THUNDER BAY – As a fourth-generation resident of Neebing ward, Linda Rydholm says she learned people who live there are blessed with an independent spirit.
It’s that attitude she plans to bring back to city council if she’s re-elected to a fifth straight term, her sixth overall.
She’ll need it to tackle the major issues facing the ward.
First and foremost, she wants motorists to slow down.
“The past two times, at election, there have been concerns about traffic and speed. People drive fast, faster than they used to,” Rydholm. “It makes people worried about their road safety. Maybe people notice it more because they’re walking or cycling, but that is probably the No. 1 thing I get, that people are speeding.”
A former long-time school board trustee with Lakehead Public Schools, Rydholm spearheaded the charge to build Nor’Wester View School before first being elected to council in 1997.
She said as a councillor she’s helped bring plenty of services to the ward.
“We’ve had new fire halls. We’ve had a new cemetery administrative building. Some roads have had speed reductions on them. Some roads, as well, we’ve resurfaced,” she said, joking she’s been on council so long that some of those same roads are up for resurfacing again.
That should be a priority for council, said Rydholm, one of five candidates seeking the seat.
“We’re not spending enough on roads in this city,” she said. “I’ve looked after Neebing and gotten our fair share for roads, but we need more money overall in the budget.”
Rydholm wants to turn to the public for guidance when it comes to spending over the next four years, citing the community survey as that guidepost. That would place core services at the top of the spending list.
“(That’s) roadwork, fire, police, emergency services. Social issues are an emerging one,” she said. “Finally the federal government is stepping up with some funding, for example, our youth inclusion project.”
A retired chiropractor, Rydholm has not been afraid to vote against city budgets, saying the city needs to set proper priorities before laying out its fiscal blueprint. She voted against providing millions to a new waterfront art gallery, even though she’s in favour of the project.
“To use city money for a non-city owned building on city land ... I thought was wrong,” she said. “We’re doing money for an art gallery, but we don’t have enough money in our basic budgets – like our culvert budget, our gravel budget, our road cleaning and maintenance and our waste budgets.”
The municipal election is on Oct. 22.
