THUNDER BAY -- Norm Sponchia thinks the city needs to put its focus on housing.
Over the past five years Sponchia has been busy on boards and committees in the city. His time on the Thunder Bay drug strategy and now as co-chair of the crime prevention council, time and time again the housing crunch comes up.
"I learned a lot. I sat around the table with 34 different organizations so I really felt like I was in the trenches getting a real sense of what is going on," the life-long resident of Thunder Bay, now an at-large candidate said.
The city needs to work harder to get the federal and provincial governments to help out with housing.
"That's really important to me that we get on that," he said.
A founding member of the North of Superior Film Association Sponchia sees the importance of arts and culture in Thunder Bay. He was also president of the Bay and Algoma Business Association. Supporting and strengthening small business is also top of mind for Sponchia.
"I understand business. I've developed them. I've owned them," he said.
But Sponchia thinks city hall has separated itself from the public, pointing to the fact that less than half of eligible voters cast a ballot in 2010.
"I think it's really important to bring the people back. That's what a healthy community is," he said.
The next term of council will need to listen to the public's voice as it wrestles with the complexities of a new event centre. Sponchia is all for the idea but only if the city can afford it. Otherwise he'd rather see the money spent elsewhere like affordable housing. The centre needs to be able to sustain itself.
"If we can do it then lets do it but not at the expense of the taxpayer," he said.
