Election Fever

This Wednesday, my journalism classmates and I will be covering our first election.

The 2010 Winnipeg Civic Election has been an unusually exciting civic election campaign and I have really enjoyed every minute of being a part of it. You definitely get a much better understanding and feel for things when you spend so much time with it.

All of us in the class will be involved with some sort of professional coverage on the 27th. I was chosen to be one of the four reporters covering things for 92.9 KICK FM, our campus radio station.

I will be at Sam Katz election night headquarters filing live reports for the one hour program, so please tune in!

Here are some of the key story lines that I am following:

- Can Sam hold on to the momentum he seems to have gained in the last week or so and get a third term?
- Has Judy run out of steam? Her support seems to have flat lined. Will she turn it around in time?
- Can the understated John Orlikow hold of the Michael Kowalson challenge in River Heights-Fort Garry? This has been the best battle of the campaign for sure.
- Is there one more rabbit in the hat for Ol' Harvey in Daniel Mac? He looks certain to lose his seat but has proven he can't be counted out.
- Who will win the ridings in which there is no incumbant? Old Kildonan, Elmwood-East Kildonan, Charleswood-Tuxedo and Mynarski all look close.
- Will there be an upset? Justin Swandel looks to be in trouble in St. Norbert and Grant Nordman could be unseated in St. Charles.
- What will the voter turnout be? With a record number of Winnipeggers casting ballots at advance polls, the turnout figures to be well over 60% this time around. This would be awfully refreshing.
- Last but not least, what will Marty Gold yell into his microphone about once the election is over? Knowing him, I am certain he will find something.

If you get the Free Press, check out Bart Kives comprehensive election preview in today's paper. It paints a good picture of how things may unfold.

Overall, covering the campaign has been a really positive experience for me as a young journalist and something that has truly opened my eyes. The best part? It's been fun as well.