Shirley Timm-Rudolph

Shirley Timm-Rudolph is a former politician in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She was a city councillor from 1986 to 1992 and again from 1995 to 2002, and served on the city's Executive Policy Committee from 1997 to 1998. Timm-Rudolph ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 federal election, and for Mayor of Winnipeg in a 2004 by-election.

Early life and private career

Timm-Rudolph was raised in north-end Winnipeg, and was an interior designer before entering public life. She became a salesperson after leaving council in 1992, ["Shirley Timm-Rudolph", "Winnipeg Free Press", 29 September 1995, A11.] and established a consulting business in 2002. In 2004, she organized the charity Gold Spike Golf Tournament. ["Shirley Timm-Rudolph", "Winnipeg Free Press", 2 June 2004, B1. Ironically, the tournament took place on the same day as the mayoral by-election.]

Councillor

Timm-Rudolph first ran for Winnipeg City Council in the 1983 municipal election as a New Democrat in the Springfield Heights division, and narrowly lost to Jim Ragsdill. She ran again in 1986 as an independent, and was elected in a crowded field . She ran for the Canadian House of Commons in 1988 as a Liberal, and finished second against New Democratic Party incumbent Bill Blaikie in Winnipeg—Transcona.

Re-elected to a second term in 1989, Timm-Rudolph lost to fellow councillor Rick Boychuk in 1992 after redistribution forced the two incumbents to face one another. The 1992 contest was marked by extreme bitterness, with Boychuk accusing Timm-Rudolph of being in a conflict of interest situation. She was later cleared by a provincial investigation. [Nick Martin, "Grudge match boiling in ward", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 August 1995, B1.]

Timm-Rudolph served on the provincial Municipal Board after her 1992 defeat. [Treena Khan, "Finger pointing begins at city hall", "Winnipeg Free Press", 5 March 1996, A2.] She ran for re-election in 1995, and defeated Boychuk in a rematch. During this campaign, she proposed the creation of an auxiliary police force that would take care of simple tasks and allow officers to focus on more important matters. ["Shirley Timm-Rudolph", "Winnipeg Free Press", 29 September 1995, A11. She was forty years old at the time.] When asked about her political ideology, she responded "dead centre". [Stevens Wild, "Freshmen a diverse lot", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 October 1995, A8.] A subsequent survey of voting patterns in early 1997 found her to be one of council's most independent members, voting with or against Mayor Susan Thompson's governing coalition depending on the issue. ["Thompson gets her way: study", "Winnipeg Free Press", 22 March 1997, A4.]

Thompson appointed Timm-Rudolph as acting deputy mayor in November 1995, [Stevens Wild, "Mayor relies on veterans to manage EPC", "Winnipeg Free Press", 4 November 1995, A6.] and named her to the executive policy committee (ie. the municipal cabinet) in March 1997. She was initially the chair of the planning and services committee, ["Steek loses plum job", "Winnipeg Free Press", 26 March 1997, A1. Timm-Rudolph was appointed to the EPC after Garth Steek's departure. She replaced Amaro Silva on the planning and services committee; Silva, in turn, replaced Steek in finance.] and was reassigned as chair of the public works committee in November 1997. ["Thompson announces new city team", "Winnipeg Free Press", 6 November 1997, A5.] She voted against a bus fare reduction in 1998, arguing that it would lead to higher property taxes. [Kim Guttormson, "City could bring back reduced bus fares", "Winnipeg Free Press", 19 November 1998, A4.]

Timm-Rudolph was expected to face a difficult re-election contest in 1998, but instead won without difficulty after Russ Wyatt, her main opponent, decided to withdraw at the last minute. ["Wyatt departs race; leaves two to vie for Transcona seat", "Winnipeg Free Press", 3 October 1998, A8.] After the election, she became a prominent figure in the council's unofficial opposition to new mayor Glen Murray. [Keith McArthur, "`Knives are out' for mayor as old grudges fester", "Winnipeg Free Press", 26 November 1998, A3; Patti Edgar, "Ex-Transcona councillor may join race for mayor", "Winnipeg Free Press", 20 May 2004, B2. Timm-Rudolph once said that Murray "used to scream blue bloody murder about ethics, but I'm not sure he's got any. He makes up his own rules". See David O'Brien, "Murray: A year on the job", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 November 1999, A4.] She served on the board of the Winnipeg Convention Centre and remained a member of the public works committee, but was no longer its chair. ["Here's who sits on civic committees", "Winnipeg Free Press", 13 November 1998, A5; Bruce Owen, "City venue may ban gang colours", "Winnipeg Free Pres", 27 March 2002, A3.] Timm-Rudolph also served on several national boards in this period, including those of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Yellowhead Highway. [Leah Hendry, "A life outside city hall", "Winnipeg Free Press", 15 July 2002, A8.] She was a critic of Winnipeg's restrictive anti-smoking legislation, and was one of only two councillors to vote against the 2001 operating budget. [David O'Brien, "Councillors grumble, pass budget", "Winnipeg Free Press", 26 October 2001, A3; Fred Cleverley, "Let smoking die a natural death", "Winnipeg Free Press", 21 January 2002, A10.]

Timm-Rudolph decided not to seek re-election in 2002, saying that she found it different to work with Glen Murray. She indicated that she wanted to start a consulting business and write children's books. [Leah Hendry, "Timm-Rudolph decides to call it quits", "Winnipeg Free Press", 20 September 2002, A16; Leah Hendry, "New faces unlikely in mayor's inner circle", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 October 2002, A3.] She later said that her greatest accomplishment in office was facilitating the construction of a storm water retention basin in southeast Transcona, an area often plagued by flooding. [Aldo Santin, "Timm-Rudolph gets green light for lake idea", "Winnipeg Free Press", 10 April 1996; Treena Khan, "Transcona lake plan sails through EPC", "Winnipeg Free Press", 8 February 1997, A8; Kevin Rollason, "Lake plans hit rough waters", "Winnipeg Free Press", 10 April 1997, A9; Aldo Santin, "Transcona residents get pond", "Winnipeg Free Press", 19 July 1997, A3; "Timm-Rudolph in race", "Winnipeg Free Press", 29 May 2004, A3.]

Mayoral campaign

Timm-Rudolph was one of the first declared candidates for a 2004 mayoral by-election, which was called after Murray resigned to run for the House of Commons. She was initially considered a viable candidate, but did not establish a strong campaign organization. [She did not have a campaign office or campaign manager. See Patti Edgar, "Mayoral battle entering final stretch", "Winnipeg Free Press", 17 June 2004, B1. One newspaper report described her as appearing unprepared at an all-candidates meeting. See Patti Edgar, "Golden moments of unwavering repetition into the home stretch", "Winnipeg Free Press", 14 June 2004, B4.] She finished a distant seventh against Sam Katz. [She was later fined $400 for failing to file an audited financial statement. See Mary Agnes Welch, "Two more council candidates fined", "Winnipeg Free Press", 3 February 2006, B1.]

Electoral record

Table of offices held

Footnotes