Tag: City Councillor

Your Vote Counts, My Final Thoughts

Michael Thompson

Thank you for visiting my election site, it means this election is important to you. The majority of people I talked to feel the same way as you do. During my campaign I listened to people, knocking on doors, responded to emails and from the questions I have gotten, people are looking for change and help. You are not alone. The response to my candidacy has been humbling, amazing and shows there is a lot of work to be done.

Folks want to know how I would be different. I am different, I am an independent who’s running to work and address the issues in the ward.  The media frames me by the jobs I have held. That barely scratches the surface of the worker, experience, and leader that I am. To just say one person is just a mother or just a father hardly does them justice in all the things they have done and are doing. My goal in any project or role I take on is to leave it better than I found it. It’s what drives me to improve things, places, and the people.  Yes, even help people grow because I believe in growing leadership and the people around me to be a better team. Everyone wins and organization are stronger for it. For me this is not about the politics but of getting things done to help the ward. In talking to a person in the ward, she put it better than I ever could. “Your city councillor has direct influence on the things that affect us the most in our communities.”   You should have heard her disappointment in talking about the current city councillor.

The current councillor has lost her ability to be your councillor. She claimed to be first nation heritage in the last election which is not. She is backed by labour and cannot be impartial when it comes time to vote on issues. In our debate she was specifically bring up how she would support more jobs for city workers without any prompting from the question. And now this election she “prayed for someone to run against her”.  Someone who is looking for someone to run against her sounds like she is looking for a someone to take the burden from her and allow her to gracefully exit. She and her family cannot even vote for her because she lives outside the ward. Should we be asking her what councillor she is voting for in her ward?

Which comes to trust. It’s a hard to vote for someone you don’t know or can you trust me.  Your vote is important to you, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.  My partner who is a nurse and I believe one of the best nurses in Canada, but I am biased in that evaluation. She asked me what I will do in four years if I am not chosen again. My response is that if I have not worked hard enough to keep that trust then I don’t deserve to be elected in again.   You may have heard of me, met me or gotten one of my flyers, this while working a full-time job, my family and working to be your next councillor. Image what I can do if I have my full efforts on working for the ward as your councillor?

Which bring me to my last thoughts. When you vote, you should have that feeling of hope. Hope in the person you are voting for, hope in the future for you and future generations. That you can feel pride and appreciate the services you are paying taxes for. That someone is listening to you and your concerns and will help you get through the challenges. It’s what makes our democracy strong and the reason I ran.  To be there for you, help build a better ward now and in the future for our kids. Can you say you feel hope in the current councillor?

This is an amazing moment and I encourage all of you to talk to your friends and neighbours in the ward to support my candidacy. Every vote helps send a clear message that we want things to be better and we want it now. That moment is Wednesday October 26, 2022, please vote for me, Michael Thompson to be your next city councillor for Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry.

Lives in the Ward, Works for the Ward!

Sincerely,

Michael Thompson

Road Contruction – Traffic Jams

Michael Thompson
How long is your commute?

The City of Winnipeg has been going gang busters repairing roads in the past 6 months. It is interesting that most major cities were doing road work during the Covid pandemic when people and vehicles were off the roads. Federal funding has been a huge help in addressing our infrastructure needs.

If elected I will work hard to address the process of infrastructure in our ward. We can do better in coordinating road and lane closures. Communicating projects, timelines, and updates on work. It is 2022 information and communication help communities and business plan better.

If we expect to be a city that has one million residents, we must do a better job of road work that does not make such a small section of city come to a complete stand still at rush hour. A person commuting through downtown should not take an hour. Image all the pollution created because vehicles are stuck downtown, the fuel being wasting, the impact on making transit buses late and people trying to get to their jobs or families. My efforts would include any work in the ward downtown would take place at night and weekends. Creating contracts with constructions companies that incentives getting the work done as quickly as practical. Spacing out contracts and working on roads so not blocking off every major artery in the ward.

When the city does infrastructure work in the ward, we need to include active transportation. Every action we can do to reduce the number of vehicles on the road is a win-win for everyone. People’s health improves using their muscles, their mental health improves, and our communities are better for it. It would be a priority for me to address this.

You should feel like someone is working on this to give you hope things are improving in the city.

Vote for me in this civic election, October 26, 2022

I live in the ward and will work for the ward!

Michael Thompson

Citizen Engagement – Your Access

Michael Thompson
Your Face-to-Face time with Michael Thompson

An expectation we have of our election officials is access. In today’s world
of technology there are emails, texts, social media, skype, teams and good old
fashion phone calls. Yet for all the ways to reach a person nothing beats person
to person. The body language, the ability to look a person eye to eye and build
trust in each other.

There is also the general belief that a councilor should have an office in
the ward so folks can visit and ask questions. Personally, I would prefer to
see a community police office in the ward before I open an office in the ward.

What I will do is always make myself available for face-to-face time once a
month in a different part of the ward. Each month I will let folks know where I
will be, so it gives people the opportunity for me to listen to you. In the
spirit – Saturday October 22, 2022, I will be at the Forks Market from 6:30 pm
to 9:00 pm. If your interested meeting me, talking about what is important to
you, I invite you to come out.

My career has included lots of troubleshooting, dealing with issues, and satisfying
people. I am not fooling anyone when I say there will be challenging face to
face meeting, but I accept that part of the responsibility of leadership and
the role. I would rather be the face of the ward and take ownership for things
that need work. The only way things improve is if we are willing to listen and
build trust in the community. I am willing to do my part.

October 26, 2022, in the City of Winnipeg Civic election, please vote for me
as City Councilor for Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry.

I live in the ward and will work for the ward!

Sincerely,

Michael Thompson

Connecting with You – Apartments & Condos

Michael Thompson

As the days get shorter, there is not much day light left to go door knocking in the evenings. I appreciate folks are at their dinner table when we come around.

For folks in the ward living in apartments and condos access to building is a challenge. It’s good to see security is valued to prevent unwanted people from entering your building. If you would like a copy of my political flyer or want me to speak at your building, please let us know. Our team would be happy to drop of flyers for your building. Or I can meet with your building. Email my agent at VoteMichaelTAgent@shaw.ca for your requests. We love hearing from you!

Fight Against Poverty/Homelessness

Michael Thompson1 Comment

Poverty and homelessness are important issues to me and I support all efforts to reduce poverty and eliminate homelessness.  Unfortunately, these problems plague every major Canadian city, and we are no exception.  It is a complicated issue and involves all stakeholders working together and everyone focusing on the problem and not on their “turf”.  I am committed to making poverty reduction and affordable housing top issues in this City, but, at this point, I cannot commit to a particular initiative, but I can commit to listening, learning more, and help facilitate solutions.  This problem is bigger than our Ward and perhaps even bigger than our city.  All levels of government need to work together.  

The current councillor has had 4 years to work on this issue and others. Do you feel things have improved, if not why continue to support someone who’s let you down?

I dedicated to work on this because it is part of the responsibly and accountability of working for the ward. You should feel a sense of hope that your city councillor is making the progress and steps to address this.

Please read my other campaign postings and hopefully this will show you my dedication, passion and commitment. Your vote is important, please consider voting me.

Lives in the Ward – Works for the Ward,

Thank you,

Michael Thompson

Truth and Reconciliation Day

Michael Thompson

Today was an important day. I am grateful for the efforts made by my company, city, province and country to recognize the past wrongs. It is hard to hear the stories but that is nothing compared to the pain and trauma for the survivors and their families. I hope you were able to take some time today to reflect how our future might look as we work together.

In that spirit I did my campaigning today in West Broadway the most northern part of the ward. This area is special to me and I appreciate the efforts everyone takes to do good work. One of these groups is Westminster Housing Society inc. | OUR PROJECTS and you can see the positive impact they have in our city. It was good to talk with my neighbours and find out how things were going.

In talking with people, I listened to a homeless Indigenous woman asking for her own four walls. She didn’t want a shelter (there are not enough women’s shelters). We talked about Lion’s Place where her uncle used to live. Lions Place residents speak out about potential privatization of home – Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca It’s not clear what the challenge is for Lion’s Place but it makes sense as part of our national goal of ending homeless and poverty that enabling Lion’s Place to continue would be a win win for everyone.

As your city councillor I would be advocating and working to make sure all housing in the ward is prepared for current and future challenges. Please vote for me in this civic election to bring hope to the ward. Miigwech

New Fire Station For Our Ward

Michael Thompson

No. 4 Station – 150 Osborne St. serves a very important part of the city of Winnipeg. The fire house is one of the busier ones in the city. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of the station you will see that it’s out lived it’s building space long ago. Our first responders need a safe, updated and functional space for the coming decades. Our population and needs continue to grow in this area. Other wards continue to have services and buildings upgraded while one of the largest tax bases in the city is neglected. Vote for me to get things done in the ward. Lives in the ward, works for the ward.

Public Transit

Michael Thompson

Moving safely in the city is key to a successful city. Public transit and handi-transit are valuable and important to everyone. This is one of the larger issues that many people have asked me about. I understand how important this is because I use transit from time to time to get to work.

  • Improved routes for the ward
  • Safety on the buses and bus shacks
  • Cost of travelling
  • Protecting consumers from poor handi-transit actors

On average, the city and province cover a deficit of an estimated $70 million each year. How our city chooses to spend these funds is important. It is clear that we can do a much better job in using our resources, providing transit drivers with more support and improving routes.

Currently the city allows children age 11 and under to ride for free as of January 1, 2022.

Children 11 and Under Ride Free (winnipegtransit.com)

Goals:

  • Larger transit budget for driving hours
  • More washrooms for transit drivers
  • Address the policies for fare evaders
  • Review LRT options, learning lessons from Ottawa
  • Improved consumer protections for Handi-Transit riders
  • One month in 2023 where all riders can ride for $1 loonie.

With your support and vote, your public transit systems can be improved. Please let your neighbours know that I live in the ward and I will work for the ward.

Community Dashboard

Michael Thompson

Many of my goals are small but important. Over the coming days, I will add additional planks to my platform to give you an idea of the person I am. Communication is critical for a group to be successful. Our ward is an amazing patch work of communities. My goal would be to create a dashboard that helps members learn about important projects, meetings, deadlines and community involvement.

Vote Michael Thompson

Candidate Forum Video

Michael Thompson

Hello everyone,

Thursday October 11, 2018 the Candidates for City Councillor had a forum and we recorded it on video.  Here is a link to that video.

Our apologies for the video being saved vertically.  When it was recorded live via a cell phone it appeared properly.  We have looked at the settings and there are no options to rotate the video.  From you phone or tablet you can rotate that device to watch.

Thank you to Riverview Community Centre for hosting the event and Steven Place for organizing the event.  Thank you to Dean Jones from my team for doing the work behind the camera.  Thank you to the person who suggested, I loved the idea and made it happen.  Thank you to everyone who brought something to donate to Winnipeg Harvest.

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