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![\"MIKE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4603202_web1_260922-Scott-Gillingham-0008.jpg\")
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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Scott Gillingham says he would add hundreds of locked garbage bins downtown to prevent unsightly trash piles if re-elected as mayor.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day, you would see the lids up, and people had been rifling through it, or someone left the lid up and the wind picked up the garbage and (spread) it everywhere. It\u2019s much more difficult now. Once the garbage is in, the garbage stays in,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
The change isn\u2019t just cosmetic, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cleaner city is important to everybody. I believe the way our properties look really reflects how we feel about ourselves. Winnipeg needs to be a cleaner city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also promised to end long waits for new household garbage and recycle carts, setting a target that lost and damaged carts be replaced within one week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is basic customer service,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
City officials confirmed the average wait time to replace a garbage or recycling cart is now about 20 to 25 business days, though homeowners with unusable bins can call the city to get manual collection during the delay.<\/p>\n
Gillingham did not specify exactly how he would meet the new target, though it could involve \u201crealigning\u201d staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that we have capacity within the department. That\u2019s the first thing we\u2019ll need to look at,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The pledge also includes adding a sixth seven-person neighbourhood action team, which would be dedicated to downtown Winnipeg. That would add to five seven-person, cross-trained teams that rotate through the city\u2019s 15 wards to address issues like debris, potholes, damaged signs, sidewalk repairs and tree maintenance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s real momentum in the core of our city, from residential development to projects like Portage Place. We need also to make sure that the maintenance in the downtown gets tackled, and tackled sooner,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
The downtown team would co-ordinate its efforts with the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and Exchange District BIZ.<\/p>\n
Gillingham said cost estimates for his election promises will be shared later in the campaign.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Don Woodstock is promising to change emergency service budgets, if he\u2019s elected.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Mayoral candidate Don Woodstock proposes ending the practice of having fire and police departments manufacture savings.<\/p>\n Woodstock said the city practice of directing the Winnipeg Police Service and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service to find millions of dollars of in-year savings in some municipal budgets creates \u201cfake deficits\u201d for their departments.<\/p>\n This year, police are expected to save $7 million. WFPS was directed to save $3 million in 2024 but has not faced such a target since.<\/p>\n Woodstock said the tight budgets have prevented the services from hiring enough staff, leading to excessive overtime and burnout. He promises to eliminate the in-year savings targets in his first city budget, if elected.<\/p>\n \u201c(This) saves money in the long run (because) we are spending millions in overtime, which is at a premium,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t He also promised to have the city take over land it owns and leases for third-party parking lots, as lease terms end, then lower parking fees and claim any revenue for the city.<\/p>\n And he promised to audit city-owned and leased properties, aiming to \u201creclaim\u201d some at the end of their leases.<\/p>\n Election Day is Oct. 28.<\/p>\n joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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