Winnipeg Mayoral Showdown 2010. Katz vs Murray?

[Spocket]

So what you just posted was a bunch of "news" on money that was designated for trails and then got blown on one. Wow. Looks like sunny skies ahead thanks to Katz.

Is that trail even built yet ? I'll assume that it is. Now let me ask, if it was your money to spend on a bicycle trail, would you have blown it on this first ? The Marconi Trail would have been my last choice considering that for about fifty bucks , we could have simply painted some lines on either Raleigh or Gateway to demarcate the width of a bicycle lane. Sure, we'd all prefer a nice trail but I'll tell you, I'd rather not get sideswiped on Main while riding my bike. I guess that's just me.

And our 7 million bucks to CanadInns ? Well let me see if I've got this straight : We give CanadInns 7 million bucks. In return, they build a second rate water park which isn't actually all that accessible to anybody , in an expansion they obviously already had planned,so that we'll get a return (theoretically) in eight years ? You do realize where this great new addition is don't you ? It could have gone anywhere but thankfully, now it's served by one bus route in a suburban shopping/industrial district. How's about this : Give us what we wanted instead of handing over our money to a business that doesn't need it for a waterpark that will mainly be used by their guests. Seems to me that we'd get our "return" either way through taxes. All we did was help CanadInns pay for what is realistically their waterpark.

Tell you what though, to be fair, I haven't seen any plans for this waterpark so maybe it'll prove to be all that Katz says it'll be. Of course, we're talking about CanadInns here but okay, let's pretend they don't have a history of doing things as cheaply and half-assed as possible when it comes to their facilities.
Either way, that's Katz accomplishment ? One trail and seven million bucks to a hotel chain for a water-park that , no matter what we actually get, still doesn't satisfy the city's needs ? That's "success" to you ?

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by Spocket

-Katz is pro-investment ? Then why did he let a developer walk away from an excellent project for our downtown so that a group of dreamers could save a parking lot ?

He didn't let them walk away, he encouraged them to. But who needs private real estate development and contract law when you can have cronyism and favors? Who needs to exchange money when you can mooch political power? Certainly not Winnipeg's almighty infallable "pro-business" mayor.

[DowntownWpg]

Originally Posted by DowntownWpg

Somehow, I don't think he's in it for the long haul. If he senses he is not so popular among the ultra-suburbanite-Goldeyes-loving masses, he'll not run again.

To clarify, I agree that the Goldeye's park has been a great boost for the downtown. It's also quite a beautiful ballpark, compared to similar sized parks in other cities or in the Northern League.

What I was saying was more the type of typical fans that come on out to a Goldeye's game, vs. a down-and-dirty Bombers or Jets game. It's a much more suburbanite, Sunday School teaching, children's face painting, green grass obsessed, Robert Redford loving, well groomed poodle back at home crowd.

In other words, what I assume to be typical Katz voters!

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by DowntownWpg

To clarify, I agree that the Goldeye's park has been a great boost for the downtown. It's also quite a beautiful ballpark, compared to similar sized parks in other cities or in the Northern League.

What I was saying was more the type of typical fans that come on out to a Goldeye's game, vs. a down-and-dirty Bombers or Jets game. It's a much more suburbanite, Sunday School teaching, children's face painting, green grass obsessed, Robert Redford loving, well groomed poodle back at home crowd.

In other words, what I assume to be typical Katz voters!

I don't know.

Baseball is a game where you usually don't get too emotional watching it. I mean it takes several hours to play; it's hard to keep up that level of alcohol fuelled intensity in the same way you would at a hockey game.

And if you did drink your way through nine consecutive innings of baseball, you'd probably be too drunk to really care much about the outcome of the game anyway.

[DowntownWpg]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

I don't know.

Baseball is a game where you usually don't get too emotional watching it. I mean it takes several hours to play; it's hard to keep up that level of alcohol fuelled intensity in the same way you would at a hockey game.

And if you did drink your way through nine consecutive innings of baseball, you'd probably be too drunk to really care much about the outcome of the game anyway.

Good point. I did a bit of expanding just for some humour.

Though, some of the MLB games I've been to have had a great intensity.

[Rudiger]

Originally Posted by newflyer

Okay ... for the blind. Here are some of the articles from the Free Press.

There's a huge difference between reading some articles in a newspaper and actually walking the streets of a city. It's easy to cut and paste articles, but unless you're actually here, experiencing the city on a day to day basis, how can you possibly think you have a better grasp of how our mayor is doing?

[DowntownWpg]

.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by newflyer

Katz P3 development: (socialists hate P3 projects)
.

cons should too...they make your children pay for things that you build...even you should know that.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by rgalston

He didn't let them walk away, he encouraged them to. But who needs private real estate development and contract law when you can have cronyism and favors? Who needs to exchange money when you can mooch political power? Certainly not Winnipeg's almighty infallable "pro-business" mayor.

If I remember correctly Katz set a deadline, which the Fort colition (or whatever they were called) had to get funding, as a means to avoid a political mess with the anti-development types. Than the Feds and province poured money into there little campaign to build a "destination park".

Now I am not saying Katz doesn't deserve partial blame, but there has been a long standing issue in regards to development in the inner city. Can't build much without the masses of anti-developers and weak knee buracrats backing down. Add in the still exsisting amounts of hopes that developers must jump through and we can see why Crystal Properties took they money and focused on an area where development is much more embraced.. SW.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by Rudiger

There's a huge difference between reading some articles in a newspaper and actually walking the streets of a city. It's easy to cut and paste articles, but unless you're actually here, experiencing the city on a day to day basis, how can you possibly think you have a better grasp of how our mayor is doing?

Its funny because I remeber when the Canada Trails was opened .. and Katz, Doer and a Fed Minister were there for the offical opening.

Its not just articles from a paper.

They are there .. use them.

It doesn't take a genious to figure out the Winnipeg's economy to growing at a strong pace .. record amount of business development .. and inter-provincial migration is turning around.

But you are right .. I should be there. Now that the city has a mayor with the ability to grow and develop the economy.. and buiness is embraced, this is all but a certainty.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by DowntownWpg

To clarify, I agree that the Goldeye's park has been a great boost for the downtown. It's also quite a beautiful ballpark, compared to similar sized parks in other cities or in the Northern League.

What I was saying was more the type of typical fans that come on out to a Goldeye's game, vs. a down-and-dirty Bombers or Jets game. It's a much more suburbanite, Sunday School teaching, children's face painting, green grass obsessed, Robert Redford loving, well groomed poodle back at home crowd.

In other words, what I assume to be typical Katz voters!

Okay .. if that your impression, but I grew up in the suburbs and attended many Jets games and Bombers games, as did my suburban friends.

Maybe its the fact you don't have to pee into a trough .. is what bothers you.

But honetsly .. like it or not its the wealth from the suburbs than downtown needs to attract. People come down.. take a look around and realize its not the death trap that the media sometimes make it out to be. Some begin to think , hey I might like to live down here.. and before you know it you have $400,000 condos going up. One of downtown's biggest problems is perception.. that ballpark helps to educate people what the area is really like.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by newflyer

People come down.. take a look around and realize its not the death trap that the media sometimes make it out to be. Some begin to think , hey I might like to live down here.. and before you know it you have $400,000 condos going up. One of downtown's biggest problems is perception.. that ballpark helps to educate people what the area is really like.

That's a really good point.