Duane Hicks
Coun. Paul Ryan filed his nomination papers to run in the upcoming municipal fall election yesterday, meaning that all of the incumbents will have their names on the ballot come Oct. 25.
“I thought about it for some time, and I think I have four years left in me,” said Coun. Ryan yesterday. “There’s a lot of things on the table right now I’d like to see come to fruition, so I’d like to stay around for a while and make sure that things go right.”
Among several issues that he wants to help address, Coun. Ryan noted that the aging sewer and water infrastructure must be tended to.
“It’s so aged. We used to pave a street but do nothing about the pipe. We can’t do that anymore,” he remarked. “Right now we have an infiltration study going on that probably should have been done years and years ago.
“Once that study is completed, you can formulate some sort of a plan to attack the worst places, the places that are giving us problems,” added Coun. Ryan.
Coun. Ryan said his first term on council was a learning experience.
“Everybody’s speaking acronyms,” he chuckled. “I was fortunate enough to have a real good sounding board, and that was Tannis Drysdale, a former councillor, who knew every acronym and what they did, who they were and who they answered to. It really helped my learning curve. I’d like to thank her for that, because it is quite a steep curve you have to climb right off the bat.”
Coun. Ryan also pointed out that being a councillor is very time-consuming, and that was the one thing he had to consider when deciding whether to run for a second-term.
“I don’t know if a person with a working career could even do it to the best of their ability, with all the time it takes,” he noted.
As previously reported, Mayor Roy Avis and Couns. Sharon Tibbs, John Albanese, Rick Wiedenhoeft, Ken Perry and Andrew Hallikas also have put their names in to the run, and with no one else on the ballot yet, it is possible the same council could be re-elected in its entirety.
Coun. Ryan said the council of the past four years has been a good lineup, and worked well together.
“That’s another reason why I ran, because I really like working with these people,” he mentioned. “It’s great. We really look at everything real intensively and we get all the ideas out and sort it out from there. I think the best decision is made that way.
“And nobody’s in a camp by themselves or anything else; we’re all pitching in to reach the same end—to do the right thing and the least expensive,” added Coun. Ryan.
In other election news, Paul Cousineau filed today to run for a trustee seat on the Northwest Catholic District School Board, while Harold Huntley did so on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, John Callan filed for election to the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board (Rainy River Central-territory without municipal organization).
Anyone interested in running for mayor, council, the two local school boards, or DSSAB must file their papers with the clerk at the Civic Centre (or their respective municipality) prior to 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10.
Withdrawal of any nominations also must be made by then.
Election day will be held Oct. 25. The first day of the new council term will be Dec. 1.
Municipal terms are four years after being increased from three just prior to the 2006 election.
