Mike Vogiatzakis insists he should be a mayoral contender

Mike Vogiatzakis says he should be a contender in Winnipeg's mayoral race, as he believes hehas enough signatures fromvoters to be an official candidate.

Vogiatzakis filed his nomination papers with the city clerk's office just before the 4:30 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, but officials told him he didn't have enough eligible signatures.

All mayoral candidates needed 250 signatures from registered voters in order to qualify. Vogiatzakis said he was told that he was 58 signatures short, as some were disqualified.

Vogiatzakistold CBC News on Wednesday that he had two campaign staff members compare the voters' list provided by the City of Winnipeg to the list of signatures on his nomination papers.

He said a number of signatures should not have been disqualified.

Vogiatzakis said he has tried to contact the city clerk's office on Wednesday to talk about the situation, but he said staff are not returning his calls.

He added that he also spoke to Mayor Sam Katz about the issue, but Vogiatzakis wouldn't elaborate on what Katz told him.

Vogiatzakis said he's not sure what his next move will be. He has said he would consider hiring a lawyer to challenge the decision from the clerk's office.