A community activist and volunteer will be the next member of Elmwood-East Kildonan Town Council.
Emma Durant-Wood won the byelection convincingly to claim the seat Saturday with 1,567 votes, or 31.48 per cent cast, according to results posted on the City of Winnipeg's website. Second place, construction project manager Abel Gutierrez, received 887 votes.
“This has been the craziest experience of my life. I want to thank all of the over 100 people who volunteered for our campaign, including the 50 people who helped today,” Durand-Wood told a crowd of several dozen cheering fans Saturday night at the Elmwood Curling Club.
MIKE SUDOMA/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Candidate Emma Durand-Wood hugs cousin Sydney Bergen after she was announced as the new Elmwood-East Kildonan councilor Saturday night at the Elmwood Curling Club.
A seat on the council was left vacant after the death of the count. Jason Schreier in April.
Durant-Wood, 44, entered her first political race after volunteering with the Glenelm Neighborhood Association, the Chalmers Neighborhood Renewal Corporation, the Elmwood Business Coalition and the Trees Please Winnipeg Coalition. She is also a freelance writer and editor.
Durand-Wood recently listed her top priorities for the district: fighting poverty to prevent crime, especially by improving access to affordable housing and food; increasing the frequency of use of Winnipeg transit routes; and increased spending on public and government services such as recreation programs.
“To the residents of Elmwood-East Kildonan for joining us in our campaign for a vision of a stronger, happier and more connected community. I’m excited to get started and honored to have been selected,” she said.
Durand-Wood said she would support waiving some megaproject costs to help pay for her priorities, such as the widening of Kenaston Boulevard/Highway 90 and the Chief Peggy Trail. Each of these projects is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Durant-Wood, the first candidate to enter the race, said she and her volunteers were able to knock on nearly every door in the chamber.
MIKE SUDOMA/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Candidate Emma Durand-Wood smiles with joy after being announced as the new Elmwood-East Kildonan councilor on Saturday night at the Elmwood Curling Club.
“There was a very small section of houses and a few apartment buildings that we couldn't get into. But (we reached) over 17,000 (homes)… I had an incredible team of door knockers and we started in July and continued working until Thursday,” Durand-Wood told reporters after her speech.
She was endorsed by former mayoral candidate Sean Loney, author Erna Buffy and Vivienne Ho, president of CUPE Local 2348 and chair of the Manitoba Institute for International Women's Rights.
There were six other candidates in the special election, including Gutierrez, traffic safety researcher Chris Swierida, auto finance broker Braydon Mazurkiewicz, child care assistant Zekariya Selahadin, city planning and development officer Kyle Roche and city safety, health and wellness administrative assistant Carmen Prefontaine.
Durant-Wood thanked her competitors for running fair campaigns, saying she was “shocked and humbled” by her victory.
“Our platform and our ideas resonated with people, sending a positive message and working towards solutions and optimism,” Durand-Wood said.
A special election was also held Saturday to elect two new school trustees.
MIKE SUDOMA/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
A supporter of candidate Emma Durant-Wood holds a campaign pin Saturday night at the Elmwood Curling Club.
Samantha Pope received 32 percent of the vote to become a Trustee for Pembina Trails School Division 1. Former Manitoba Education Minister Peter Bjornson has been elected trustee of Louis Riel School Division 3.
X: @joyanne_pursaga
Joyanne is a City Hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing about City Hall and the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Winnipeg Sun before joining Free press at the beginning of 2020. More about Joanna.
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