THUNDER BAY – Frank Wazinski says he plans to borrow a page out of Donald Trump’s political playbook.
Wazinski, 48, is a first-time candidate in the upcoming municipal election, seeking one of five at-large positions on a crowded 26-person ballot.
He said what Thunder Bay needs is a councillor who’s not afraid to push political correctness aside and say what needs to be said.
“As much as it sounds funny, I think (Trump’s) strategy worked great. He got an entire nation to vote for him being politically incorrect,” Wazinski said.
“(I’ll) say what people are saying on the street and not holding back. A lot of people say Thunder Bay is a very racist city. I don’t see Thunder Bay as a very racist city. I think Thunder Bay is a very biased city when it comes to a lot of things, a lot of issues.”
Instead, he thinks what people claim to be racism is more jealousy.
“I think that’s more that comes out than pure hatred toward people,” he said.
At the end of the day, the only way to fix the problem is for people to come together.
“People have to talk things out. People have to understand other people’s situations. It’s a hard thing to even come up with making a solution. I don’t think more committees and things like that … is really helping anything.”
Wazinski, who works in sales, does think Thunder Bay is a great city to call home, despite the magnified problems associated with poverty, addiction and mental health issues – much of it centred in the south core of the city, which he said needs the attention of council most of all.
“The south core of the city has deteriorated,” he said. “I’d see that revived up. I see Victoriaville as another sore spot. I think the city made a huge mistake years ago and we need to address that. We need to address the crime rate that keeps going up in Thunder Bay.”
Add in rising rates of drug abuse and a gang influx from southern Ontario and there’s plenty of work left to do, Wazinski said.
“These are so many things that are not being addressed, I think. And a lot of people feel the same way. Our city council, they’re focusing on the wrong things.”
