Welcome to Between the Threads, a podcast exploring the threads that connect us: story, memory, identity, and meaning, and how they weave the fabric of peace in our lives and communities. Between the Threads is a joint initiative between Kahani and Narratives. Kahani is a nonprofit organization that amplifies storytelling for peace building. And Narratives is an award-winning planning and design firm based in Winnipeg, Canada. Welcome to our next episode of Between the Threads. In today's episode, we sit down with Mayor Scott Gillingham, who was elected as Winnipeg's 44th mayor in October 2022 with a mandate to improve city services, invest in infrastructure projects that enhance economic development, and to tackle the social challenges in our city. Prior to being elected mayor, Scott was a two-term city councilor for the St. James Ward, first elected to Winnipeg City Council in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. Before that, Scott was a pastor for more than 20 years. He and his wife Marla have been married for over 30 years and have two adult children, daughter Hannah and son Andrew. Welcome to this episode. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I see I'm gonna have to update the bio because I now have a daughter-in-law as well. So as of last summer. So yeah, so the family's growing. Amazing. Amazing. So um I don't have much control over this question because it comes from the masses, if you will. People are very curious about the your worship part of how we refer to you. Uh there's a lot of confusion. I understand. It's either your worship, your magical, your your majesty, your excellence. So tell us a little bit to the average citizen, where does that come from? Yeah, for the record, thank you for asking the question. I don't like it. Um, your worship is so it's it's it's old, it's really old English, kind of from the old traditional establishment of municipalities and the office of the mayor. In the United States, the mayor is not called his or her worship, which um I prefer. Yeah, and so it's it's kind of a hangover from bygone eras. The honorific is your worship. I always tell people, I much prefer Scott, or if you have to mayor. Um but it's it's it's the honorific title that comes with the terror that comes with being mayor either in the UK or in um in Canada. Amazing. So I only also ask that question because I I see you cringe every time someone says that. So it's it's good to know. You mentioned my background, right, as a minister. So I'm I keep saying to people of faith who understand me. So whether you're you know Christian or Muslim or Jewish or like there's one worthy of worship, I'm not him. Right. So um, but it it's it's it's this historic uh title that comes with mayor. Amazing, thank you. So we typically start um every episode by asking people what the younger version of them was like. So, what was Scott like growing up? More hair. That's good. In all seriousness, I've I've always been I've always been optimistic. I was my life was sports, especially hockey. Um, our family was really involved in our church. I like I was the typical child, teenager, uh very social kind of guy. Um, I could do school work, but didn't really pay attention in school. You know, I was one of the kids where the parents at parent-teacher interview consistently heard Scott could be a really good student if you just apply himself a little bit, right? There's potential there. Um going into college seminary, things changed because I got serious about school. But yeah, I was just always always an optimistic person who I think always wanted to be and was always involved in some way in being part of something bigger. Yeah. Uh my family for sure. My parents are phenomenal role models. They've always worked, they're retired now, always worked multiple jobs, but they always were involved in volunteering either at the church or some community group to build the community. Even in the retirement, in the last few years, they have helped settle 25 Ukrainian Ukrainians in their community, which is outside of Winnipeg, driving back and forth, you know, driving people to job interviews. So that was always modeled for me. Right. So that was part of my growing up, is to see that in a family committed to to service. Oh, that's very neat. Um it it occurs to me, you know, you talked about being optimistic and being uh you know, having a more positive outlook. As you as you journeyed from being a pastor to the mayor, what what did that look like for you, the optimism? I I think it you you you maintain faith and optimism even in spite of obstacles, in fact, because of obstacles. When we look at the social challenges we see on Winnipeg streets with people struggling in poverty, addiction, uh, homelessness, you look at the the state of the world right now, yeah, with so much division and war and polarization. To me, that's the very time that all of us who have a measure of belief that things can be better need to continue to rally and just the the old proverbial light overcoming darkness. I truly still believe that. And so, you know, like you and others who are people that know that if we do our part, yeah, the good can outweigh the bad, the love can overcome the hate. It's always that's always been part of uh what was taught to me, and I've always embraced that. That's beautiful, and it makes me think of how there's been often times where people have said, you know, that optimism is like it doesn't necessarily help. Like, how can you be so optimistic in despair? And are you in denial almost of how how dark things are? I've always believed that we do need a little bit more optimism, maybe even more than we're currently feeling right now. I think we need to dig a little bit deeper to be able to channel that. I agree. I think it goes, I think it ties into a person's values as well. And so most of us I do live by our values and we're driven by our values, and we kind of I think inevitably end up in tribes with people who have our our value system. Um and so you know, the the optimists, an optimist, I don't think necessarily is unrealistic. An experienced optimist, right? It's it's um just believes that if we continue to work, if we continue to serve, you know, the that that things will will make things better through our efforts. And um that's what I find in this role as being the mayor, I'm ridiculously privileged to get to all different parts of the city with so many different community groups, people groups, faith groups who are doing their part day in, day out to make it better, to make a difference in someone's life. Beautiful. What speaking of our city, um one of the things that we wanted to explore in this season is how cities tell their story. So when we walk into a city, what do we see? What do we feel? Who do we hear? And what does that tell us about that city? When you walk around your city, what do you see? Several stories. One for sure is we are the story of kind of perpetual newcomers, people who come for opportunity. Of course, unless you're um indigenous or of indigenous descent, First Nation, Metis, Inuit, then your family has come here at some point. Right. And so my family came, my dad's family came in 1907. Now the family story is I don't know if it's true, but it makes for a fun story, is that they were on their way, they were going to come through Canada, into Winnipeg, and then head down into the United States for opportunity, but they ran out of money in Winnipeg and we've been here for over 100 years. I don't know if it's true, but it makes for a fun story. But the point of the matter is my dad's side came from England for opportunity. In the early 1900s, of course, Winnipeg was the place to be. It was booming. But when I look around Winnipeg, and especially in the last several years with all the immigration we've had, it's just story after story after story. It's family stories who come for opportunity. Um, and then I often like in Winnipeg to a bit of a tapestry. Because if you know, you know, most people understand a tapestry on the front side, when you look at it, it's beautiful, and there's all these different colored threads, and they're woven together to make an image or a you know a beautiful work of art. You flip it over and look at the back, you've got all these pieces of thread, and they're kind of tied together, and the reds overlap the blues, and there's and that's to me, that's that's what Winnipeg is. It's us working together to see people have opportunity, and each family has their own story. We we do this together to form a community. Oh, that's beautiful. Um, I was gonna ask you what role stories play. So, with thinking of the stories that we hear from newcomers, from people in the city, and there's also visually what we see in our city. Tell me a little bit more about you know, walking, whether that's uh to City Hall or around City Hall. Um, that's where you are. What does that look like for you? If we stay on the story theme, obviously every person's life represents a narrative. And their family history, their experience in life, their family's experience really in many ways determines where we are each at at this moment in time. And so, of course, we'll state the obvious around City Hall, there is a lot of uh evidence of poverty and people struggling in addiction. The the statistics show that it's most, mostly far too often, the 80% First Nations Indigenous people or inui or Metis people. Those of us that have been listening to Canada's history being told the last several years understand the impact of colonialism, the impact of residential schools, and the detrimental ongoing legacy of that. And it still plays out on our streets and the people we see, that's part of their stories. There's also stories, though, of uh, you know, the new sh just the other day looking at we we stopped at you got a bite to eat from a Ukrainian family who's opened a restaurant. That story, who's just come here since the war in Ukraine broke out. Their story is one of uh a brand new beginning and now participating in the economy. And so you just I think just I think it's important for us, and certainly as a mayor, like I can be focused on the policy, the the you know, issues that are burning of the day that we have to deal with. But it's important for me to just always step back and look at each person, whether they're on my staff, a member of the public, and say there's a their life is a narrative. There's there's a story behind them, there's a reason that they're here. Um they have values that have instilled upon them from their upbringing or from their experiences in life. And it's that human to human connection that I think we really have to maintain and hold if we're gonna be a healthy society. I really appreciate that. And as you were talking about the tapestry, one of the other thoughts that was coming in my mind is we we have a responsibility to hold all parts of the stories of our city together. And the parts that are painful, the parts that are celebratory, and parts that are new, old, like all of those parts are very much a part of that fabric. And as a city, that really to me is the challenge and the opportunity is how do we hold all of those nuances together in better ways? That's a good point. And that that takes that takes a lot of work, intentional work, because it it's really easy to be so self-absorbed, so self-centered in our lives as individuals. Yeah. You know, the phones that we that we walk around with in our hands all day don't don't help matters because they in many ways isolate us and just reinforce our own thinking by the algorithms, you know, the way they're they're structured. So being almost kind of counter to what we're experiencing forces me to be attentive to you, you to be attentive to me, and for us to give that space and care enough to truly listen and truly truly try to understand. And I think that's I know that that's part of healthy community. Taking a step back, what inspired the transition from being a pastor to running for running for office? The opportunity to serve the community in a different way. I mean, faith leadership, whether you're a pastor or you're an imam or a you know, a rabbi or whatever the case may be, um, is is about service, service to others, service to community, service to God. And so seeing city council, running for city council is an opportunity to try to do my part to serve the community and um with others to improve the lives of Winnipegs was really the motivation to to step forward and put my name on a ballot. Amazing, amazing. And you were counselor for four years before you ran for eight years. Eight years before. Yeah, two terms before running for mayor. Yeah. And you decided that was gonna be that made sense as the next next step. I had a lot of people encouraging me that uh when the former mayor decided to not run again and there was an open race, I had many people encouraging me to run for for the office of mayor. I'm really, really blessed and thankful that my wife, Marla, and our entire family have been very supportive all the way through this journey. And so we took a risk, as which what anyone who puts their name on a ballot does in 2022 and um had the honor of becoming mayor. Incredible. So, on the theme of stories in your time in office so far, what stories have surprised you about our city? I think I'll go back to what I said and um a moment ago about being mayor has really validated and reinforced in a huge way what I kind of knew. This city is full of fantastic people doing amazing work. And I don't throw the word amazing around carelessly, I throw it around intentionally. There's just a lot of good people not looking for praise, not looking for recognition, who show up every day in their jobs or especially in their volunteer efforts to try to make life better for other people. Right. And I often tell people who are complaining about the city, complaining about issues, yes, I I recognize you have too many potholes. You know, uh it doesn't crime rates. I know we have a lot of potholes exactly. So uh the crime rate's going down, but you might not feel safe, so that's an issue we got to deal with. But I tell people that are maybe down in Winnipeg, I wish you could just follow me. Just hang out with me for two weeks, run my calendar with me, meet the people I meet, go to the events I go to, the little corners and pockets of the city to see the people doing what they're doing. You, you, you'd all the way back to our discussion about optimism, you'd be optimistic. Yeah. Wait, is that an open invitation to it's an open invitation to take a whole busload of folks and just follow me around? That's awesome. That's awesome. So when people come to, and I want to think about this from a representation point of view, is when people come to Winnipeg, um what what do you want them to see? So this is when I'm asking that question, maybe I'm thinking about you know, as a short-term transit point, if you will, or someone comes here for a week or someone decides to move here. Like what what is what is it that we want them to see in our city? I want people to see they belong. I want I want people if they come here, if they're hanging out for a week as a visitor, if they're here. I want people to to in feel that they can, that they fit here, that they belong here. There's space for them here. This could be their community. Uh one of the neat things right outside my office that we get to do, so outside my office doors is the mayor's foyer. And one of the neat things we get to do somewhat regularly is invite uh the people who are doing citizenship ceremonies. Yeah. To do a citizenship ceremony at City Hall. It's moving. I haven't gone through once yet, and I've been through many where I don't cry because it's just so moving to see the people uh that have come from all parts of the world, and they think they have the world by the tail because they're now Canadian citizens. They invite me to you know make some comments at each one of those ceremonies, and I always tell people, this is your community. Shape it. And I always tell people from different cultures don't, you know, you heard the melting pot. Don't be a melting pot. Yeah, yeah, we don't. Don't be a melting pot. Pass on your story, your culture, your your dress, your dance, your recipes. Make sure you pass on the recipes. For sure the recipes, because the recipes are really good. Um your values. Continue to pass that to next generation because we I just want people to feel and sense that Winnipeg is home, it's family, it's where they belong. You know, that reminds me of my citizenship ceremony, and it was oh, it was a tornado of emotions. So it's everything. And I remember looking around the room. Um, and it takes a long time and a lot of effort to get there. I remember looking around the room and seeing such emotions flowing from everyone. And it was really complicated as well, because on the one hand, you're now a Canadian citizen. On the other hand, your entire life flashes before your eyes for all the difficult journey that people have gone through to get there. And then there was this like complicated element for me personally, coming from Pakistan, thinking about um, you know, colonization and the history of colonization and what that meant, and the words that were coming out of my mouth as I become a Canadian citizen. So there was there's a lot that goes on. Um, but it it truly is a very special ceremony, and I like that it's happening in more than more than one place, if you will, that we've picked a few different few different venues for it, and yeah. I'm always inspired by like new Canadians or people that you know maybe even haven't become citizens yet. And some obviously, you know, we're we're a country that should take in refugees and and give people a place of safety and shelter and refuge. But the especially the people that have intentionally chosen to leave their country, made a conscious decision. To me, those are some of the bravest people in this city. Because you make a decision as a family to leave your family, your friends, your culture, community, everything that is known to you to come to a place that's really cold. Really cold for a lot of years, a lot of months of the year. But it's it's completely foreign. And maybe you don't speak the language, um, you don't know the culture, but those to me are visionary people, such visionary people, because most often they're doing it not for themselves, but you talk to them. It's like, well, it's for the future generations for our kids and grandkids. Yeah. My son used to play soccer with um, our son used to play soccer with a couple boys uh from Afghanistan. And, you know, there is that the parents had left Afghanistan during that time, found jobs here, didn't speak the language. Well, now the children that are my son's age, you know, one's an engineer, one's a pharmacist. I mean, they're just making these phenomenal, they've through they're thriving here, making outstanding contributions to the community, still involved in, you know, um their their their faith community, their mosque, and improving the lives of other people. But it just that one that decision, one generation prior, that bold decision, visionary decision. Decision by mom and dad to come is translating into a whole life of opportunity for people. It is one of the hardest decisions for anybody to make. I remember, you know, my parents had left uh Lahore to go to Abu Dhabi, to UAE, to be the breadwinners for the family. And so, you know, they carried with them that sort of that grief of having left the homeland. And we've stayed very, very connected with our homeland over the years. And then there was like this decision of what this looks like. And um, like it is definitely one of the hardest decisions to make. And when you when you were talking about belonging, uh, and going back to the idea of a nuance, we we can't forget that yes, people have made new lives, beautiful lives here, and also they miss home. And there's always this fight between two worlds that really plays into belonging. So, my like the next question that I have for you is how do you navigate that as a leader where you see people from so many different parts of the world, and seemingly their lives here are beautiful, gorgeous, well-settled, um, you know, financially steady, but there's turbulence at home. And how does that play out here? Thank you for the questions, because that's probably one of the most difficult aspects of my role as the mayor, is that just as you described, people have come from all parts of the world. They're Winnipegers now, many of them are Canadians, but there's still a home. And when there's war and conflict uh and instability, that inevitably bleeds into Winnipeg. And so you've got people groups uh of uh and uh cultures and nationalities who obviously want whether it's the Middle East, whether it'd be just Africa, like where you've got these historic conflicts at home, as it were, that have flared up again in various ways, that inevitably impacts Winnipegers who are from those respective regions. And and they'll come to me and say, Mr. Mayor, you know, we need you to make a statement on this. And then the other community will come and say, No, we need you to make a statement on this. And so it becomes um it becomes a challenge to navigate. And it's not about me, it's just because I look at them and say, like, your family members are starving, literally, or dying, or getting squeezed out politically, getting squeezed out economically at home. So it's to to a bit different, but so so it's hard, it's it's that that becomes a challenge. That just absolutely becomes a challenge because you know, my um my heart truly goes out. And you, as mayor, I don't always know what the right thing to say or the right thing to do. I'll be honest, I don't always know what the right thing to say or do is. Try to listen and be present. A bit different, but I'll give you a story. At City Hall, we have this one gentleman who um cleans at night, and I'm often, you know, one of the last persons to leave, or get so I'll see him and talk to him on the way out. And one day I stopped and talked to him. He's from another country, and he works two jobs, his wife works two jobs. The reason they work is because they send each send one paycheck home. Right? Yeah, that's the the narrative, that's their story. So I think looking at him through those eyes of understanding, compassion, and trying to know his story, I believe hopefully makes me an more empathetic person. Yeah. And have a greater appreciation for just the the journeys that people are on and the hard work that they're doing. Yeah, that's beautiful. How do we, and you know I'm a huge believer of building more compassion in our city. You're leading the way, thank you. And um, yeah, we all do our part. What does it look like? Like I really appreciate the story you shared about, you know, this person working two jobs, and I'm that's the story of so many families. I don't know if that's the story that most of Winnipeg knows, though, or has space. So how do we get that story to the average Winnipegger? What does that look like? I I think a little bit like what we're doing right here is the conversation. If we can invite people to come to the table, have a cup of tea, and listen. And I'm a politician, I spend a lot of time talking. Right. To remind myself to listen, but I think just in our day-to-day lives, listening. I mean, I can't remember exactly how the saying goes, it's an old saying, but basically the it's it's it's something to the effect of um the one of the best ways to eradicate uh racism is to travel. I th when we sit around the table with people of other communities, other cultures, other walks of life, and listen and look each other in the eye, human to human, and say, okay, what is your story? A lot of the ignorance falls by the wayside. The appreciation grows. Right. And we may not agree, but that doesn't matter. At least we've heard one another, and there's a mutual respect for the other, a level, you know, inequality. So I think to your question of how do we increase compassion, I think it's it's it's conversation. When I was pastor years ago, I remember doing a whole um study or uh uh study, a series of messages on the power of the table, the culture. Okay. What if you get invited to someone's home who's not from your community, what's the first thing they do? Come, sit at the table and eat, and we're gonna break bread together. Almost doesn't matter the culture. Yeah. It right, the table is often the center of life. Yeah. And so I think it's I I never underestimate the power of the of the table. Just that's we don't know each other, but let's sit together, let's have a meal, let's break bread, let's share tea. Yeah, let's have conversation. I I I think that's a a powerful opportunity to transform a community. It really is. What can the city do? And by city here I mean city hall. Um and I know there's lots of incredible organizations that are working towards, you know, how do we build more compassion? How do we build, how do we bring people's stories together and so on? What role do you see for City Hall in in fostering that? I I I think just like we're talking about in supporting and encouraging and standing with those in our community, like yourself and others who want to who wanna facilitate those kind of conversations. Government can't be the answer to all things. We just can't. Yeah. Governments can legislate, City Hall can I can come up with the snazziest, greatest, newest policies. It's not gonna change a heart. Right? The only thing that's gonna change attitudes and hearts and minds is getting to know one another and you know, back to the store, our our our respective stories and the journeys we're on and just having an appreciation. Yeah. And it's not about getting everyone to agree. Yeah. It's about raising that level of respect for the other and attention to the other. And so I think part of my role is to use the power of my office to convene that to support those who are doing that kind of work. Oh, that's amazing. What does it look like when you imagine Winnipeg like 10 years from now? What is a city you imagine? No potholes. No. I don't think that's we make no such promises. We make no promises here. No, yeah, that's right. Um, and winter isn't coming ever again. Um no, in in all seriousness, inevitably we are every city has always had challenges. There's always going to be, there's always going to be challenges. It's just, we're people, right? That's our human story. But with this kind of work that we're talking about, I think a place where there is more appreciation for, compassion for, capacity for the other. I I hope that the uh isolation and vitriol and polarization that we see in our society right now, I hope people just get tired of that and say, you know, there's a there's a better way. And um that that loses some of its hold right now and the damage it's doing to our communities, and that we're back to just making that those intentional efforts that the the next generation of people, I hope, is wanting to be part of sharing in and building uh the community in a way that honors other people. Yeah. It's you know, a huge part of my life's work has been how do we unother the other in societies and communities and families, and I haven't found the secret sauce yet. Um but I just keep thinking, you know, there's the personal person-to-person connection that is obviously really important, and we have to make that effort. But there's also when I think of the role of the government, for example, um, I'm doing my part to build connection, and often it's curious that I said often, I was gonna say sometimes, often it's exhausting. It's exhausting to come from a racialized background and be the one to help build, you know, better understanding. And it's almost it almost skirts that line between I'm helping you help see me differently. So, yeah, maybe I'll ask the question again is there something that the government can do to help that other side do a little bit better? So we're not just burdening you know, the racialized community with that like reaching out, if you will. I think through some of the policies that have been established and changed, like at the city hall, for example, the equity and diversity and inclusion policy, there's some pushback against those policies. I understand that. Right. But by saying no, this is the kind of, for example, this is the kind of city workforce that we want, one that is more reflective of the the diverse makeup of our community when we have intentional focus within our um our hiring practices at at police. It's not about it's not about um excluding those who, in this case, would maybe be you know traditionally like a Caucasian. No, it's about do we have our eyes open to make sure other people have the opportunity? I was meeting with in 2022, was meeting with uh a Comey, the African Communities of Manitoba, Inc., during the campaign. And they said, we just want opportunity for our kids in the summer. How do we find out what summer jobs are available? So we just made sure that they had access to the website and the summer job postings when they came out. That's been transformative for that community. Right. So now some of our summer students the last couple of years, that that whole workforce is more reflective of our community. It's not just about working, but when you're working side by side, I'll go back to that. When you're working side by side with someone, you're not just talking about the work, you're talking about, oh, so what did you do? Yeah. Oh, you're why are you off tomorrow? Oh, it's my religious holiday. Okay, tell me about that. Right. Yeah. And so after working side by side with someone for months, years, years, they're just you're breaking bread together. You're just breaking bread together. Yeah. You're just two co-workers who have a better understanding of one another's lives. So, all that to say, like sometimes there are some policies of the city that can help to kind of foster that transformation. Yeah. I just really appreciate that there is a lot more eye on that as um as a need for our city. And I think to me, that is what helps us tell the story of our city. That we we care about people, we want to build a city where everybody feels like they belong, whatever belonging looks like for them. I remember years ago, my parents, we were talking a little bit earlier about winter, and my parents were contemplating moving to Winnipeg. They made the mistake of coming here in in October, and so they stayed here for six months. And by the end of the six months, I said to them that I think you guys should go back because the bread slices were too thick and the chicken was too big, and you had to call and you know make an appointment to go visit someone as opposed to just show up. And there were so many cultural things that would not have been a good fit for them, and the winter didn't help that situation. But we really need that narrative of how do we build a city where everybody feels like they they belong. If I can ask you then, coming like from Pakistan, where you describe that, that people just showed up someone's just gonna come and you put the T on, and we're gonna have just like because there's a there's a there's a beauty to that. I grew up in a home where it was similar, people just showed up, yeah, and we just put more food on the table. It's different now, it's absolutely different. So, but for for you, how has that transition been, if I can ask? Because you're probably trying to hold on and honor to all that was dear and really, really good, and you want to replicate it, but yet it's just different here. Yeah, and I think that's a great question. And I think there's a there's a fine line between nostalgia and thinking of you know the old times and how things used to be, and then taking a step back to say, what about that did I actually like? And it wasn't the fact that you just showed up, it was that when you showed up, there was hospitality. Right. So to me, that says we can go deeper and host with more intention. And when we host, we can show our guests that my goodness, you are so welcome here. Yeah. And thank you for taking the time to spend together. Um, you know, that reminds me, my Miyagi, my great-grandfather, would often say that the way they would send invitations to someone to come visit was please come increase in our barakah, our blessing. Oh, okay. So it was this idea that when you had, when you hosted a guest, it would just like create community abundance. So when I think about, you know, the idea of just showing up, to me, that's what I take away from it is the intention behind being able to connect with community when you need it. So if someone's just showing up, they were thinking about you. Right. And what else can we do to be intentional about expressing that we are thinking about each other as community? And those are very tangible things that we can do more of in our community. Now, I I agree. I'm gonna, I'm now I'm gonna sound, you know, maybe date myself, but my wife and I are having the discussion the other day about the change in some building designs where some apartments and buildings are only built with um kitchens that have peninsulas or islands with stools on them. There's no there's no dining room table. So what you've got is inevitable, right? What's what's a peninsula with stools? We're both gonna look this way. We're not gonna look at each other, we're gonna look this way, and there's not even a table to sit at. And right to me, anyways, I've who grew up always around the table with my family and others, I think that's that's a miss because I think it's about it's about fostering. You want to foster this, really. Yeah, you know, uh, for for the sake of the health of the family, for the sake of the kids, for the sake of inviting inviting others. So yeah, just a little more intentional. But anyways, yeah, just a little more intentional. Right. And and something like that is well, that's actually from a design perspective, that's not a good design because it doesn't actually contribute to contribute to building community and nurturing, nurturing connections. Yeah. What what's next for you? Well, the time of this interview or this conversation, I should say, um, we're right into election season. So in five five and a half months is the is the election date, the end of October 2026. So I'm running for re-election. Want to continue on with a lot of the work, the projects we've started, but want to continue to the privilege of partnering with community members to build Winnipeg. So that's really the focus right now is uh is turning our heads toward the campaign and then telling the story of all of the good things that have happened and being honest about the things that were that are a real challenge that we haven't overcome yet, that we're not as far along the journey of achieving some of the goals as I wanted to. Um, but that's that's the focus over the next several months is just um hopefully getting to the place to uh be elected again to continue in this role of uh that I'm honored to be in. Great. Well, you're doing a great job on social media. Um I'm very curious about how you feel about recording videos. Does that come naturally to you? Um some do, some don't. Okay, sometimes my staff just staff are just they just trust us, Scott. Just trust us, Mr. Mayor, trust us, okay. What do you got me doing today? But they're again when it when it when it comes to uh social media, they have a better sense of uh what's popular right now. Takes a team that absolutely takes a team. Yeah, and if that's another thing I knew, but has really been impressed on me over the three and a half years in this role. Is there's one mayor in the city, but no one mayor can do any of it without a team of of great people, talented people doing uh you know, pulling their their their weight and doing their part. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for taking the time. It was great to get to know you a little bit better and sharing your story. So thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity.