THUNDER BAY – Mariann Sawicki thinks Thunder Bay can blossom under her leadership at city hall.
The 52-year-old is one of 11 candidates to put her name forward in the mayoralty race in the upcoming Thunder Bay municipal election, said she first contemplated a run a decade ago, but circumstances forced her to put it on the backburner.
A registered nurse who once served as a tour guide in the city, Sawicki said the city has so much untapped potential that needs to be unlocked, something that hasn’t happened nearly enough in recent years.
Sawicki thinks she’s got the key to make it happen.
“It’s a beautiful city, we’re on the largest lake in the world and I just think with my background in nursing and all that, that may be a benefit in bringing people together,” Sawicki said.
“I just think that I can make a difference. I have a lot of compassion and empathy and I want to deal with the issues that we have in our community.”
The mayoral hopeful says she’s got plenty of ideas to help spruce up the city, and wants to highlight Thunder Bay’s multicultural heritage in developing a new vision for the shores of Lake Superior.
She’s proposing a boardwalk for the waterfront, with the ability for residents and businesses to sponsor a stone with their name written on it.
“And then have ethnic restaurants, all that kind of stuff, call it Ethnic Avenue. Who wouldn’t their name on that?”
Another suggestion is to build a water park, in part to attract youth to and keep them in the city.
“I think a water park is a really good way of getting more people to be attracted to either coming here or whatnot, and or moving here,” she said. “We can go to the Wisconsin Dells, but I think having something like that will attract. I’ve talked to a lot of young families.”
As far as city-wide issues, like many candidates, Sawicki want to put an emphasis on crime and public safety, especially on the south side of the city.
“I’ve been doing some door knocking in there and I’m finding people have been broken into four times. Crime is a big issue in our city and we have to look at that,” she said.
Infrastructure and the state of Thunder Bay’s roads is another priority.
