Marty Morantz campaign headquarters on 611 Roblin Boulevard was buzzing with excitement on the eve of election night October 22, 2014, as supporters  filed in as news reports officially declared him victorious in the seat of Charleswood-Tuxedo.  Morantz   won the race with 6, 281 votes, some 500 votes over closest competitor Evan Duncan.

The fifty two year old Morantz, a businessman, lawyer and a well-known philanthropist in both the Jewish and general communities, greeted and thanked volunteers and supporters who arrived at his campaign headquarters, including former Premier of Manitoba Gary Filmon, thanking them for "everything you have done in this campaign."  

Morantz noted that his six hours a day of door knocking and listening to peoples' concerns had given him a very clear picture of what voters in his ward were concerned about. 

"While there have been many great things that have happened in our city over the last ten years, as I went door knocking,  I heard that the biggest concern of voters is the state of our infrastructure, crumbling roads, and back lanes, street curbs, and other city owned assets, such as community centers and parks," Morantz told the Winnipeg Jewish Review. 

"It's about fixing the basics," Morantz added.

At a panel discussion with election candidates sponsored by B'nai B'rith, moderated by David Matas which the Winnipeg Jewish Review attended, Morantz spoke of the need to always be vigilant against anti-semitism in the city, referring to the anti-semitic posters which appeared in downtown Winnipeg last year, and he spoke highly of the work being done by the Canadian Institute  for the Study  of Anti-semitism founded by Dr. Catherine Chatterley .

At the event law student Josh Morry asked candidates whether they would speak out against  Israel Apartheid Week if it were allowed on the University of Manitoba campus  in 2015 by  the U of M administration. Last spring the U of M  allowed Israel Apartheid Week to take place on U of M campus in a location not controlled by the UMSU (University of Manitoba Student Union). This was the case, notwithstanding that UMSU had adopted a motion put forth by Josh Morry, that banned SIAW (Students Against Israel Apartheid) and IAW. Morantz said he would speak out against IAW if it were to be allowed this year on U of M. (Jon Orlikow, who was re-elected in the River Heights ward also said that he would speak out against it).

One of the people who went door knocking with Morantz was longtime CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg Bob Freedman, who retired recently.

As television reporters arrived to Morantz's campaign offices on election eve, Morantz campaign manager Michael Kowalson, volunteers and supporters burst into cheers. 

Morantz, who holds a B.A. in political studies from the U of M, and a law degree (LL.B.) from Osgoode Hall Law School,  and was a partner at Levene Tadman,  practicing in the areas of real estate, corporate, commercial, and wills and estates , said,  "I am a constructive problem solver who will work tirelessly on behalf of this city.” 

Morantz told a variety of news outlets who arrived at his campaign headquarters,  that he looks forward to  working with Winnipeg's new mayor, Brian Bowman, and it  was clear that many if not all of the Morantz team of volunteers had all supported Bowman. 

"I think he will be a transformational mayor," Morantz said to reporters, and thanked his wife Lisa and his two "amazing sons" Jeremy and Nathan, noting he could not have pulled off a victory without the support of his loving family. (Morantz's mother Pearl was nearby as was his brother and sister-in-law Richard and Sheree Walder Morantz.)

At Morantz headquarters, as supporters from the Italian, Jewish and East Indian community filed in, people talked about the fact that Morantz won handily in the Tuxedo neighborhood, where in the polling stations such as Shaftesbury and Laidlaw, he literally trounced on all of the other the 4 candidates. 

If elections are about getting the vote out, the Morantz team's political machine headed up by Kowalson had certainly accomplished this.  

As one Morantz supporter from the Italian community said, "Going into this election, Whyte Ridge was wide open, no one knew any of the candidates and it could have gone to anyone. We campaigned hard there and after a lot of hard work at the doors, Marty took Whyte Ridge. We needed that to win."

Although there were media outlets that were predicting that Morantz's closest competitor would be Luc Lewandowski, the Morantz team said they knew that Evan Duncan would be their closest competitor.

"In Charleswood, Evan Duncan won, but Marty got about 30% of the vote, which we were pleased with," a Morantz campaigner told the WJR. Another predicted that by virtue of Morantz's education, commitment, and skill set,   he anticipated that Morantz's star would continue to rise, and indeed he would become a very influential member on City Council.

A little later in the evening after  television crews had left, Morantz supporters broke into cheers as Alex Forest,  the head of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg arrived. "We couldn't have done it without you Alex," one of them shouted, in recognition of the fact that Morantz was one of the candidates endorsed by the firefighters union as being able "to support us and our ability to provide proper emergency services to the City of Winnipeg and make decisions that will allow us to do our job safely."

Towards the end of the evening, a core of Morantz's campaign crew went to the Bowman campaign celebration at the Inn of the Forks, to personally congratulate the Mayor. 

Morantz replaces Paula Havixbeck, who became the councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo after winning a seven-candidate race to succeed 27-year city council veteran Bill Clement following his death in 2010.  Morantz last ran for office as a PC candidate during the 2011 provincial election against Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard, where he learned a lot about local issues and concerns. Morantz noted that Havixbeck, who lost in the Mayoral race, was a very capable councillor and wished her well. 

Going into the election campaign for City Councillor, Morantz served on the board of Community Respite Services, the Refit Centre Foundation Finance Committee and Shalom Residences Assisted Living. He is also a past board member of the Manitoba Families for Effective Autism Treatment (MFEAT).

Morantz and his family have made major contributions to projects like the Saul Morantz Building at the Simkin Centre, the CMHR, Community Respite Services, and the U of W.

As parents of a child with a disability (Autism), Lisa and Marty Morantz have also contributed to the construction of the Variety Heritage Adventure Playground at the Forks, and have established the Nathan Morantz Autism Research Fund through Queen’s University.