In Sudbury.com’s ongoing efforts to ensure you have all the information you need to make informed voting decisions in the Oct. 24 municipal election, we have reached out to candidates for ward councillor and each of them to provide responses to a short questionnaire.
Besides a photograph, we requested a response from each candidate, limited to 200 words each, under each of the following three categories:
- Tell me a bit about yourself
- Why are you seeking election?
- What are your key platform points?
In the interest of fairness, candidates’ responses have been provided in full, with only minor corrections made for clarity and grammar. In the event a candidate went over the 200-word limit per category, their response was cut off to the end of the nearest sentence. In cases where candidates did not separate their response by the three topics, they were cut off at the 600-word mark to the nearest sentence.
The photographs provided have been included in this coverage, cropped to adhere to Sudbury.com’s sizing requirements.
Candidates were sent the inquiry on Oct. 4, at which time a deadline of Oct. 9 was announced. A follow-up email to those candidates who did not respond was issued on Oct. 11 with a noon deadline the following day.
Four candidates are seeking election in Ward 7, which is the only among the city’s 12 wards in which the incumbent councillor is not seeking re-election.
Late last year, Mike Jakubo announced that he was not seeking re-election, citing an incohesive city council and family priorities as his key reasons.
The slate of candidates includes Randy Hazlett, Natalie Labbée, Mark McKillop and Daniel Wiebes.
Ward 7 includes the land surrounding Lake Wanapitei, at the northeast corner of the municipality, and the communities of Capreol, Skead, Garson and Falconbridge.
It has a population of approximately 13,780 and is 1,196.3 square kilometres in size.
To find out whether you live in Ward 7, click here.
The following is what came in for Ward 7.
Randy Hazlett - No response
Natalie Labbée
Tell me a bit about yourself
Born in Sudbury and raised in Blind River, I have spent most of my adult life living in various small communities across Northern Ontario, making a difference and enhancing the quality of life in those communities by giving of my time, talents, and leadership in governance over the last 28 years.
I am the proud mother of two young adult sons who also live in Greater Sudbury, and am the assistant manager at a non-profit organization that enhances the quality of life for older adults ages 50 or better. I enjoy many outdoor activities in all seasons, singing and sharing my love of music with others and spending time with family and friends.
I have an extensive and diverse resume which includes working for two municipalities, the public, private and non-profit sectors and as an entrepreneur. I have also chaired and contributed as a board member for more than two decades for a variety of organizations. I was also elected and served on the municipal council in Manitouwadge from 2010-2014.
Since relocating to Capreol from northwestern Ontario in 2014, people will be most familiar with me from co-ordinating the Capreol Santa Claus Parade and recently taking the reins in bringing Capreol Days back for everyone to enjoy, which was a tremendous success.
Why are you seeking election?
I’m running because I believe that great cities are built by great neighborhoods. There is so much we can do, together, to ensure that all communities in Greater Sudbury have more great neighborhoods for people to live, work and play in - but I need your help.
By embracing and amplifying the good things that are already happening in our communities, we can focus more energy on where there are gaps in service. I love solving problems, brainstorming with others and I am willing to put in the hard work needed to move our city forward. I appreciate the non-partisan structure of municipal politics and hope to work collaboratively with others for the best outcome of our city as a whole.
My community engagement, leadership and knowledge of issues has been recognized and valued at many levels anywhere I have lived, worked and volunteered. I am a trusted, experienced voice with a proven track record of positive engagement and advocacy that I believe our city can benefit from.
Women bring intentional thought processes to the table. Our communities all benefit when there is diverse representation in civic leadership. I feel I can ensure fiscal responsibility that also has a social conscience.
What are your key platform points?
Affordable housing, food and transportation
- You’re concerned about the rising cost of homes, gas, public transit, and groceries; about more increases to property taxes and fees that could make your life even less affordable. Helping Seniors stay in their homes longer and in our communities is also a priority. Taking care of our most vulnerable in our community also must be made a priority. Property taxes must remain reasonable and predictable for residents.
City Service that work for you
- Prioritize spending and city services
Community infrastructure that meets our needs
- We need to reel in our spending and ensure that all communities throughout the city benefit from investments.
Protecting our greenspaces
- Green neighborhoods make healthy communities
Safer roads and neighborhoods
- Whether spending on streets, policing, safe school crossings, or the rising incidents of theft, community safety impacts us all.
Decentralization of Services for the outlying communities with more autonomy
- Amalgamation doesn’t have to keep being a four letter word.
Promote eco-tourism, all of our downtowns and what we already have.
Let’s celebrate and invest in our assets, prioritize what we can afford and be ambassadors for change.
Community engagement is important. I am a gatherer of people.
Mark McKillop
I am 60 years old and a retired former owner of a local insurance brokerage with over 30 years of business experience. I have an honours degree in Public Administration with a specialty in Economic Policy Development and I spent two years working as a researcher and policy analyst at Queen's Park before returning to Sudbury in 1986 and raising my family in Garson for over 20 years. I have soon-to-be eight grandchildren, and their future and the future of all of our children and grandchildren and Greater Sudbury matters to me.
I am running because our city is backwards and broken and the people in Ward 7 and throughout Greater Sudbury are not being heard and deserve better. I believe I have the experience, education and leadership skills to make a difference.
There is too much centralization of power and our governing elites have lost respect for the taxpayers’ dollars. It is council's job to safeguard the purse strings and spend wisely, but yet there is so much foolish spending. The tail has been wagging the dog at city hall because there has been too much division and too many councillors with their own spending and policy agendas. It is council that sets the tone, it is council that determines the priorities and it is council that makes the policies. I want to help build a new council that has the courage to face the problems, the leadership to seek the solutions and the will to implement the changes. A council that the citizens deserve and will be proud of.
As for my platform, I will create Citizens' Advisory Panels that will meet regularly to provide me with an opportunity to listen and learn from the people and I will encourage and foster the growth of existing Community Action Networks. I will provide the people with information and an opportunity to participate in the decision making process before policy decisions are made. I will also pursue actual and real changes to our burdensome, expensive and intimidating building and zoning approval process. I will ask the important questions, get the real answers and advocate for the changes that will lead our city forward. I will immediately present a motion to pause the Junction East project and seek to have this borrowed money reallocated to our real problems - addiction and homeless facilities, affordable housing, seniors assisted living, fire and police services and our decaying infrastructure. I will seek to provide Ward 7 and all other wards with more funding for local development and area improvement by increasing the Healthy Community Initiative funding and I will seek to amend the bylaw to allow for more local autonomy and control over the projects. I will seek efficiencies through the implementation of zero based budgeting, line item reviews and take a good and hard look at why 43 cents of every dollar in our city goes to wages and benefits.
Daniel Wiebes - No response
Election day is Oct. 24, which will be preceded by two weeks of online voting and advance paper ballot opportunities. For a rundown of voting locations, click here.
