More than a nice gesture: Dan Vandal’s appointment changes composition of council

After the civic election last week, I was surprised to see considerable speculation over whether council had stagnated into a split along ideological lines, even moving slightly to the left with independent councillor Devi Sharma’s win in Old Kildonan.

When I read the Winnipeg Free Press‘s breakdown of who had won and lost on Oct. 27, I was convinced that the mayor had his majority but would likely appoint Devi Sharma to city council in order to eliminate a possible swing vote.

Instead, the mayor has neutralized the opposition on council by dumping independent Mike Pagtakhan and appointing left-leaning councillor Dan Vandal, leaving the rest of his executive policy committee, and the direction of civic policy, firmly on the right.

The mayor has justified Vandal’s appointment as a way of building bridges.

However, when you look at it closely, the appointment was simply politically expedient: Vandal is by no means Harvey Smith and could potentially work well with the mayor.

By appointing him, Katz has taken a vote away from the opposition block and ensured that all civic legislation will breeze through council.

As I predicted last week, Katz now has the two votes needed outside of EPC to form a “majority” on council.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Executive Policy Committee

Sam Katz (Mayor)
Gord Steeves (St. Vital)
Justin Swandal (St. Norbert)
Scott Fielding (St. James-Brooklands)
Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan)
Paula Havixbreck (Charleswood-Tuxedo)
Dan Vandal (St. Boniface)

Right

Grant Nordman (St. Charles)
Thomas Steen (Elmwood-East Kildonan)

Left

Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre)
John Orlikow (River Heights)
Ross Eadie (Mynarski)
Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry)

Centre

Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas)
Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan)
Russ Wyatt (Transcona)