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There is now a wide-open race for council in Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward as incumbent Sherri Rollins has withdrawn her candidacy.
Rollins, who has represented the central Winnipeg ward since 2018, withdrew from the race Friday afternoon, senior election official Sherwood Armbruster said.
Rollins did not respond to requests for comment before the publication of this story. This would have been her third campaign for council.
She sat on city council’s executive policy committee for the entirety of her first term in council, when Brian Bowman was Winnipeg’s mayor.
Rollins continued to serve on EPC after Scott Gillingham was elected mayor in 2022 but quit his inner circle in 2025.
Gillingham thanked Rollins for her service and wished her well.
“Coun. Rollins and I worked well together on a lot of issues, but we didn’t always agree. Disagreement is a normal, healthy part of public life,” the mayor said in a statement.
There are now two remaining registered candidates in Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry: Kevin Stuart and Jeff Palmer.
Stuart did not respond to a request for comment before the publication of this story.Palmer, who finished second to Rollins in the 2018 municipal election, thanked the outgoing councillor for her service.
“It’s no secret that it is very difficult to defeat an incumbent. But I’ve always liked being the underdog,” he said.
“We’ve been out there working as hard as we can for the past month, and nothing was going to change about that.”
Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry is now the sixth Winnipeg ward without an incumbent registered to run.
There are wide-open races for council in River Heights-Fort Garry, St. Norbert-Seine River, St. Vital and Waverley West after respective retirement announcements from Couns. John Orlikow, Markus Chambers, Brian Mayes and Janice Lukes.
Transcona also has no incumbent registered so far. Coun. Russ Wyatt, who is charged with sexual assault but has declared his innocence, has not stated whether he will run again.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some new faces on council this fall, alongside a lot of returning experience. That balance is healthy for city hall and good for Winnipeg,” Gillingham said in a statement.
Registration for candidates in Winnipeg closes on Sept. 22.
Election day in Winnipeg is Oct. 28.