My Vision for Northwood and Thunder Bay

I have spent a lot of years talking about City Hall.

Sometimes I agreed with what Council was doing. Sometimes I didn't. And sometimes, after reading the reports and looking at the numbers, the only reasonable question was: Why?

That hasn't changed.

What has changed is that instead of talking about those decisions from behind a microphone, I am asking the people of Northwood for the opportunity to have a seat at the table when those decisions are made.

So, what is my vision for Northwood and Thunder Bay?

It starts with something that isn't particularly flashy.

Get the basics right.

In Northwood, that means roads, sidewalks, drainage, traffic, parks, snow clearing, neighbourhood safety and infrastructure.

Nobody is going to cut a ribbon because a drainage problem finally gets fixed. There probably won't be a news conference because a sidewalk was repaired. But if you live on that street, walk on that sidewalk or have water pooling where it shouldn't every spring, it matters.

That's municipal government.

I want Northwood residents to know what work is planned for their neighbourhood, when it's supposed to happen and where it sits on the City's priority list.

If it's five years away, tell us it's five years away.

If it's delayed, tell us why.

And if we keep spending money patching the same problem over and over again, maybe somebody at the Council table should ask whether we're actually saving any money.

I intend to ask.

The same philosophy applies to the rest of Thunder Bay.

We have some big decisions ahead of us. Aging infrastructure, increasing demands on City services, economic development, public safety, homelessness and significant financial pressures aren't going away because we'd rather talk about something easier.

At the same time, there is a limit to what taxpayers can afford.

I've said it before and I still believe it: every dollar the City spends started as somebody else's dollar.

That doesn't mean the answer to every proposal should be no. Sometimes spending money today prevents us from spending considerably more tomorrow.

But we should be asking some pretty basic questions before approving the cheque.

Do we need it?

Is it a priority?

Can we afford it?

Is there a better way?

And what is it going to cost us five, ten or twenty years from now?

Those aren't unreasonable questions. In fact, I would argue they're exactly the questions Council is elected to ask.

I also want a Thunder Bay that welcomes investment and makes it easier for people to build businesses, create jobs and invest in this community. A stronger private sector and a growing tax base benefit everyone.

And City Hall needs to do a better job communicating.

Transparency isn't putting a 300-page report on a website and telling everyone the information is available.

Explain it.

What are we doing? What does it cost? Why are we doing it? What alternatives were considered? What happens next?

People may not agree with every decision I make as a councillor. That's democracy.

But you'll know why I made it.

My vision isn't complicated.

Take care of what we own. Plan before something becomes a crisis. Spend carefully. Welcome growth. Communicate clearly. Ask questions. Expect answers.

And when something doesn't make sense?

Ask why.

That's where I've always started.