Not the message Katz was hoping for

There appears to be a trickle of concern emanating from some Winnipeggers who had the unfortunate designation of being singled out by automated voice messages issued by incumbent Mayor Sam Katz this past Friday.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press article on the matter, the kicker (and apparent point) of the message was the fact that Katz seems to think low income housing residents - who he and his council have been oh so helpful towards during his reign - and those on fixed incomes stand the chance of losing their homes should leading mayoral contender Judy Wasylycia-Leis become the city’s next mayor on October 27th.

Apparently, all this stems from the rather modest increase Wasylycia-Leis is proposing to the city’s property tax rate.

It is unclear yet how many of those who received the messages actually feel about them.

But if the general mood can be gauged by those from the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward heard this morning on CBC’s Information Radio, people are none too pleased with the tactics. As the Free Press article states, Wasylycia-Leis equated the message with ‘American-style’ politics.

Yet, the text of the message offers no such thing.

American politicians and their handlers are masterful at denigrating their opponent’s character, at utilizing words and images free of context in order to present the competition as completely unfit to hold office (and in many cases, to be considered an ‘American’ at all).

Anyone who catches the odd attack ad from border states on American television programming can tell the difference between the styles favoured there and here.

Katz’s message does not question Wasylycia-Leis’ patriotism, her sexuality or her competence. As an American style attack ad, it doesn’t make the grade.

What this round of messages does imply, though, is that Katz is desperate at this late stage in the mayoral campaign.

There is no logical connection between the proposed property tax increase and the loss of homes for those homeowners who are near poverty or on a fixed income.

Until Katz offers an account of how he envisions this happening, the message remains what it is: A shot in the dark from a man who probably did not envision the possibility of losing his third mayoral election after cruising through two easy victories