THUNDER BAY – Brad Ford says its time to let millennials take the reins at city council.
The 29-year-old, who brings an automotive background to the municipal election race, is one of six candidates in the running to fill Brian McKinnon’s Red River seat, after the long-time councillor decided to retire after 16 years.
A resident of the ward for 21 years, he’s said he’s up to the task.
“I was born and raised in Thunder Bay,” he said.
“I figure I’ve got some actual young blood in the game. It’s time to get some real change actually happening – not just saying you’re going to do it, but following through. We’ve had many iterations of previous council saying one thing, but going off and doing the other. It’s time to fix that.”
Too many councils have focused on legacy projects, such as a proposed $46-million indoor turf facility, or previously, a $114-million event centre.
“They’ve also focused too much on special interest groups and I feel elected officials are stepping away from what they’re primary duty is, as an elected official, which is to represent their constituents,” Ford said.
“With that being said, I feel I represent the younger generation, the blue-collar generation. I don’t really bow to too much external pressure, especially the last few years. At the end of the day people just want someone who can stand for them in a strong manner, not being spineless.”
There’s also too much flip-flopping on council and no real desire to stand behind anything, which leads to nothing getting done, he said.
“Too many people have gotten accustomed to the flip-flop. We’re seeing taxes going up, we’re seeing infrastructure crumbling, we’re seeing crime spiralling out of control, and we’ve got to address these issues head-on,” Ford said.
At the moment, Ford says the top issue is split between crime and infrastructure.
“River Street has been closed for how many months now? That’s an arterial road. That’s a main thoroughfare that takes you into downtown, and now you’re having increased traffic on the secondary streets and homeowners are not having it,” Ford said.
On the crime front, Ford said the criminals are getting more and more brazen.
“They’re getting bolder. Where does it end?” he said.
He’d like to see more prominence given to beat patrols, as a way of keeping crime out of neighbourhoods throughout Thunder Bay.
Ford is also opposed to the city building its own indoor turf facility. It’s not necessary, he said.
“They’ve turned down private-sector proposals on more than one occasion. What’s wrong with the private sector? Why can’t we actually get the construction jobs going? Let’s face it, the tradespeople in this city are having a mass exodus. They don’t want to stay here,” Ford said.
