A political rematch is underway in the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward, a year after a by-election. The by-election was necessary following the sudden death of then-councillor Jason Schreyer. Emma Durand-Wood won the seven-candidate contest with 31 per cent of the vote and is hoping for a repeat as she runs for re-election. “The work that I’ve been doing in the community for the past year, I hope it’s going to speak for itself,” Durand-Wood said. “When I was knocking on doors last year a lot of people talked about how important it was that they could get a hold of their city councillor.” She has some familiar challengers. Abel Gutierrez, a project manager, finished second in the by-election. He wants to tackle open drug use and theft, while cleaning up discarded needles in ward parks. “Some of the same issues that we talked about last time in the by-election are still the same issues this year in the municipal election, so there’s still work to be done,” Gutierrez said. Chris Sweryda, who placed fourth last year, worked with Schreyer. Together, they set up a grocery access program that acts as a bridge between a store and a food bank. Sweryda currently operates the program. “I’ve got a lot more help, the food program is fully functional now, so it’s a lot less work, I’m not doing a start up, and I’m a lot more known around the ward this time around,” Sweryda said. There are new faces this time around. Jessica Wiebe is a medical administrator and makeup artist. The single mother opposes safe injection sites and favours detox centres and rehab programs. “We need a strong leader who is going to stand up and fight for our community and for our city, and as a parent, I feel like I could be that voice,” Wiebe said. Adam Dudek, a plumber, says on his website that he wants 30 km/h school zone speed limits year-round. Dudek says infrastructure is a big issue, and he would rather see tax dollars spent fixing crumbling roads than building bike paths. “Our roads and our infrastructure is falling apart,” Dudek said. “As a plumber I can’t take my bicycle to work with my tools, so we need to make sure that these roads are functional.”
