McKellar candidates focus on jobs, crime

Jobs and crime are top issues for the two candidates in McKellar Ward, which also happens to hold both city downtown cores.

David Nicholson said he thinks crime in the ward is getting worse and a lot of that crime is related to the city’s severe drug problem. Nicholson said he wants to work with the city’s emerging drug strategy to get people help they need and attack the problem from within.

"I think we certainly have to get people off the substances and we have to deal with the substance-abuse issues that are out there," Nicholson said.

Meanwhile challenger Paul Pugh said he’s heard that crime is getting both better and worse, but doesn’t have specific data to back up either claim. Pugh said he would like to focus on eradicating poverty and substance abuse, which are both contributing factors. Increased community policing is also something Pugh said the city needs.

"Preventing crime as opposed to waiting until after it happens and then looking after it (is what we need)," Pugh said. "There’s a lot of work that can be done in that area to try to lessen the causes of crime."

Nicholson said people also need to become more involved in their neighbourhoods and take responsibility for them. Getting more police walking the beat, rather than driving, and increased lighting could also help Nicholson said.

"Unfortunately we’ve become a cocooned society and everybody sort of hunkers down and closes their windows and doesn’t pay attention to what their neighbours are doing," Nicholson said. "I’d just encourage people to get to know their neighbours a little bit more and be aware of their neighbourhood."

For Pugh, a union leader, the largest issue is getting people back to work all across the city. With a solid manufacturing base and a growing health-care field and other industry to build on, Pugh said he wants to use his connections at all levels of government to bring decent jobs back to the city.

"I think there are things that can be done here we have a lot of assets in this city," Pugh said. "I think if we cluster around those centres there’s a lot that can be done in this city."

As for revitalizing the downtown cores, Pugh said any development should consider what the city already has. Using the proposed multiplex arena as an example, Pugh said the city needs to build around existing infrastructure.

"We can build on the businesses and commerce that are already in those areas as opposed to spreading the city out further and decentralizing it," Pugh said.

Nicholson said the way to help the downtown cores is to focus on the small business owners that are there. Getting grant programs running to enhance run-down properties could help as well he said.

"Make sure that they’re getting the services so that people are encouraged to go to the downtown cores," Nicholson said. "If there are issues of parking or vagrancy then people aren’t encouraged."

Robin Rickards, the third McKellar candidate, could not be reached for comment.