Ryan Hildebrand won the Winkler city council byelection by a healthy margin last week.
Hildebrand received 503 votes Dec. 12, beating out fellow candidates Pam Fedack (275 votes) and Dustin Brown (274) to fill the seat left vacant after the passing of Don Fehr this fall.
The morning after his win, Hildbrand shared that the victory was still sinking in for him.
“It was interesting last night—you kind of work it all up in your head and then all of a sudden it’s there and there’s a lot of emotions.”
Hildebrand’s bid to sit on council for the first time earned him nearly 48 per cent of the votes cast.
“I’ve gotten so many letters and texts and emails of support, and it’s quite humbling actually to realize that there’s so many people that really put their trust in myself to move forward in this kind of a role,” he said.
Hildebrand was sworn into council Tuesday and plans to hit the ground running.
He can’t wait.
“Getting into it, learning how all the pieces of the city work, learning the planning processes, budgeting processes, building relationships—all those pieces,” he said. “I enjoy all of that, so that’s really what I’m looking forward to is getting in there and learning the ropes and helping where I can.”
His constituents are already reaching out, he shared.
“I was sitting around the coffee table here at the senior centre [Hildebrand is the executive director of the Buhler Active Living Centre], and I already have a laundry list of suggestions that I need to look into.”
Hildebrand, a former accountant and chief financial officer at Eden Health Care Services, has served on the board of Winkler’s social housing agency, Central Community Homes, for nearly a decade, and that cause remains a major focus for him as he joins council.
“The affordable housing part of it, really looking at that and working to help get the Manitoba Hydro hookups to come faster—when you have houses sitting empty, waiting only for Manitoba Hydro, that’s really something that needs to work better.
“Otherwise, I’ll be getting into the committee work, learning all that and bringing my experience, bringing what I can, into that work.”
