A decision with potential for ‘distraction’ and ‘disrespect’ in Transcona

Transcona voters acknowledge they have a tough decision to make at the ballot box on election day.

The east Winnipeg working-class ward is replete with lawn signs and posters, but most of the people the Free Press spoke with said they were still undecided.

While Winnipeg is, historically, more likely to elect an incumbent, longtime councillor Russ Wyatt is seeking a sixth term while facing five criminal charges, including sexual assault and administering a noxious substance, after incidents alleged to have occurred in 2023 and 2025.

Residents are not without options. In addition to Wyatt, former councillor Shawn Nason — who occupied the city council seat from 2018-22 is on the ballot (Wyatt chose not to run in the 2018 election after taking several months off to undergo addictions treatment) — there are three new faces on the ballot: Lora Meseman, Chris Giesbrecht and Nathine Dagdick.

The allegations against Wyatt have cast a shadow over what should be a race focused on voter issues, said Dagdick.

”It’s going to put the people of Transcona in a darker light,” said Dagdick, a 30-year-old water and waste operator with the city. “If the incumbent is re-elected, it’s going to absolutely take his focus away from doing the job and representing the people of Transcona.”

Nason called the situation “a distraction from the community, from a perspective of accountability.”

Wyatt refused a phone or in-person interview, but went on the defensive in a series of text messages to the Free Press.

“I have been through many storms in my life and I will get through this latest storm,” the 55-year-old wrote, not directly referencing the criminal charges.

“But I am the only candidate that has a clear and strong record of standing up to power and corruption and, if re-elected, shall continue to do so, as I am still a citizen that cares about the future of my community and city.”

Wyatt’s focus while campaigning has been on reaching out directly to supporters, rather than more typical rallies or events, and said the funds he has raised are going toward “communication” and flyers to reach voters.

He highlighted his vote against what he described as the “disastrous” new Transit system and rising water rates, and called himself a “strong, independent rebel voice.”

He derided Nason and Giesbrecht (who works as a constituency assistant for Transcona’s Conservative MP Colin Reynolds) as “active or card-carrying Conservative Tories,” and called Meseman “a hand-picked puppet for and by the mayor.”

“I cannot recall a time where voters in the Transcona ward have had such a clear choice,” Wyatt said.

Meseman, 60, dismissed the comments as “mud-slinging” and said she was encouraged to run after attending events held by the city focused on women in politics.

“It’s disrespectful to the residents of Transcona. They have real issues that they want addressed,” she said.

While Transcona’s candidates for councillor all listed a wide range of platform priorities — improving safety in the ward, adding and restoring bus stops, speeding up street repairs, among others — a common thread was the promise to push for faster funding for the East of the Red RecPlex, a long-awaited aquatic centre in the ward.

Meseman, who is the executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, said her time fielding questions from Transcona residents about the centre was part of what influenced her to run for council.

”I understand that the intention is to have shovels in the ground in 2028,” she said. “It is in the multi-year budget — however, we still need the funding from the provincial government and the federal government, but not having that action has been something that I feel needs to be done.”

Giesbrecht, 31, said that while Wyatt had been “a force of nature” for Transcona in the past, his confrontational style may have played a role in delaying the centre in the ward, pointing to a similar rec centre in Waverley West, where construction began this year.

“So the question is, why could Waverley get a similar complex off the ground, but we couldn’t? And the answer is, their representative (Waverley West councillor Janice Lukes) was a team player,” he said.

“I’d like to bring a younger, more nimble voice to city hall.”

Dagdick echoed those concerns.

“(Wyatt) has not just his personal issues, but his theatrics at city hall,” he said. “I feel that not a lot of people want to work with him or have their names next to him on certain things. He’s very stubborn, he’s very, almost egotistical… I really would like to see (the rec centre) done as soon as possible. We really need to get this facility built.”

While Nason was councillor, he visited London, Ont., where a similar recreation complex was being built. It has since been completed, he said, and he’s concerned about the impact of inflation on not-yet-started construction.

“I’m worried that by the time we’re done, we’re going to have a quarter-billion-dollar bill for the East of the Red,” he said. “I pray not.”

Some residents acknowledge the headlines about Wyatt have had had an impact in the community.

The allegations have left a “bad taste” in the mouth of Landen Lebleu, a lifelong Transcona resident who described himself as a typically left-leaning voter who focuses on labour and poverty platforms.

“I mean, at the end of the day, I don’t want someone who’s going to be trying to run my neighbourhood or a city or any position of power who’s (alleged to be) doing these horrible and heinous acts,” he said while enjoying a coffee and cigarette outside of a Tim Hortons.

Transcona firefighter Ross Takenaka said he knows he’s not voting for Wyatt — or Nason, for that matter — because he wants to see someone new win the seat.

His top priority right now is improving Winnipeg Transit. While he acknowledged Wyatt has been a popular voice for Transcona in the past — he described him as “a stirrer of the pot” — he believes his legal challenges would take his focus away from the area’s needs.

“This is the second time something’s been brought up against him, so whether it’s true or not,I don’t know but still — you can’t have that keep following you around all the time,” Takenaka said.

Wyatt was also charged with sexual assault in 2018, but the charge was stayed by the Crown in 2019.

“I think people are going to say, ‘Enough’s enough,’ Takenaka said.

Wyatt has been Transcona’s city councillor for a combined 20 years: from 2002-2018, and again from 2022.

malak.abas@winnipegfreepress.com