Coun. Fraser Tolmie announced his intention to run as mayor in the upcoming municipal election on Thursday at a press conference at the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa.
“For me this is a passion and I believe that this is a natural progression, a step-up as opposed to a step-down,” said 42-year-old Tolmie. “I think the City of Moose Jaw has been looking for someone within my age group that can represent all people. I grew up respecting your elders but understanding that you were building a future for the use of today.”
Tolmie has served has city councillor for the past three years. He said his priorities include attracting new businesses to the city and establishing a long-term plan to build growth in the city.
“There are different roles as a mayor and I believe actively promoting this city, attracting new businesses, but also looking out for what we’ve done and what we have is very important,” said Tolmie. “So there’s more than just one job. There’s more than just one role. I don’t think my age is a factor here. I think it’s an asset.”
He said while change has occurred during his tenure on council, he plans to keep the momentum going if elected as mayor. He said getting skills and jobs for the city is important and one of his priorities.
“There are businesses out there that are looking, but are we looking for them? So that’s what I think one of the roles of the mayor is to do is to promote the city,” said Tolmie. “We’ve got to show that off. It’s a bit of show-and-tell.”
Some of the existing issues he feels still need addressing are infrastructure and recycling. He said Moose Jaw is 30 years behind in recycling programs.
“I’m very, very disappointed that we do not have a curbside recycling program already in place. I’ve sat in council for three years waiting for that to come through,” said Tolmie. “This is something to me that is again common sense that should be coming through that we should’ve had this done and dusted and we should be moving on.”
Tolmie said when he was first elected to council he had campaigned on a plan for the engineering department to do more than fix roads and go back to put in water lines. He said he believes there are long-term solutions and critical thinking is required.
“You got to be able to elect a mayor that can deal with the problems that we have existing, clean up the stuff that we’ve got, but have a vision for the future,” said Tolmie. “It’s not about my ego. It’s about moving this city forward and being passionate about the job.”
I am glad Fraser is running for Mayor, he is a progressive thinker which is a long way from what we have had previously. We need to get away from a socialist/ idealist and let business take its course.