Jorge Requena Ramos
City Councillor Candidate for River Heights–Fort Garry
Respect, Collaboration, Inclusion, Kindness, and Creativity are some of the things I’ll bring to City Hall.
PLATFORM
Building the Winnipeg We Want to Live In
I want us to ask a bigger question.
What kind of city do we want to build?
The best communities aren't built by politicians or governments alone. They're built by neighbours who know one another, care for one another, and believe they can shape the future of the place they call home. River Heights-Fort Garry is a collection of unique and dreamy neighbourhoods surrounded by mature trees, natural wildlife and bordering the Red and the Assiniboine. This is something we must fight to maintain. I know we can build the city of our dreams, but only if we build it together. For me, the answer begins with community. I'm inviting you to see community as more than a nice idea. I'm inviting you to see it as the foundation that lets us build a better city. Building great communities is our goal. Community is at the root of every solution. Over the past two decades, I've had the privilege of working alongside artists, volunteers, small businesses, neighbourhood organizations, and community leaders across Winnipeg. My work has never really been about managing organizations - it has always been about bringing people together. I've seen what happens when people feel connected. Communities become stronger, local businesses thrive. Neighbours look out for one another, children grow up feeling like they belong, and public infrastructure becomes a gathering place. I believe we can solve some of the many challenges in crime, traffic, infrastructure, mobility, and populational growth by centering our solutions around Community - and any action we take must prioritize the health of our local environment. This concept should be the north star that guides every decision we make at City Hall. Here is why.
Community includes everyone.
It includes Indigenous communities, newcomers like me, queer folks, long-time residents, children, seniors, people living with disabilities, and families of every kind. Every commuter, every pedestrian, every driver. We should all feel included. When people feel included, they invest in the places where they live, they volunteer, they support local businesses, they care for parks and trees. That's why inclusion isn't simply a social value. It is an investment giving tangible value to our infrastructure.
People deserve dignity.
Too often, we talk about addiction, homelessness, and crime as though they are separate issues. In reality, they are deeply connected. Poverty is at the root of all crime and addiction. It makes it harder for people to find housing, employment, and stability, opening the door to crime. If we only respond after someone reaches a crisis point and commits a crime, we will continue treating symptoms instead of addressing causes. Any crime prevention strategy that doesn’t focus on poverty is flawed. Fighting poverty is fighting crime in the long term. Fighting poverty is the best way to ensure our kids will enjoy a place with less crime in the future.
We need to approach these challenges with both compassion and accountability. People struggling with addiction deserve dignity, access to treatment, housing, and opportunities to rebuild their lives. Families deserve safe neighbourhoods. These goals are not in conflict. In fact, they depend on one another. Every neighbourhood in the city is connected.
I believe our city should invest more in partnerships with community organizations that support affordable housing, advocate for stronger mental health and addictions services, and work with other levels of government to address the root causes of poverty. These strategies may seem like a charity but they are really an investment into safer neighbourhoods in our ward and the rest of the city.
The strength of a community is measured by how we care for one another - especially those facing the greatest challenges. A city where more people have the opportunity to belong is a city that is healthier, safer, and stronger for everyone.
Healthy Neighbourhoods Create Vibrancy
Our infrastructure should make it easy to be healthy, that means creating communities where walking to school, cycling to work, meeting a friend at a local café, spending time in a park, or taking transit are safe, practical, and enjoyable choices. It isn't about cars versus bikes. It's about giving people more ways to move safely through their community and opportunities to connect with one another and patronize the local businesses around them. Sometimes the most powerful change is also the simplest.
Slow down. Meet your neighbours.
Research continues to show that walkable communities support healthier lifestyles while also strengthening local economies. More people walking through neighbourhood shopping districts means more customers for the independent businesses that make places like Academy Road, Grant Avenue, and Corydon Avenue special. These aren't simply commercial streets, they're gathering places. They're cafés where friendships begin, bookstores where conversations happen, and the local businesses that give our communities their identity. Supporting these places isn't just good economic policy. It's community-building and it makes life in them better. Furthermore, research shows that walkable neighbourhoods support better transit systems. This means being more present in our community has immense power.
Caring for the Environment Means Caring for One Another
One of the greatest gifts River Heights-Fort Garry has inherited is its urban forest. Our mature trees cool our streets, improve air quality, absorb stormwater, capture carbon, support biodiversity, and make our communities among the most beautiful in Winnipeg. Protecting that legacy is a direct investment in our future.
We should protect and expand our tree canopy, strengthen green infrastructure, improve our parks and green spaces, and prepare our communities for a changing climate. The environment isn't separate from our neighbourhoods, it is part of what makes them healthy, resilient, and beautiful.
We have a responsibility to protect it.
Building Community at City Hall
People often ask me how one City Councillor can accomplish ambitious goals while working alongside fourteen other councillors, each representing different communities and different priorities. The answer is the same one that runs throughout this platform. Community.
Community doesn't stop at the edge of a neighbourhood. It should exist inside City Hall, too. I've spent my career bringing people together around a shared vision. I've learned that lasting change happens when people build relationships, earn trust, and focus on what they have in common instead of where they disagree. That's exactly what our City Council was designed to do.
No single councillor can transform Winnipeg alone, and no neighbourhood succeeds in isolation. The best ideas come from listening, collaborating, and building partnerships across the city. River Heights-Fort Garry is deeply connected to every other community in Winnipeg, and our success depends on the success of the city as a whole.
If I'm elected, I'll work with colleagues from every part of Winnipeg, regardless of political perspective, because good ideas don't belong to one person or one ward. The job is to build enough trust that good ideas can move forward.
The same values that build strong neighbourhoods - respect, inclusion, collaboration, and kindness - are the values I will bring to City Hall. Because if we want a stronger Winnipeg, we have to start by building a stronger council.
Planning for the Next Generation
One question continues to guide me:
Will our children choose to stay here?
Will they be able to afford to live in River Heights-Fort Garry, find opportunity, build friendships, raise families, and create lives here? Will they feel proud to call Winnipeg home?
Those questions should inform how we make decisions at City Hall. Great cities are built intentionally. I know I'm not alone in wanting a Winnipeg that is inclusive, connected, sustainable, and vibrant. I also know we won't get there by trying to become somewhere else. I love who Winnipeggers are. We are resilient. We are creative. We are compassionate. We know how to come together when it matters most.
Now it's time to become the very best version of ourselves and that starts by building stronger communities.
Together, I believe we can build the Winnipeg we all want to live in.