THUNDER BAY – Frank Pullia is persistent in his push to be mayor of Thunder Bay.
He’s hoping his fifth crack at the seat will push him over the top.
Pullia was runner-up in 1997, 2000 and 2003 and third in 2010, behind upstart winner and outgoing Mayor Keith Hobbs and incumbent Lynn Peterson.
But with the embattled Hobbs stepping aside in 2018 after a roller coaster eight-year ride in the mayor’s chair, Pullia believes he’s the candidate best positioned to take over and guide the city back to prosperity.
The 63-year-old has spent the last four years as an at-large councillor, most notably as budget chair, responsible for leading the way in setting the city’s annual financial plan.
“Thunder Bay needs a clear sense of direction. My vision for Thunder Bay is to help make the city the type of city we can all be proud of calling home,” Pullia said.
“Right now, when people from the outside hear the name of our city, it’s like a cloud over us. I think we need to bring a ray of sunshine and stop that cloud – and we can do that because most people that I talk to want to see ... the type of changes that will enable us to say we’re proud to be from Thunder Bay.”
It will take transformational leadership from the office of the mayor to get there, he added, making sure no one gets left behind.
“I’ve been bringing Thunder Bay city hall to the people, by hosting town hall meetings, where we can tell our community what’s going on, to explain our situation and provide a clear sense of vision of what the future will bring,” Pullia said.
“It’s not enough to do it by a media release. We need to engage and that’s why I like a town hall format, where there’s an open mic and people can go ask us any questions, like why are you doing this or what’s the rationale behind it?”
Pullia said the city has plenty of potential, but investment won’t happen until entrepreneurs believe Thunder Bay is open for business in a real way.
“We need to provide the type of incentives that will help them to move their businesses (because) 80 per cent of new jobs are created by small- and medium-size businesses and enterprises. While we need to focus on still attracting the big Toyota plant and rebuild our manufacturing base, we also need to make sure that those already working here, that have been creating jobs, that have already been paying taxes, that they feel we’re helping them expand and grow,” Pullia said.
Opposed to the plan to relocate the Thunder Bay Art Gallery to the waterfront, saying it’s too expensive a venture, Pullia does support an indoor soccer facility.
“Because of the huge number of soccer players, that may be sustainable,” he said, adding it could also house other sports, such as tennis, to help make it cost neutral at the worst.
As chair of the budget committee, Pullia said he’s proud of the work that’s been done to create surpluses in the last three years.
“It was my motion to use some of those savings last year to lower the tax rate (increase) in 2018,” Pullia said. “And we can continue to do that. We have also replenished our reserves and we are working toward lowering our debt.”
The municipal election is on Oct. 22, with online and telephone voting beginning on Oct. 9.
