Mayoral candidate Brad Gross says he would raise millions of dollars through advertising and naming rights on city buildings, and bring back paddlewheel boats on Winnipeg’s rivers. Gross, a real estate agent, outlined his platform in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg’s Senior News Anchor Maralee Caruso earlier this month. He is one of 12 candidates running for mayor in the upcoming municipal election. He said he would raise money through advertising on city services such as transit and by selling naming rights to city buildings, which he said would bring in multiple millions of dollars. He also said he would look for savings, citing “a lot of misspending.” Gross said he would keep property taxes near their current rate, but would not promise a freeze. The mayoral hopeful also pledged to bring back paddlewheel boats to the rivers, proposing a dock near Whittier Park. “A lot of the river development is underutilized in Winnipeg. A lot of development in general. So, we’re going to try to bring back the development, and then we’ll build it.” Gross said he would also boost transit advertising by multiple millions of dollars in his first year “with some aggressive tactics.” He said he would reverse Winnipeg Transit’s overhaul and return the system to something “close to the original with some modifications.” He did not provide a cost figure for the change. To protect drivers, Gross proposed see-through perforated metal shields. He also proposed cameras on street lights so police can watch bus shelters. Under his plan to address homelessness, Gross said owners of buildings left empty for two months or more would face a heavier tax. “We’re going to start tagging a heavier tax, and we’ll just take it over after the fourth month and repair it ourselves,” he said. Gross said the city would then either sell the repaired building at market price or use it to house homeless people. The city already has a bylaw that allows it to take title to derelict vacant buildings, but only after an owner has been found guilty of breaking the Vacant Buildings Bylaw. “We could just house them in there. You know, it doesn’t have to be Taj Mahal,” he said. “We can put them in there, take them off the street, get those homeless camps out.” Gross acknowledged that many vacant buildings would need upgrades to meet code, but said the city would fix them up. He said homeless encampments cannot stay in the city. “It’s not safe for anybody,” he said. Gross said public safety has changed since he last ran for mayor in 2010. “There’s a lot of safety concerns out there, for sure,” he said. He also pledged to deploy police cadets on transit to improve order and in grocery stores and other small Manitoba businesses. Gross finished third of four candidates in the 2010 race, earning about 1.6 per cent of the vote. He has also run for city council in St. Boniface in 2014, Old Kildonan in 2018 and Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood in 2022. Election day is Oct. 28. Gross 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 News’ Maralee Caruso
