A Personal Note to Winnipeggers

I am a father and a grandfather. My family are the most important people in the world to me. And I’m worried about them as I see the way others are approaching this mayoral campaign.

When I decided to run for mayor, I expected my ideas to be challenged. I expected people to disagree with me on taxes, on crime, and on how City Hall should work. That is fair.

What I did not expect, and what I will never get used to, is watching my children and grandchildren see fake photos, AI videos, and ugly comments about their dad and grandpa on the internet. They hear it from co-workers. They ask questions no child should have to ask.

That is why I am writing this.

I have been open for years about a short chapter in my working life. I spent four months in 2012 and two weeks later doing communications and government-relations work for a biotech company that Peter Nygard had an interest in. I did not like how the business was run so I left. I have never hidden any of this.

Former employees have contacted me since then. They say they still carry the same unfair guilt by association. Most of them were just trying to feed their families. They were not Peter Nygard. Neither was I.

The personal attacks that followed my announcement have gone beyond that old fact. Some of it is slander. Some of it is manufactured. It is being used, especially by Scott Gillingham, to avoid talking about the last four years in this city.

I grew up in a modest home. After my mother, Joanne, was murdered by her husband, I struggled for a long time with my mental health. That kind of violence leaves a mark that never fully leaves a family. It taught me what it feels like when the people who are supposed to protect you fail, and it taught me that women and children pay a price when we look the other way. I have faith in God. I have made mistakes. I have tried to learn from them.

Seniors in this city tell me they no longer feel comfortable walking to the store or sitting in a park the way they used to. Women tell me they think twice before taking the bus at night or letting their daughters go downtown. Families on fixed incomes watch property taxes and grocery bills climb while the promises of four years ago feel farther away. Those are the conversations I have every week. Those are the problems I want to talk about.

Over the next few weeks, I will be rolling out campaign promises to tackle all those problems. If you do not like my solutions, say so. Tell me where I am wrong. Offer something better on crime, on affordability, and on keeping City Hall honest. That is how grown-ups settle an election.

Using my family, using doctored images, and using a job I left more than a decade ago as a weapon is not debate. It is just hurtful to people who never asked to be in politics.

It’s wrong for Scott Gillingham to have weaponized my history and, in doing so, given cover to others to expose my grandkids to all this poison. I’ve known and worked with Scott for years but never saw this toxic side of him. It’s clear that he’s desperate to distract attention from his record as mayor. I genuinely hope he will conduct himself more responsibly and hold himself to a higher standard moving forward. Remember, Scott: we all have families.

I am asking you, especially the mothers, grandmothers, and seniors who have seen enough of this kind of thing in life to look past the noise. Look at the person, the record, and the ideas. Then decide for yourself.

If I am elected mayor, I will work every day to make Winnipeg safer for vulnerable people walking home, more affordable for people on pensions, and more respectful of the families who built this city. I will not spend four years on pet projects, increasing water rates, adding new fees at every turn. I will spend them trying to keep the promises that matter to you, Winnipeggers.

Thank you for reading this. I hope we can have the conversation Winnipeg actually needs.

Kevin Klein

Candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg