Jonathan Torresan says he’ll be looking to continue and expand on the work of the last four years if re-elected to a second term.
Torresan says the council has gotten a lot accomplished in his first term, and he’s hopeful to keep several, manageable revitalization projects going as the economy rebounds post-COVID-19. He explains that he has strived to bring a financially minded and inquisitive approach to city council matters to get the necessary information for residents, and would like to continue providing that leadership for another four years.
“In our first terms as a councillor, I believe we overcame some very tough choices in trying to deal with the finances of the city overall. We had to fill some giant gaps that were left by a lack of land sales, and by relying too much on our utility revenues, that we had to make some very difficult decisions, but also, just through the organization itself, with getting in a new city manager that knows the job and knows what needs to be done, and through the organization I think it’s just been extremely positive.”
Among some of the projects to boost, Torresan notes, would be developing Lloydminster as an industrial, healthcare and education hub for not the just the City but beyond its borders as well. By undertaking goals like revitalizing downtown, building cultural spaces for people to gravitate to and recreation facilities for them, he says it will attract people and businesses to work, live and invest in the community in turn.
“We have to find a way to be able to afford those over the next few years, and I think that having someone with my background in finance as a chartered professional accountant will be very useful in trying to bridge that gap from where we are to where we need to be, how we can solicit donations and how we can try and chance grants so we can get somewhere where we’re not funding the entire thing through our own funds, or through debt.”
Torresan is one of eighteen total candidates for the 2020 Municipal City Council. Residents will be able to hear from potential councillors at the virtual all-candidates meeting on October 19th ahead of the election on November 9th.
