Council buys a pig in a poke

The Veolia contract passed today by a 9-4 vote. No word on whether the councillors finally got to look at the fine print on the contract before voting. Also no word on who the four dissenters were; I'm going to hazard a guess and assume Jenny Gerbasi, Dan Vandal, Russ Wyatt, and Harvey Smith, though I'd like to think John Orlikow would have voted against this too. Or did one of those five miss the vote for some reason?

Incidentally, the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation is now softening their criticism of the deal:

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling the approval of the contract a mixed blessing because the plants are in major need of an overhaul.

"It looks like a good proposal — what they're offering — but we're just asking for a little bit more in the way of details," Colin Craig said.

A condition of the deal is that Veolia must save the city money.

I guess Colin and company would prefer not to be remembered as having been on the losing side...

Edited to add: Turns out Orlikow did vote against it... but Wyatt, of all people, voted for it. And Lillian Thomas missed the vote.

Lillian Thomas for mayor??

Apparently she's going to run:

Veteran city councillor Lillian Thomas will run for mayor in Winnipeg's 2010 civic election.

Thomas (Elmwood-East Kildonan) made the announcement Wednesday morning, saying her 20 years of experience qualifies her for the top job.

The 60-year-old said her frustration with recent council decisions endorsed by Mayor Sam Katz spurred her decision to run.

Source. Her heart is in the right place, and her voting record on council is satisfactory, but I can't help thinking that this is simply because she trusts Jenny and Dan and votes the way they do. That's OK as it goes, but knowing who to follow does not a mayor make. But then, I don't think it really matters who the left puts forward this time. Katz is expected to run again, and Winnipeg hasn't voted out an incumbent mayor in living memory.