THUNDER BAY – Two-time Northwood Coun. Shelby Ch’ng put her name forward for a third term, only this time she’ll be running at large.
“This is a great opportunity to expand my knowledge base across the city and continue to represent Thunder Bay,” Ch’ng said.
“I like to think my chances are pretty good. I’ve represented Northwood very well. Ward meeting attendance has been up. We’ve had $16 million in infrastructure – the crossover, the splash pad and the Conservatory. There have been a lot of big pieces that have been moved over the last eight years.”
Ch’ng is the 13th candidate to file for an at-large bid, with five seats up for grabs. Two others filed last week, Brian Tsubouchi and Shane Judge, a former two-time mayoral candidate.
Others include incumbents Mark Bentz and Trevor Giertuga, who has yet to officially file, and newcomers Kasey Etreni, Iqbal Khan, Ade Ogunberu, Marilyn Cully, Brian Phillips, Dino Menei, Stephen Margarit, Jim Mauro and Matthew Villella.
Ch’ng said she chose the at-large contest for a few reasons, noting if she’s elected she’s sure she’ll be able to help the new Northwood representative with issues relating to the ward. But she wants to do more.
“I did move across town, and I thought that with my eight years on council I can definitely have the capacity to expand my base across the city. We have a lot of big-ticket items coming up that will require experience on council.”
Experience matters at the municipal level, she added.
“I can tell you, I’ve been part of two councils now, one where I was the only one who was new. That ran much differently than council did in 2018, just due to the turnover. We had almost half of council that was a new council member. It does take a lot of time to get your feet under you and we’re going to be in that position again,” Ch’ng said.
“We’re going to need strong people around the table that know how to chair a meeting, that know what the Municipal Act is, what a councillor can and can’t do, what the role of the Police Board is. We need those people around the table, but we also need representation from newer candidates as well.”
Candidates have until Friday to file nomination papers at city hall.
Bill Dell, Dominic Pasqualino, Chris Krumpholz and Syed Kabir are the four candidates in the running in Northwood, seeking to replace Ch’ng on council.
Only one other ward candidate filed on Monday. Brad Ford put his name forward in Red River, making him the fifth candidate in the field. Former mayor Ken Boshcoff also filed to run for mayor for the first time in eight years.
