Trevor Kennerd announced yesterday that he will be seeking the Conservative nomination for Winnipeg South-Centre (h/t). Winnipeg South-Centre is, of course, the riding of Liberal MP Anita Neville.

Kennerd has several things going for him from the start. Most obviously is his fame in Winnipeg. Kennerd won three Grey Cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, during the club's golden years (we used to win championships); including kicking the game winning field-goal in the 1988 Grey Cup.

Kennerd, who has been running a marketing and communications company since retiring from football, would seem to be a natural for politics (link). He's also been a resident of the riding for 26 years, since moving here from Edmonton.

The Winnipeg South-Centre riding has been dominated by the Liberals since the beginning of time, or so it seems. The 2006 election was close in the riding, with Anita Neville winning by less than 8% over Conservative contender Michael Richards (not the racist actor from Seinfeld). Kennerd is more of a working middle class type guy than Michael Richards was. That will resonate more closely with the riding than Richards' slick-city-lawyer personality.

Also working for Kennerd, is the fact that Anita Neville has gotten on the wrong side of constituents of late. She's taken a head-in-sand approach to crime, in a riding with crime problems. She also abstained from voting on a Liberal motion to take business away from Manitoba.

Kennerd even talked about crime at the announcement, something that Anita Neville thinks is, well, criminal. Kennerd acknowldeged a crime problem in the riding, "As a frequent victim of crime, the property crime in the riding is really out of sight." As of posting, there is still no word on when Anita Apology will demand that Kennerd not sully Winnipeg's reputation with such vial accusations.

Kennerd will win the riding, and quite handily I suspect. Anita Apology will go the way of all the other old-tyme Liberals. And good luck to whoever the NDP nominates.

Labels: Anita Neville, Blue Bombers, Conservative Party, politics

First we were treated to David Asper's plan for a new football stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Today, we get a second proposal from CandInns. And both are terrible.

Asper's plan will carry a price-tag of $145 million, and he'll get sole ownership of the team. The Pro's of Asper's plan are:
1) The new stadium will be built at the same location as the current stadium, and continue to bring business into the area.
2) If the Bombers were privately owned, the team would probably do better and services at the Stadium would be improved. Asper's a fan, and a savvy businessman who would bring stability and success to the team.
3) The 40,000 person capacity would be a good fit for the Bombers.

The Cons:
1) $80 million of public investment. This is absolutely insane. This, in a city where the sewer system needs massive overhaul (which the city claims we can't afford without help from the feds and the province), and where the roads and bridges are in shambles.
2) The stadium will be only partially covered. If taxpayers are expected to pony up $80 million, you'd think we could at least get an enclosed dome of some sort, so it could be of use during Winnipegs long and cold winters.

Okay, on to the CanadInns proposal, the Pros:
1) The CanadInns proposal includes an indoor, climate controlled stadium. This would be more useful to Winnipeg than an indoor stadium.

That was quick, on to the Cons:
1) CanadInns is proposing a $275 million facility, of which they will only be paying $50 million. One can only guess where the remaining $225 million comes from (cough, taxes, cough).
2) The team would remain community-run, meaning fans can expect more of the same mediocre performances from the Big Blue.
3) Location, location, location. CanadInns wants to build the new stadium outside of the perimeter on the Ex grounds. For one, we'd have to rename the team the Headingly Blue Bombers. Two, thats a tonne of shuttle buses to transport the booze-fueled fan to and from each home game. Three, the only other business in the general vicinity for fans to support would be whatever CanadInns decides to put in place.

Overall both proposals are a complete waste of tax dollars. By spending a few million dollars, the old stadium could be upgraded, and Asper's retail complex could also be added. During the Grey Cup this year, we've also seen that there is plenty of room in the current stadium to add extra capacity.

It's beyond me why Winnipeg would want to spend $80 - $225 million on a plan that would give us a slightly more comfortable stadium, with the potential to move a lot of business outside of the city, all the while the roads are too bad to drive there, and you feel guilty using the washrooms because you know the sewage is just going to get dumped into city rivers.

But maybe I'm just cynical.

Labels: Blue Bombers, Manitoba, sports

The Bums Bombers might stand a chance next year.

Labels: Blue Bombers, sports