WINNIPEG — Scott Gillingham made the leap from city councillor to mayor of Winnipeg Wednesday night, beating 10 other candidates in a race that went down to the wire.
Gillingham came from behind, both in opinion polls and in early election night results, to beat second-place Glen Murray by more than 4,000 votes. Murray had been mayor between 1998 and 2004.
"It will be my high honour to serve and to govern and to lead this city," Gillingham told cheering supporters.
"It will be my goal to make every effort through the coming months and years of this term to unite Winnipeg together so we can build a stronger, brighter city."
Gillingham recently served two terms as a councillor and chaired the city's finance committee for much of that time. He replaces Brian Bowman, who served two terms as mayor and did not seek re-election.
Gillingham ran on a campaign that included hiking property taxes, which he said would help fund road repair, provide housing for the homeless and improve front-line services.
It was another political defeat for Murray, who had led in opinion polls early in the campaign and had been endorsed by labour groups.
He left the mayor's job in 2004 for an unsuccessful run for federal politics. He later served as an Ontario Liberal cabinet minister. In 2020, he ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the federal Green party.
Murray, who marked his 65th birthday Wednesday, told his supporters he would continue to work to better Winnipeg.
"We have more than enough people and more than enough power in this room to change the future course of the city," he said.
"And while we may not be doing it in exactly in the way that we had planned, that mission is no less important."
People in Brandon, the province's second-largest city, were also electing a new mayor Wednesday. Former mayor Rick Chrest did not seek re-election. In early results, longtime councillor Jeff Fawcett was ahead of the only other candidate, Elliott Oleson.
Some other communities saw incumbents re-elected. Colleen Smook won another term as mayor of Thompson. Larry Johannson was victorious again in Selkirk.
Voters across Manitoba also cast ballots for school trustees Wednesday.
Two high-profile opponents of COVID-19 public health orders, Todd MacDougall and Patrick Allard, failed in their bids to get elected to different school boards in Winnipeg.
The two men were among five people recently convicted and fined for repeated breaches of public health orders. They have said they will appeal their convictions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2022
Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
