City councillors are piped in prior to entering council chambers at Winnipeg City Hall on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Fiften councillors -- four of whom are newly elected -- were sworn into the 13th sitting of city council. (TED GRANT / CHRISD.CA)
After last Wednesday’s civic election, Mayor Sam Katz had to decide who he wanted to sit in his tight-knit circle of similar-minded city councillors. Late Tuesday, Katz made the decision and formed his new Executive Policy Committee, or “mayor’s cabinet.”
Six members will make up the EPC, including Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), Scott Fielding (St. James – Brooklands), Gord Steeves (St. Vital), Justin Swandel (St. Norbert), Dan Vandal (St. Boniface), and newly-elected councillor Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood – Tuxedo).
Katz has also given Havixbeck the title of Acting Deputy Mayor and named her responsible for Assiniboine Park governance and councillor responsible for Corporate Sponsorship.
Other appointments include Katz overseeing Urban Aboriginal Opportunities himself, while councillor Grant Nordman (St. Charles) will be chair of the Seniors Advisory Committee, councillor Russ Wyatt (Transcona) named chair of the Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee, and councillor Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) will be chair of the Winnipeg Housing Committee. Pagtakhan previously sat on the mayor’s EPC, but was not tapped to return this time around.
The membership of all Standing Policy Committees will be finalized on November 10.
All 15 members of the 13th city council, including Katz, will be sworn later tonight during a ceremony at City Hall, including four new councillors, Thomas Steen (Elmwood-East Kildonan), Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo), Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski).
UPDATE: 10:30 p.m. — Adds photos from tonight’s events at City Hall.
