Endorsed candidates win in elections
Winnipeg Real Estate News
June 25, 2004
Neither the Winnipeg Real Estate Board nor the Manitoba Real Estate Association is taking credit for their civic by-election victories, but they noted that the winning candidates all signed a Quality of Life pledge.
Sam Katz, Winnipeg’s new mayor, and new city councillors Franco Magnifico (St. Boniface) and Donald Benham (River Heights-Fort Garry), signed the pledge and then were endorsed by the association and board.
Lorne Weiss, the chairman of the MREA’s political action committee and a past-president of the WREB, said candidates are endorsed regardless of political affiliation
The Quality of Life program encourages economic viability, housing opportunities, preserving the environment and protecting property owners with the aim of building better communities.
This marks the first time that the Quality of Life program is being used during an election campaign.
In the next round of voting, the board and association will be endorsing candidates who have signed on for the June 28 federal election and the June 29 provincial byelection in Turtle Mountain (see page 9 for a list of candidates.)
The response for the early round of civic and provincial byelections was more successful than the response from federal and Turtle Mountain candidates, said Weiss.
This time around only eight candidates running in Manitoba’s 14 federal ridings—most of whom are riding in Winnipeg ridings—and one candidate in the Turtle Mountain provincial byelection signed, indicating their support for the Quality of Life program.
But, Weiss added, the Quality of Life program is in its infancy and it will take time before it becomes widely accepted as part of the election process.
“We’re excited about the fact that organized real estate is taking an active part in the process,” he added. “It’s certainly a first for Manitoba, if not for Canada, that an association and board are endorsing candidates who are running for election to public office.
“It’s also important that the public knows which candidates are supporting our Quality of Life statement and who isn’t,” Weiss added.
The MREA Quality of Life program is modeled after a high-success program in Washington state started by realtors a few years ago.
In Washington, politicians who sign a pledge to support the Quality of Life program are judged after they enter office on how well they abide to its principles. Each politician is issued a report card from the Washington Association of Realtors while in public office which grades them on how well they have upheld the principles,
In Washington, realtors while using the Quality of Life principles as a template were able to persuade policy makers that the state’s Growth Management Act should also include economic growth as well as land use. The realtors now believe that economic growth in the state will not be an afterthought for politicians.
Weiss said the program also acts as a blueprint for how Manitoba realtors approach issues.
“Quality of Life is a benchmark that we will use to judge our initiatives,” he said. “We will judge the positive or negative impact an initiative will have on Manitoba.
The Quality of Life program redefines organized real estate’s pursuit of policy and programs.
“We talk everyday with people who hope to build a life for themselves and their children,” explained Weiss. “We understand what makes a community attractive and desirable. We know a community is more than homes.”
“People want safe streets, jobs that pay well, and roads that take them where they want to go without delay.”
“We’re not just realtors,” added Weiss. “We’re neighbours. Our children attend the same schools, play the same sports, and we go to the same places of worship as our neighbours.
“Our interests are not at odds with those of our neighbours,” he added.