THUNDER BAY – James Dean Marsh says he’s ready to become a full-time city councillor, putting the needs of those living in the Red River Ward first.
The 59-year-old retired machinist and electro-mechanic is no stranger to the municipal ballot, having run previously in 2014.
His primary focus is fixing the city’s infrastructure and ensuring Thunder Bay doesn’t fall any further behind in its upkeep.
“For decades our city’s infrastructures have been neglected and have now got to the point where expensive remediation of infrastructure failure is commonplace,” says Marsh on his supplied profile on the Thunder Bay Votes website.
“Looking after those infrastructures is my expertise and I can concentrate my efforts full-time to pinpoint corrective action to save tax dollars and avoid costly increases. This will free up funds that can be relocated into projects that make our city better.”
It’s far more important to spend taxpayer dollars on needs, not wants, Marsh said.
“Concentrating on the city’s needs instead of legacy projects is more important than ever. With increased labor costs due to a smaller available workforce, increased material costs, and a high rate of inflation, this and next year, any huge legacy builds should be put off until these conditions level off,” he said
“With the growing infrastructure gap, we need to concentrate and put our resources toward lessening that gap to make it more sustainable. Council should have to prove they could budget to look after the infrastructures we already have, before adding to that infrastructure.”
Marsh, on his own website, said he also wants to give the people of Thunder Bay a say on matters of importance, even the little things.
“You shouldn't have to wait for a plebiscite to vote on issues like the indoor turf facility. You will be one text, message, or call away from having your input steer the direction of council,” said Marsh, who after the 2014 election created the Facebook page Thunder Bay City Council – We Have Had Enough.
“Almost every decision made by council in the past eight years has been critiqued there. Praise was given when it was deserved. Most importantly though, over 4,000 voices have a venue to be heard and will continue to be heard going forward. People not only want to be heard, they demand it, and most importantly, they deserve it,” Marsh said on his campaign site.
A father of six, Marsh and his wife have also acted as foster parents to many more children over the past two decades.
“This helps us stay in touch with what our city has to offer the young, and more importantly, where it lacks,” he said.
