How long have you been living in Thompson?
I came into Thompson March 2015.
What do you do for a living?
I work as a purchasing agent for the City of Thompson. I’ve been working for the city for the past two years plus. Currently, I’m on a leave of absence because according to the Municipal Act any municipal employee that wants to run for office needs to go on a leave of absence by the last day of nominations.
Why do you want to be on city council?
It’s quite interesting because, like I said, when I gave up my job temporarily, and for four years if I win, that means that I’m not getting any income, any wages for that period. So I believe it’s a sacrifice I should pay to make my contributions to the city where I reside.
What is the biggest local issue you want to address if you’re elected?
I have a couple of things I want to do, but I think the main one is actually to look for alternative sources of income for the city. Everything revolves around money … so based on what the city is going through, dwindling revenue from the government and from Vale, the grant-in-lieu, I believe that there are other sources of income that I could tap into. So that would be my number one goal.
Why should someone vote for you over the other candidates?
Number one, my training as an economist at the undergraduate level really prepared me for the job. Definitely my experience also [working] in the public sector will give me very, very good advantages of how things are run. I’ve also run in the private sector. In Winnipeg I worked in a very big company. So my training, my experience and my passion, I believe they will really help me stand out when compared to others.
Anything else you want to add?
I want my fellow Thompsonites to give me a chance because I’m really passionate about serving and I’m going into it because I have the mind to serve, I have the mind to see our city take a turn for the good.
