78-year-old councillor takes on 3 rivals in civic election
City Councillor Harvey Smith, 78, in crosshairs of younger council hopefuls for Daniel McIntyre ward
A 78-year-old city councillor is gearing up to fight to keep his seat at city hall.
Harvey Smith has been a city councillor in Winnipeg on and off for the past 34 years, and according to him, he’s not done yet.
“I’m a persistent bastard. I don’t give up,” Smith said Thursday.
Smith is running again in his Daniel McIntyre ward in this fall’s election, and he’ll face the same three opponents as he did in 2010.
Smith narrowly won the 2010 election, finishing just a few hundred votes ahead of his closest rival, Cindy Gilroy.
Gilroy, Keith Bellamy and John Cordoso are all hoping to unseat Smith, despite coming up short last time.
“It’s time. There reaches a point in everyone’s career where you are not in a position to do things the way you once were,” said Bellamy.
Gilroy was more pointed, suggesting Smith isn’t easy to work with.
“I don’t think he can work with other members of council. I don’t think he can be that partner they need,” said Gilroy.
But Smith said he can’t understand why the three are trying to unseat him again.
“It is awfully strange,” said Smith. “They don’t follow things. If they follow things, they would know exactly what I am doing.”
Smith said his opponents lacked specific example of issues with his performance as a councillor.
Winnipeggers, including Daniel McIntyre voters, will go to the polls on Oct. 22.