THUNDER BAY – Debra Halvorsen counts being a small business owner as one of the many attributes and experiences that can benefit residents of Neebing Ward should she be elected to city council.
A grandmother of eight, Halvorsen said she didn’t make the decision to run lightly, but after careful consideration and some prodding from family and friends, she realized joining the election race was something she was meant to do.
“Mostly because of the concerns of the rising taxes in Neebing Ward,” she said. “We built our house more than 30 years ago in the Mountain Road area and within that time, our taxes have tripled, as well as the value of our house."
She’s concerned that a looming MPAC reassessment, which hasn’t happened since 2016, will only exacerbate the issue by setting higher valuation on people’s homes.
If the tax rate isn’t adjusted enough to reflect those new home values, residents could find themselves with a hefty tax increase.
“When they do reassess, if we don’t keep the cost of services down, our taxes could rise significantly,” Halvorsen said.
Drilling down to a ward-specific issue she’s concerned about and wants to fix over the coming four-year term of city council, Halvorsen said infrastructure tops her list.
“The roads in the Stanley Park area are in rough shape. Mountain Road doesn’t have sidewalks and with the increase of houses being built, it’s becoming more of a safety issue with the children riding their bikes and walking on roads,” Halvorsen said.
“Parkdale too only has one entrance, so that needs to be addressed with the number of houses being built in that area.”
Halvorsen says she would love to see an indoor turf facility built and added she recognizes big capital projects are sometimes necessary for the future of Thunder Bay.
But taxpayer wallets are only so deep, she said.
“I would need to see more information about it and I’d have to see if it was feasible to work within the city budget and if we could possibly get other funding or grants for it,” Halvorsen said.
In addition to owning a business, Halvorsen has also worked at various office-related jobs over the course of her career, as well as serving on non-profit boards and committees.
“I do have experience chairing meetings and facilitating and organizing events. So I think these skills would be beneficial at the council table. Financial integrity is very important to me, and that’s part of why I wanted to run, to help set the budget and the priorities of where money is being spent.”
Crime and community safety is also important to her platform.
Halvorsen said she wants to see police establish more trust in the city.
But it’s more than just boots on the ground, she said.
“I would like to see more bylaw officers and social service workers working in conjunction with police officers to free them up so they could actually focus on more crime. I also feel community safety could be a shared responsibility between programs like CrimeStoppers, Neighbourhood Watch and we used to have Block Parents.”
