THUNDER BAY – Robin Rickards is fighting for change at city hall.
It’s one of the main reasons he’s thrown his hat back into the political ring ahead of the Oct. 22 municipal election, looking to unseat veteran Neebing Coun. Linda Rydholm.
Rickards, who served three tours of duty with Canada’s military in both Afghanistan and Bosnia, said he’s long wanted to take an active role in the future direction of Thunder Bay, and figures the best way to start is to have a seat at the council table.
The 42-year-old father-of-four said he thinks Neebing deserves better representation – despite the fact he doesn’t actually live in the ward.
“I haven’t seen that she actually grasps the causes of the city’s malaise. And if you don’t understand the root causes of the problem, there’s no way you can address it effectively. All you’re doing is putting a Band-Aid over the symptoms,” Rickards said.
Taxes are his top city-wide concern, he said, noting the city must start spending the taxpayer dollar more effectively.
And that requires a change in thinking when it comes to development. Rather than expanding outward, adding to municipal costs, Rickards has another idea.
“We’ve got to develop and focus on developing the empty property that’s already serviced,” he said.
“What has to happen is you need leadership from the city because that sends a signal to the business community that council is paying attention to what’s going on down there and when private enterprise risks their capital, their livelihoods on a venture, they can feel comfortable that council is not going to sandbag them down the road.”
Inside the ward, Rickards plans to fight for a secondary access into the Parkdale subdivision, his top priority.
“Since the onset of that development there has been promise after promise that eventually there will be a secondary access. We’re still not much closer to having that actual secondary access in Parkdale and that needs to happen – and we have to have a serious conversation about what the realistic options are,” Rickards said.
His other big issue is pressing developers in the Mount Forest area to take responsibility for a legacy of sub-standard infrastructure.
“That’s unacceptable,” Rickards said.
