THUNDER BAY – Brian Tsubouchi says he’d be focused on transparency, essential infrastructure, addressing crime, and working with the private sector if elected as an at-large city councillor.
He’s one of 24 candidates hoping to fill five at-large seats in the Oct. 24 municipal election.
Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Tsubouchi also spent time in Geraldton running an agency working with adults with developmental disabilities, he said.
The father-of-three and graduate of Lakehead University in history and political science currently works at Lakehead Monument, and has played leadership roles on local curling and soccer clubs.
While that gives him some insight into the need for indoor turf capacity, he said it’s not necessarily the first thing on his mind when it comes to the impact he could have on council.
“Two of the things I really think need to be looked at are accountability, and we need to have transparency when we’re dealing with the public,” he said of his priorities. “I think sometimes people get into those chairs and they forget all about the people that elected them.”
City needs to act on roads and essential infrastructure, as well as addressing proposed projects including an indoor turf complex and a new police station, he said.
On indoor turf, he said, “I think the city needs to look at something in terms of a private-public type deal.”
The bubble at Confederation College “ran really, really well” until the college needed the space – a positive indication of how it's growing, he said
“In the end, it just can’t be the city,” he said. “I’m not sure any one facility the city has breaks even, and you can’t have the taxpayers on the hook for a $300,000 deficit annually.”
“Private seems to be able to run things a little bit better than the city, there’s not that, ‘oh don’t worry, we’ll just pick up the tab at the end of the year.’ I’m not sure that’s the way to go with this.”
It’s important the facility supports not just soccer, but cricket, football, walking, and other uses, he added.
On another priority, crime and public safety, he said he doesn’t “have all the answers,” but does have some guiding principles in mind.
“When you’re talking about crime, you’re talking about social issues mingled in,” he said, “especially around Thunder Bay – drugs, gangs, that kind of thing.”
“I think it needs to be a two-pronged attack. The province needs to come up with some money to help with guns and gangs. I think the city needs to invest maybe in foot patrols, maybe in neighbourhood policing again, getting people into the areas that really are affected by these guns and gangs.”
