On the morning of the deadline to enter the municipal election race, Bill Sanders made known his intentions to run for the seat of mayor for the City of Greater Sudbury.
Sanders joins a field of 11 candidates vying to unseat incumbent mayor Brian Bigger.
“I think it's fantastic that there are enough people in this city who care about it enough to put their name in,” Sanders said. “This city is a mess, and I was astounded there were 11 people who wanted to jump into the fray. Of all the cities in Ontario, this is not the one you want to jump into, because there are some major contentious issues that are dividing the city.”
Those issues include the new arena and convention centre, currently destined for construction on The Kingsway.
Sanders is against The Kingsway location, and believes the new arena needs to be built downtown.
“I wholeheartedly agree that we need a new arena, I just think we need it downtown,” Sanders said.
It's issues like that that have divided the city, he said.
“Who's going to pull us together? Who's going to bring us back online and follow a vision with real directions? Bill Sanders,” he said.
His lack of experience as a city councillor won't be an issue, though, he said.
“I want to make this a better city. Does that mean I need to have experience on council already? Not at all. I think you need to be passionate about the place you live in, and I think you need to have a cause. Is management different at a council level than it is at a theatrical level? No. It's being able to manage people and resources, and we need to do it better.
“As a professional in the theatre industry, my job often was to negotiate with people and to get people working together. In the theatre world, there are so many different personalities. Try to direct a play and work with actors. That's a negotiation, and I have that ability.”
Sanders said he looks forward to the next few months of campaigning.
“I think it's going to be a crazy fun campaign,” he said. “The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned.”
He said Sudbury is on the brink, and as the largest community in Northern Ontario. the north looks to us to lead the way, to carve a path and be the benchmark for the other communities in the North.
“We need to step up,” he said. “The status quo is not good enough. If we are going to attract people to our city, we need to have a vision for the future. That vision includes an entertainment district and arena downtown. That is the only option that serves all of the City of Greater Sudbury and indeed the north.
“It means looking at our failing infrastructure and meeting it head on. It means promoting this city as a place to do business and attracting long term sustainable industry to the north. Finally, it means communicating to the taxpayers. Open, transparent two-way communication that serves every single resident of this potentially great city. We are on the brink and I am just the person to push us over. I have no affiliations, no vested interests and no hidden agenda. My only passion is this city and its people. The need to change is now. The need to adapt is crucial. Lets work together to make Sudbury greater.”
"We have a unique city with all these hamlets that make us great, and we need to serve them better – that's why i'm so pro downtown – if we put an arts centre downtown, it serves to outlaying areas," Sanders said.
