In the Face of the inevitable River Heights - Fort Garry By-Election.

In the weeks since Brenda Leipsic passed away from Cancer, dreams have been popping into the heads of potential City Councillors bent on making a difference at City Hall. Schemers and connivers everywhere in our fair city are poking their heads out of the woodwork, angling to become part of a winning team, in a game where it is well-known that most everybody loses.

Mayor Katz, no doubt has his favoured replacement candidate. The different interests in the River Heights - Fort Garry region will assert their voices, looking for the candidate who can best champion their interests, often with a very tiny field of vision.

Well I, for one, hope the Mayor doesn't get his wish. I'm none too fond of where he's been taking our city, and figure it's time for progressive change to make a comeback, and clang out loudly to the standard voices: we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.

The coming by-election will not be a simple sleep walk for the old ambitions lurking throughout the city. It will be a larger battle for the future of our city, and to a degree, our nation and world. It will be our first great test, to voice our displeasure at the circus in Ottawa, to respond to our world in environmental and economic crisis, and to take up leadership on urban issues, that will be at the forefront of hard times to come.

This will not be a simple race. It would be easy to trivialize it, but that simply will not do. What is required, is a lot of discussion, and consensus. For Winnipeg, there needs to be better dialogue amongst her 15 municipal wards, her 30 provincial constituencies, her 8 federal ridings, and her numerous neighbourhoods.

It is a time for "All Winnipeg" to be considered in the equation, as there are terribly pressing issues afoot, contradictory messages being spouted, and a woeful lack of substantial leadership.

In the days ahead, I hope to clarify these issues, and offer solutions that serve the interests of our fellow Winnipeggers. May it truly be a Happy New Year.