Pandemic protesters try making leap to politics in Manitoba's civic, school board races
CBC
Fierce opposition to COVID-19 measures is reverberating through Manitoba's upcoming municipal and school board elections.
It's believed at least a dozen people on ballots in October are vocal critics of pandemic-era restrictions, some of whom gained widespread notoriety for their dissent.
Dick Eastland said running for a school board seat wasn't something he seriously considered before the pandemic. He said discussions with others who rallied against the restrictions and vaccine mandates changed his mind.
"We have been talking about this a lot privately from person-to-person and trying to inspire each other, to show some strength," he said.
"For a lot of people, they're getting completely out of their comfort zone."
This includes Eastland, whose own kids are out of school.
"There's no reason for me to do this, except that I strongly believe that a lot of people felt helpless when it came to masking their children or vaccinating them."
Eastland, who is looking to represent Ward 1 in the Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg, argues the current trustees are too willing to go along with the crowd rather than thinking for themselves. He wouldn't be afraid to chart his own path, he said.
"My reputation isn't at stake here," Eastland said. "Me battling for families that are maybe getting run over by the machine, so to speak, that's who I'm here for."
Karl Krebs, who failed to turn Winkler, Man., into a sanctuary city immune from pandemic restrictions, actively encouraged like-minded people to run for office.
He told a restaurant full of his supporters in August that if enough of their people run, "this will be a memorable moment in the history book of Manitoba," an online video shows.
He's one of two people seeking to become mayor of the Winkler. Krebs will face Henry Siemens, a longtime councillor.
In an interview on Friday, Krebs said he hopes his own decision to seek office, and subsequent appeals to others, had the desired effect.
"We're all in this to bring about change that will bring us back to where we were," Krebs said. "Nobody is looking for a different community other than the one that we had two years ago, and that's what's been affected. We've seen the effects of mandates on businesses. We've seen the effects of promoting medical choices that people are not comfortable making."
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