Jim Mauro's parents always taught him to give back.
From a young age the Thunder Bay Police Service officer, on leave to run as a candidate in the Northwood Ward, said it's shaped him in everything he's done.
"My dad was always fond of saying 'if you can help you do'," he said.
Running for the ward he's lived in for 46 years is another way to give back, Mauro said.
Massive problems with water, sewer and drainage have plagued Northwood that need to be fixed.
"They've been known for a long time and they need to be addressed now," he said. "Not years from now."
While community safety is top of mind in this election, Mauro said he's been raising the issues of substance abuse and how it relates to mental health and crime for 15 years.
There was a time when he was criticized for linking it to violence.
"It's taken a long time for people to get to the point where they recognize that these situations do exist and they need to be dealt with," he said.
While it's not entirely on city council to address the problem, councillors need to be willing to lead and unify the city in order to find solutions he said. A way to do that is get more officers on the street.
"We don't need to hire more," Mauro said. "Just find ways to get more out there."
Mauro also wants to see more transparency and accountability at city hall by establishing an electronic vote at council meetings.
"So that people know how their representatives have voted on issues that are important to them and hopefully it's one more step to try and increase voter participation," he said.
On the event centre, Mauro said it's hard to see that there's a guaranteed price without thinking that some decisions have been made already.
"I strongly support economic development for the city but I have questions about the cost and scope of the project," he said. "I truly hope that no decisions have been made that bind the hands of the next council."
