THUNDER BAY – Marty Rajala says he was inspired to run for city council to engage Thunder Bay’s youth – his four children in particular.
But by no means were they the only reason.
A self-described normal guy, the 51-year-old said he’s like most people in Thunder Bay.
“I’m tired of my taxes going up every year. It just seems like it’s getting to be the norm,” said Rajala, an electrician who owns his own business. “To me that’s a fail.”
The one way to stop taxes from skyrocketing is to create a bigger tax base. That means council has to show the entrepreneurial community from coast to coast that the city is open for business. Right now it often seems like the opposite, Rajala said.
“I’d like to see new business here to inject new money into the tax pool so it’s not on the backs of the people. And I’d like the prospects (to improve) for my kids to be able to live and stay here.”
Rajala agreed there doesn’t seem to be anybody around the council table representing the common people, the middle-class labourers and the working poor.
Councillors might mean well, but they just don’t get it.
It’s a major disconnect, he said.
“I’ve been disappointed the last few budget announcements where you hear your taxes are going up two per cent, but you should be happy because it could have been four. That doesn’t make me happy,” Rajala said.
“Everything costs money. The city costs money to operate. I understand that, but we’re hurting here for new business and industry, so we’ve got to take more of an effort to solicit those businesses to come here.”
Safety on Thunder Bay’s streets is another issue he’d like to see fixed, sooner rather than later.
It’s getting pretty bad out there, he said.
“When I was young and dumb and used to hang around downtown areas, it was a little wild. But the respect and the feel for right and wrong and what’s acceptable seems to be pushed to a new low now,” Rajala said, advocating more money be spent on policing in the city.
The municipal election is on Oct. 22.
