Peter Kaufmann (politician)
Encyclopedia
Peter Kaufmann is a businessman and former municipal politician in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He has been a city councillor and school trustee, and has campaigned for Mayor of Winnipeg on two occasions.

Early life and career

Kaufmann was born in 1947 on the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 island of Fejo. His father Ivan left Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 for Sweden before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, because his last name was Jewish, and he feared persecution from the Nazis. His father later returned and fought against the Nazis with the Danish rebel forces. Kaufmann moved to rural Manitoba with his family in 1954, and later settled in Winnipeg. He is the founder of the local grocery franchise Kaufmann Foods, the first branch of which was set up in 1979 in St. Vital. In 1993, Kaufmann said that his intent was to provide service for areas neglected by major supermarket chains.

Trustee and councillor

Kaufmann was elected to the St. Vital school board in 1983, and served for three years before his defeat in 1986. His support for a sex-education program that was opposed by some local groups probably contributed to his loss. He was later elected to city council in the 1989 municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 1989
The 1989 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 25, 1989 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.Bill Norrie was re-elected to a fifth term as mayor without serious opposition.-Councillors:...

 for Seine Valley. He supported efforts to keep the Winnipeg Jets hockey franchise in the city. In 1991, he brought forward a motion requiring cyclists in Winnipeg to wear helmets. His ward was eliminated for the 1992 municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 1992
The 1992 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 28, 1992 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.Susan Thompson defeated Greg Selinger in the mayoral contest.-Councillors:...

, and he did not seek election elsewhere.

In early 1995, Kaufmann represented a group of local businessmen in their effort to build a new arena next to the Winnipeg Convention Centre, with the intent of keeping the Jets in the city. This was a rival proposal to that offered by the Manitoba Entertainment Complex (MEC). The plan was unsuccessful.

1995 mayoral campaign

Kaufmann first campaigned for Mayor of Winnipeg in the 1995 municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 1995
The 1995 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 25, 1995 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.Susan Thompson defeated Peter Kaufmann and Terry Duguid in the mayoral contest.-Councillors:...

. He pledged to eliminate the business tax over ten years, shift school taxes from property to income, cut city staff and budgets, and restructure city council to dissolve the board of commissioners. He supported an apprentice program for at-risk youth and opposed the sale of Winnipeg Hydro to the private sector, although he favoured contracting out various municipal services. Kaufmann said that he would spend up to $10 million to refurbish Winnipeg's existing arena, but would not support construction of a new arena in the near future.

He also said that he would move to shut down the Winnipeg's food banks, describing them as an unfair drain on local groceries and suggesting that his pro-business platform would eliminate the need for such outlets. He later qualified this statement by indicating that he not shut down food banks immediately, and acknowledging that many Winnipeg residents depended on them.

Kaufmann described himself as an "outsider" candidate against both incumbent Susan Thompson
Susan Thompson
Susan Ann Thompson was the 40th mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was the first female to serve as mayor of Winnipeg and served two terms as mayor and held this post from 1992 to 1998.Thompson graduated with a BA from the University of Winnipeg in 1971...

 and challenger Terry Duguid
Terry Duguid
Terry Duguid is a politician and activist and executive in Manitoba, Canada. He has campaigned for elected office at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, and was served as a City Councillor in Winnipeg between 1989-1995...

, whom he identified as the candidates of "big business" and "big unions" respectively. Kaufmann said that he was a candidate of "the people", and likened his candidacy to those of Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...

, Ralph Klein and Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...

. Some in the local media criticized his platform as simplistic, and as privileging business interests over social concerns. Generally portrayed as a right-wing candidate, Kaufmann nonetheless expressed support for some left-wing positions such as a guaranteed income. His supporters included Al Golden
Al Golden (politician)
Allan Golden is a politician and businessman in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Golden is involved in many business operations, including the St. Vital Hotel and the Transcona Country Club. He entered politics after being encouraged by former Mayor of Winnipeg Stephen Juba, to run in the 1980 mayoral election...

 and John Prystanski
John Prystanski
John Prystanski is a former city councillor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He represented the north-end ward of Point Douglas from 1989 to 2002.-1989-1995:...

.

Initially considered the third-ranked candidate, Kaufmann gained momentum in the campaign's final weeks and finished a surprisingly strong second behind Thompson. He remained active in municipal affairs after the election, and spoke against tax increases introduced by the Thompson administration. There was very little surprise when he decided to campaign for mayor a second time again in the 1998 municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 1998
The 1998 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 28, 1998 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.Centre-left candidate Glen Murray defeated populist right-winger Peter Kaufmann in the mayoral contest.-Councillors:...

.

1998 mayoral campaign

Kaufmann highlighted many of the same themes as in 1995, and was primarily focused on tax reduction. The dynamic of the contest, however, was quite different. Susan Thompson did not run for re-election, and Kaufmann's primary opponent was Glen Murray, a popular centre-left councillor who soon emerged as the frontrunning candidate. Kaufmann again highlighted his "outsider" status, and worked as his own campaign manager. Both candidates promised tax cuts and government efficiency, leading some in the media to conclude that there was little practical difference between their campaigns.

Kaufmann promised to reduce property taxes by 21.4% over five years, cut up to 2,500 city jobs, and impose user fees for some services. Unlike in the 1995 campaign, he promised to sell Winnipeg Hydro
Winnipeg Hydro
Winnipeg Hydro is a former provider of electrical power in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was established in 1906 and was purchased by Manitoba Hydro in 2002....

 and put the revenues toward debt reduction and lower taxes. Murray argued the sale would pose long-term dangers for the city. Kaufmann, in return, argued that Murray was insincere in his pledge to reduce taxes.

Despite an endorsement from the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

newspaper, Kaufmann narrowly lost to Murray on election day. He later acknowledged that his proposal to cut municipal jobs was a mistake.

After 1998

Kaufmann turned over the day-to-day operations of Kaufmann Foods to his brother after the election, and began working for Flanders Real Estate Ltd. He later joined CB Richard Ellis Chartier & Associates. He was barred from running in the 2002 municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 2002
The 2002 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 23, 2002 to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees in the city of Winnipeg.Glen Murray, the city's centre-left mayor, was re-elected to a second term over challenger Al Golden.-Councillors:...

 after he failed to submit an audited list of election expenses (he indicated that he had no intention of running anyway). He wrote a guest editorial for the Winnipeg Free Press in 2006, arguing that high school taxes have been responsible for Winnipeg's urban decline.

Kaufmann has recently supported left-leaning candidates for mayor. During the 2002 contest, he said that Glen Murray had done a good job and deserved to be re-elected. He later supported MaryAnn Mihychuk
MaryAnn Mihychuk
MaryAnn Mihychuk is a former politician from Manitoba, Canada. She was a cabinet minister in the government of New Democratic Premier Gary Doer from 1999 to 2004...

 in a 2004 by-election, after Murray resigned to run for the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

.

Kaufmann supports the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

, and was a supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 until he joined the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

 in 2000. Somewhat improbably, he has listed Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 and Stanley Knowles
Stanley Knowles
Stanley Howard Knowles, PC, OC was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and again from 1962 to 1984 representing the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party .Knowles was widely...

as his political heroes.

Footnotes

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