THUNDER BAY – Peter Panetta knows he’s a long-shot to capture the 2018 Thunder Bay mayoral race.
A former postal worker who found trouble with the law while growing up, whose daughter is in jail on drug offences and who spends his retirement from Canada Post helping troubled youth learn how to box and stay off the streets, the 68-year-old nevertheless threw his hat into the ring to seek the city’s highest elected office.
It’s all about creating a better future for the kids, Panetta said.
After all, someone has to step up for them, and it’s certainly not the current mayor and council, he said, readily admitting he’s got little or no political background.
“My experience is with the disenfranchised sector of our society,” Panetta said, seeking to become the ninth mayor in Thunder Bay’s 48-year history.
“I want to be the voice for the voiceless and what they’re going through. They feel hopeless. They don’t feel they’ve got any voice, they don’t feel they’ve got anything. For the youth, I want to make sure that they’re at least heard.”
The solution has to start with the root cause of the problems faced by so many living in Thunder Bay.
Alcohol and drug addiction are dragging the city downward, a cycle that tends to repeat itself from one generation to the next, he said.
“We have nip it in the bud. We have to catch it early and once we do that and get them focused in the proper direction, we’re going to be able to have these kids as city of Thunder Bay kids that are productive and helping everyone.”
No. 1, the city has to provide opportunities for growth.
“First of all they’ve got to be in a positive environment, like the Underground Gym concept ... a place where they feel safe, where they can express themselves. There are opportunities for them.”
He’d also like the city to consider a gear-to-income program that allows people to pay what they can afford for services, including transit, the Canada Games Complex, etc.
“You pay what you can afford,” said Panetta, who runs the Underground Gym.
Panetta would also like the Thunder Bay Police Service to consider using photo radar to catch speeders and to reallocate traffic police to the city’s high-risk neighbourhoods.
“Then the police could put the thumbscrews on the criminals and at least put pressure on them,” Panetta said.
