Gordon Anthony believes his business background will serve him well on city council.
The 52-year-old dropped off his nomination papers for council in the upcoming municipal election.
“There are certainly some issues that need to be dealt with and we’ve done some good things in Moose Jaw, but certainly we’ve got a long way to go. Infrastructure is something that is critical to me. It was when I served before.”
Anthony was first elected as a councillor with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural municipalities in 1993 and was re-elected in 1996 and 1999. During those three terms, he said he was an advocate for fiscal responsibility and accountability.
“Basically the principles of that are exactly the same as the City of Moose Jaw,” said Anthony. “I think I can help the City a little bit.”
He said infrastructure needs to be addressed by getting a line on “foolish spending” and start dealing with needs ahead of wants. He said while talking about it is fine, the time is now to do something about it.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do there,” said Anthony.
He added that the city needs to have a balance on expenditures to restore people’s faith in the municipal government.
“I want to get involved with economic development. Private sector investment — I think that’s something we need to do a lot more work on,” said Anthony. “Getting fiscal spending under control is something that’s critical.”
He said it’s important to reconnect with people and include them in city processes. One of his priorities is reforming some processes and issues at city hall.
“I’ve talked about the need just to clean things up at city hall,” said Anthony.
Anthony said this year’s election is one of the most important elections because the mayor and city councillors will be elected for a four-year term. He said the city must attract new businesses as well as reconnecting with existing businesses.
He added that he believes in the city, but the people need strong leadership to set realistic goals and organize their spending.
Anthony has been in business for 30 years and during that time owned two businesses, a cattle operation and a Bobcat trucking business when he moved into the city in 2001.
He said he believes his business background plus his time spent in municipal government will serve him well if elected. While working in business, he has learned communication skills with a diverse group of people. He has also worked with youth in the city as a head football and soccer coach.
“I’ve got a fair bit of experience,” said Anthony. “With my business experience, I think I can bring a lot to city council and hopefully help out there.”
