobson says he'd focus on fiscal responsibility and transparency at city hall, co-operation between different levels of government and funding for crime prevention and infrastructure. He'd also be active in the community, advocate for a renewed focus on Winnipeg's pothole strategy and prioritize snow clearing on sidewalks.

Ramey says he'd push to make public transit more accessible, improve amenities in parks, expand hours for city services like libraries, and improve sidewalks, roads and bike routes.

Ryback says he'd advocate for more spending on roads and sidewalks, improved snow clearing and traffic flow, improvements at community centres and more trees planted in city spaces. He says he'd also push for more resources for paramedics, more money for groups working with people experiencing poverty and more spending for new police resources.

More CBC Manitoba ward profiles

• Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood
• Daniel McIntyre
• Elmwood-East Kildonan
• Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry
• Mynarski
• North Kildonan
• Old Kildonan
• Point Douglas
• River Heights-Fort Garry
• St. Boniface
• St. Norbert-Seine River
• St. Vital
• Transcona
• Waverley West