Coun. Marty Morantz makes it official, seeks federal Tory nomination
Rookie Winnipeg councillor also quits seat on executive policy committee, role as council public works chair
Coun. Marty Morantz has officially declared he wants to be the Conservative candidate in the federal riding held by Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson.
The rookie Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge councillor announced Thursday he will seek the federal Conservative nomination in Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley.
Morantz, first elected to city council in 2014, will run in the 2019 federal election if he succeeds in his bid for the nomination in the west Winnipeg riding.
The seat and its predecessors have gone back and forth between conservative parties and the Liberals over the past two decades. Eyolfson won the seat in 2015 by defeating Conservative MP Steven Fletcher by 6,122 votes.
MLA and former MP Steven Fletcher and analyst Stephen Barber are also seeking the Conservative nomination in Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley.
Right time for move: Morantz
Morantz said he has resigned from city council's executive policy committee, as well as his position as city council public works chair.
He said the time was right for him to make a move, both personally and professionally.
"I've really enjoyed my time on city council. But I've always been interested in party politics," said Morantz, who made an unsuccessful provincial run as a Progressive Conservative candidate in River Heights in 2011.
Mayor Brian Bowman moved quickly to replace Morantz, appointing St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard to EPC as the new public works chair.
Should Morantz succeed in his effort to claim the nomination, as many as four of the city's 15 seats could be wide open in October.
Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, the longest-serving member of council, announced in March she won't seek a sixth term in Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry.
The newly renamed and redrawn St. Norbert council seat will be wide open, as South Winnipeg-St. Norbert Coun. Janice Lukes announced in January she plans to seek her second council term in the new Waverley West ward.
- Jenny Gerbasi — Winnipeg's longest-serving councillor — won't seek 6th term
- Janice Lukes to run for councillor in new Waverley West ward
- Absence from council explained: Wyatt being treated for addictions
The fate of Transcona is also up in the air, as 16-year councillor Russ Wyatt has been absent from city hall since January due to addictions treatment.
The 2018 municipal election is slated for Oct. 24. Mayoral candidate registration began on May 1, while council candidates may register starting June 30.
The deadline for entering the municipal race is Sept. 18, when the nomination period closes.
