A Winnipeg mayoral candidate who has come under fire for living in St. Andrews says he plans to move back to the city if he wins on Oct. 28. Local businessman and funeral director Mike Vogiatzakis said he has homes in Winnipeg and St. Andrews, as well as a cottage in Buffalo Point. He added he also owns four businesses and several commercial properties in the city. “I bet you out of all 12 people that are running for mayor, I pay more taxes than all of them combined together,” Vogiatzakis said in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg’s senior news anchor Maralee Caruso. Vogiatzakis, who registered to run for mayor in 2014 but was not on the ballot, noted that he currently spends more time in Winnipeg than he does in St. Andrews because that’s where his businesses are located. “My life’s in the city. I see everything that happens in the city,” he said. “Being a funeral director, I deal with everything that happens in the city. I deal with the murders, I deal with the suicides, the drug overdoses, the families struggling. I’m the one that carries them through the troubled times in life.” During the campaign, Vogiatzakis was also involved in another controversy after he accused rival Kevin Klein’s team of trying to get him out of the race by offering him a position at City Hall. Klein has denied the allegation. Vogiatzakis said he recorded the call with Klein’s team member but can no longer find the recording due to a phone update. Vogiatzakis emphasized that this was not a tactic to smear Klein’s campaign. He said he is telling the truth and that he believes in transparency. “We can’t have another four years of backroom deals,” he said. “This city is falling apart. We need people that are in for the right reason. People that care, who want to help families. And I’m one of them.” If elected, Vogiatzakis pledges to reverse last year’s transit overhaul. He said he would sit down with the transit union, bus drivers and residents to come up with a plan that works. “People are missing their buses. People are late getting their kids to school. The delays are crazy. You’re taking three to four transfers to get where you used to get with one bus,” he said of the current transit system. “[Buses] are not going into hospitals. They’re not going into some health facilities. It’s tough on the seniors.” Beyond changing transit routes, Vogiatzakis also wants to address safety on buses by establishing a dedicated transit police force. He explained the force could be made up of former police officers who retired early and are looking for work. “I think there’s something about a person with a gun and a badge and you know you’re going to get arrested. You know there’s consequences,” he said. “I think we need that on the buses. We need people to feel safe on the bus.” Vogiatzakis went on to explain how his brother’s 2024 murder has shaped his run for mayor. He said his brother, Kyriakos Vogiatzakis, was a businessman who wanted to make Winnipeg a better place. He said the day his brother was killed changed him forever and put a “fire in heart and soul that nobody could put out.” “That fire is to make change in his name,” Vogiatzakis said. “If I become mayor, I will leave a legacy behind in Kyriakos’ name. He doesn’t have a voice anymore, so I’m his voice.” Vogiatzakis is one of 12 mayoral candidates CTV News will profile in sit-down interviews ahead of the Oct. 28 election. The full interview can be viewed online. With files from CTV’s Maralee Caruso
