Staff
Fort Frances voters will have no shortage of candidates to choose from once they receive their mail-in ballots during the week of Oct. 6.
As of the nomination deadline on Friday at 2 p.m., a total of 16 candidates are running for the six seats on town council.
The final candidate to file his name before the deadline was Allan T. Bedard, who told the Times he has many concerns he’d like to see addressed if elected.
Bedard said he questions decisions council has made during the past two terms, both in regards to concessions made to Resolute and developments such as the new Huffman Court subdivision.
His first priority would be to call for a forensic audit of the town, and every councillor would be required to undergo financial management training.
“We ought not be in the business of private development or private enterprise with tax dollars,” Bedard argued.
“I’m not talking fraud—I’m talking about waste,” he stressed.
Bedard added he wants to see “proper spending, full transparency, accountability, optimizing cash flow, and a better allocation of resources.”
He said he also has a strategy to address Resolute and the taxes refunded to them by the town, and will push forward to work with stakeholders to create a new economic interest here.
“Of significant concern to me is our local mill,” Bedard remarked.
“There is still a future life left in this mill and it ought to be running with or without Resolute,” he noted.
“The removal of timber rights from Resolute is necessary to an external buyer if this mill is ever to run again,” Bedard stressed.
“Steps must be taken to maintain the integrity of the mill,” he added.
“It should be expropriated before it is allowed to be dismantled for scrap or torn down like the Kenora mill.”
The local advocate for Seniors Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse (SRAPEA) said he also has concerns about the current operation of the Sister Kennedy Centre here.
He would like to remove council-appointed board members and councillors from the centre’s board, and instead see all future board members elected from the seniors and handicapped patrons so they can run it and determine their own programming.
If elected, Bedard said he won’t participate in closed-door meetings that do not meet the requirements of legislation, and give adequate time to any taxpayer, group, or business that wants to air concerns to council.
He also has a tax credit plan that, if adopted by council, will offset the cost of high taxes to low-income earners who are finding it difficult to pay.
As well, he supports affordable assisted living for all in need regardless of income level.
Bedard said he’s happy that a large group of interested candidates filed to run in the Oct. 27 election.
“It validates to me to that community is saying loud and clear that it is time for a big change on council,” he remarked.
The other 15 candidates for council include incumbents John Albanese, Doug Kitowski, Ken Perry, and Paul Ryan.
They are joined by Dan Belluz, Wendy Brunetta, June Caul, Eric Fagerdahl, Jennifer Greenhalgh, Ed Haglund, Jennifer Horton, Harold Huntley, Joe Kneisz, Scott Krienke-Turvey, and Charleen Mallory.
Meanwhile, incumbent Roy Avis, Coun. Andrew Hallikas, and former mayor Dan Onichuk are vying for the mayor’s chair.
On the education front, there are guaranteed elections for both the local public and separate school boards.
David Kircher (incumbent), Raymond Roy, Stephen Sinclair, and Rudolf Zeitlhofer are running for the two Fort Frances/Mine Centre seats on the Rainy River District School Board.
Anne-Marie Fitzgerald (incumbent), Bob Grynol, and Cathy Piotrowski are running for the two town seats on the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
Don Canfield and John Steinke both are seeking the Rainy River Central seat on the local District Social Services Administration Board.
To better inform voters, the Fort Frances Times is planning to run candidate profiles in its Oct. 1 edition.
