OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Brandon Postuma is just finishing up his first term as a councilor for the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge and he now has his sights on the mayor’s seat.
Postuma believes he understands the unique challenges faced by the community and hopes to be able to focus on its potential moving forward.
“I'd really like to see council kind of focus on some of the things we've been missing out on, like provincial and federal grant opportunities,” he said.
“Just really think outside the box a little bit, work a little bit harder, add a little bit more energy to our council, and just find a way to really work with some of the unique people we have in our community and come up with solutions to our problems and just really think outside the box a bit more.”
Postuma says that he would like to focus on keeping taxes low, bringing back the social committee, retaining young families, and providing for the elderly.
“When we keep taxes low, our community naturally grows. We have a lot of young people and right now it's not really a focus for outdoor recreation facilities and we do have a lot of grant opportunities for that which we're missing out on,” he said.
“We also have large senior population, and we have very limited housing. Right now, there's KB seniors, which has over 100 people on the waiting list. That's something we need to address and really put our heads together on.”
Postuma says that people should vote for him because he thinks outside the box and has a lot of energy to work hard for the community.
“I really [would] like just to see counsel work a little bit harder and really, you know, put in some more time and effort to address some of the unique challenges we have going ahead,” he said.
“And just really take advantage of the opportunities we have with members of our community who aren't necessarily on Council but actually know more about some of the issues we have than the actual Council members and really just find a way to work with other people and kind of have something like a new start where we really acknowledge the special lifestyle we have here.”
