Lynn Peterson is not afraid to stand behind her decisions, as tough as they may be.
The two-time mayor, who helped usher in the age of waterfront development and the knowledge-based economy, said the results are there for everyone to see.
“More good things are happening right now than we have experienced in decades,” Peterson told the crowd at this week’s mayoral candidate’s debate at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. “Even as we suffered through the decline of the traditional forestry, new industries are relocating here. Our manufacturing sector is expanding and working at full capacity.
“And a whole new knowledge-based job sector is opening up. This is not luck, this is the result of strong leadership, good planning and sound decision-making.”
Peterson, who brings more than 20 years of combined public service experience to the job, including one term as a councillor and a dozen as a school-board trustee.
It’s her commitment to the community that convinced her to run again.
“We’ve put a lot of things in place over the last seven years that were foundational pieces. And we’re building on top of those pieces,” she said. “Certainly you can look around the community and see projects, infrastructure things, obviously I’d like to see finished.
“But I think there’s other things we need to get at. We talked about it when we implemented the crime prevention council. The roots of that are so deep in terms of family issues and social issues and poverty and mental health and addictions. I want that mental health and addictions piece here. I want to make sure that after four more years I can look back and know that I’ve changed the course of the future of the community in terms of economic development, in terms of poverty, in terms of racism.”
Though often criticized for a constantly growing municipal tax rate, Peterson said the city has committed to a long-term strategy, the intent of which is to make sure it’s fair and competitive.
“Unlike (Keith) Hobbs, who has been saying he’s going to move the residential tax base onto businesses … we have a strategy that will allow us over time – and it is over time – to reduce our industrial rates and our business rates. They’re not likely to go down. Our question is how do we make sure that the services that people in this city want are provided in the most cost-effective manner,” Peterson said.
The mayor pointed out the city’s corporate review strategy, that saw Peterson and council remove $1.2 million from the budget, noting that the tax increase last year was 0.47 per cent.
“We are working at this, but moving the tax burden onto businesses isn’t a way to make jobs.”
Creating jobs and repairing the economy are priorities Peterson said she’s held from day one, and it’s not surprising they top the list of voters she spoken with during the six-week campaign.
While it’s important to help small business stay afloat in Thunder Bay, it’s also about bringing new jobs to town.
In that she feels she’s been successful over the years, pointing to the city’s well publicized investment in the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute and the expected jobs that it will eventually create.
“If you had stopped seven years ago and said in seven years Thunder Bay will be a globally recognized digital imaging centre, we would never have seen it,” she said. “It was about taking an opportunity, investing in it and working like a dog to get it done.”
The two-time mayor, who helped usher in the age of waterfront development and the knowledge-based economy, said the results are there for everyone to see.
“More good things are happening right now than we have experienced in decades,” Peterson told the crowd at this week’s mayoral candidate’s debate at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. “Even as we suffered through the decline of the traditional forestry, new industries are relocating here. Our manufacturing sector is expanding and working at full capacity.
“And a whole new knowledge-based job sector is opening up. This is not luck, this is the result of strong leadership, good planning and sound decision-making.”
Peterson, who brings more than 20 years of combined public service experience to the job, including one term as a councillor and a dozen as a school-board trustee.
It’s her commitment to the community that convinced her to run again.
“We’ve put a lot of things in place over the last seven years that were foundational pieces. And we’re building on top of those pieces,” she said. “Certainly you can look around the community and see projects, infrastructure things, obviously I’d like to see finished.
“But I think there’s other things we need to get at. We talked about it when we implemented the crime prevention council. The roots of that are so deep in terms of family issues and social issues and poverty and mental health and addictions. I want that mental health and addictions piece here. I want to make sure that after four more years I can look back and know that I’ve changed the course of the future of the community in terms of economic development, in terms of poverty, in terms of racism.”
Though often criticized for a constantly growing municipal tax rate, Peterson said the city has committed to a long-term strategy, the intent of which is to make sure it’s fair and competitive.
“Unlike (Keith) Hobbs, who has been saying he’s going to move the residential tax base onto businesses … we have a strategy that will allow us over time – and it is over time – to reduce our industrial rates and our business rates. They’re not likely to go down. Our question is how do we make sure that the services that people in this city want are provided in the most cost-effective manner,” Peterson said.
The mayor pointed out the city’s corporate review strategy, that saw Peterson and council remove $1.2 million from the budget, noting that the tax increase last year was 0.47 per cent.
“We are working at this, but moving the tax burden onto businesses isn’t a way to make jobs.”
Creating jobs and repairing the economy are priorities Peterson said she’s held from day one, and it’s not surprising they top the list of voters she spoken with during the six-week campaign.
While it’s important to help small business stay afloat in Thunder Bay, it’s also about bringing new jobs to town.
In that she feels she’s been successful over the years, pointing to the city’s well publicized investment in the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute and the expected jobs that it will eventually create.
“If you had stopped seven years ago and said in seven years Thunder Bay will be a globally recognized digital imaging centre, we would never have seen it,” she said. “It was about taking an opportunity, investing in it and working like a dog to get it done.”
