[6] Vandal subsequently became a youth worker at Winnipeg's Mamawiwichiitata Centre, and received a degree in Social Work from the University of Manitoba.

[7] He was vice-president of the Old St. Boniface Residents Association in the 1990s, and campaigned against the proposed construction of a stadium for Sam Katz's Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team in Whittier Park.

[9] In 1996, Vandal and Murray served on an ad hoc social services committee that held a series of public hearings on federal and provincial welfare cuts.

[10] He later saved the Pointe Hebert neighbourhood in his ward from being turned into parkland,[11] and was chosen to sit on the city's newly formed property and development committee in November 1997.

[16] In February 1997, Vandal introduced a motion to create a municipal aboriginal affairs committee that would address issues of crime prevention and health.

In July 2000, the city and the province announced a deal with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to provide five new ambulances and thirty new paramedics, with a ceiling on municipal costs.

[25] Vandal promoted a plan to turn over some police responsibilities to civilian control in 1999, both to reduce costs and to free up more officers for front-line duty.

[26] He later supported a plan to introduce photo radar to catch speeding drivers,[27] and endorsed a 2000 report that called for three fire stations to be closed to provide increased funding for paramedic services.

[31] Vandal was chair of the property and development committee when Wal-Mart announced that it had found suitable land for a new establishment in north Winnipeg.

Vandal argued that this announcement validated council's decision to reject the initial application, which he said would have cost the city an extra $20 million.

[38] Vandal believed that St. Boniface could be developed as a vibrant French Quarter for Winnipeg, and supported tax credits as a means of encouraging this outcome.

[40] Vandal was the only member of Murray's cabinet to support a compromise with local anti-poverty groups to remove the most contentious aspects of an anti-panhandling by-law in 1999.

[44] There were rumours that Vandal would run as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in a federal by-election in St. Boniface in 2002, but he declined to pursue the option.

[46] Vandal was promoted to Deputy Mayor of Winnipeg in a November 2003 cabinet shuffle, while remaining chair of the property and development committee and receiving additional responsibility for implementing the city's aboriginal strategy.

[47] In 2004, Vandal indicated his support for Prime Minister Paul Martin's plan to divert a portion of Canada's Goods and Services Tax revenue to municipal infrastructure.

[48] In late 2003, Vandal requested that hockey legend and franchise owner Mario Lemieux consider bringing the Pittsburgh Penguins to Winnipeg.

[55] His campaign launch was introduced by Tina Keeper, and his supporters included John Angus, Jenny Gerbasi, Lillian Thomas and Mary Richard, as well as the Winnipeg Labour Council and local anti-poverty activists.

[64] Vandal has also criticized Katz and council for not moving forward with educational and employment opportunities for aboriginal youth, despite having allocated funds for such programs.

[68] Vandal called for a public inquiry into the finances Riverside Park Management in late 2008, after the city erased $233,000 from the organization's back taxes.

[70] In late 2007, Vandal helped create a new city park named after Elzéar Goulet, who was a member of Louis Riel's provisional government in 1869-70.

Vandal believes that this position will help open a dialog and advocate for the reforms to enhance protection of vulnerable women by giving them a voice.