All candidates, all positions: Election 2016
You’ll want to read this before casting your vote on Wednesday.
In the interest of providing a quick, one-stop guide for all voters in the upcoming municipal election on Wednesday, 106.1 The Goat has compiled the following list of all candidates for the six council positions, and short notes about their stances on the different municipal policies impacting our community.
Each candidate has a short bio, and their positions on the “burning questions” which came up during the all-candidates forum held on October 18, as well as secondary information based on policies they have proposed during the campaign.
The following information was based primarily on the responses which came up during the forum, and other public statements made by the candidates throughout the campaign.
David Benoit
Bio: Born and raised in the Border City, has worked in and owned businesses on both sides of the community.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the project. However, he did say there was a need to support the library, and said his highest concern was that the project was outside the budget.
Transparency
-Would seek to post City expenses online, and implement additional meetings for council, with both meetings in the day and at night, with a schedule posted in advance.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said the turnout to the municipal forum reflected a loss in confidence by citizens in the municipal government, and that every City program would need to be submitted to a value-for-money review.
Wastewater Treatment Plant- Would want to get a “break” to hold off on this project as long as possible.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is the restoration of responsible government.
-Has attended two city council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Benoit indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
Brian Hanterman
Bio: Hanterman has longtime ties to Lloydminster, and has lived in the city for the last year and a half since moving from Marwayne. He currently works as a teacher, and serves as the president of the Lloydminster and District United Way.
Community Hub Project
-Likes the idea, but does not want to see taxes go up to support the process.
Transparency
-Would want to see council meetings moved to the evenings, and supported the idea of live-streaming the meetings, as well as the holding of plebiscites on large expenditures by the municipal government.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said the City was “top-heavy” citing information contained in the draft budget released earlier in October. He also raised the idea of sending the city manager back to each department of the municipal government to find efficiencies.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Hanterman said it was the top priority, and proposed that the plant could be scaled back to be more affordable, due to it being planned for a larger projected population of Lloydminster. He would also to seek more government funding, and meet with administration to talk about what has been done on the project so far.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issues facing the city are finding efficiencies, and the wastewater treatment plant.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Hanterman indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended zero council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Bill King
Bio: King is a third-generation resident of the community, and spent most of his career in the management of three companies. He is currently retired, and has been for three years.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the project, and believes there are more important things for the City to be worrying about. “If I had to vote on it today, I would definitely vote against it.” Believes it would be the wrong time, and the City would need to be financially stable.
Transparency
-Does not believe in closed-door meetings, and said that the City was heading towards transparency, “whether anybody likes it or not”.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that without accountability, “you have a train wreck in front of you,” and that council needs to be accountable for money and people.
Wastewater Treatment Plant- Wants to look at different options, such as building it for a shorter time so the cost will only be $47 million, and adding on to the plant when the economy is better.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is the wastewater treatment plant.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, King indicated he would want to address the one way couplet.
-He has attended two council meetings, and indicated he would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Gerry Rollheiser
Rollheiser was born and raised in Lloydminster, and has worked in management in both freight and managing a gas station.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the project. During the forum, he indicated that he thought the library could have been moved to the former RCMP detachment building, and also expressed the opinion that libraries were obsolete.
Transparency
-Would want to see more media coverage of council meetings.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said the city needs to “tighten purse strings” as much as possible, cut down on the deficit, and collect any money owed to the municipal government while following a strict budget to become financially secure.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Would seek to ask to the provincial government to put the deadline on hold would be necessary for the City to get the project sorted.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that most pressing challenge facing Lloydminster is finance, and the reorder of priorities
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Rollheiser indicated he would want to address a train overpass.
-Would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money.
Sheldon Servold
Servold and his wife have raised their family in Lloydminster, and is a longtime business owner in the Border City, and cited his business experience as an asset in the race.
Community Hub Project
-Thinks that the Hub is a good idea, but would not vote for the continuing of the project, seeing as a majority of council candidates are not supporting the idea.
Transparency
-Expressed a belief that efforts have been made to hide what’s been going on with the municipal government in recent years, would want to return to the “old ways”.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said the City has been following in the footsteps of prov/fed government in “Spending like drunken sailors” would seek to cut back on spending.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Servold expressed anger that nothing had been done about the issue “since 2001”, and said “it would be difficult”, to deal with the matter now.
Miscellaneous
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Servold indicated he would want to address the one-way couplet.
-He has attended zero council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money.
 Jonathan Torresan
A chartered accountant, Torresan is hoping to bring his financial skills to the council chamber. He returned to Lloydminster with his wife to raise their family, after going away to school.
Community Hub Project
-Likes the idea in principle, would want to see a hub in the community. However, he said the City “can’t do it” citing the long term debt of the municipal government, and the impact of the project on that debt limit.
Transparency-
Wants to eliminate the practice of 1st,2nd, and 3rd readings of bylaws during the same meeting, and implement separate readings so the people of Lloydminster have time to learn what council is working on, with additional detail, and can have a say before it’s made law.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would not seek to cut basic services. After securing those services, he would be looking at items that could be cut, with a criteria of whether they were necessary or not.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-“First and foremost for priorities,” would want funding to come from federal and provincial governments, and to take an additional look at the EPCOR solution. Also wants to make sure a deadline extension is secured, so city residents will not be paying penalties.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is the removal of first, second and third readings from council practice.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Torresan indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended nine council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
John Van Kleemput
Born in North Battleford, Kleemput has been an ardent attendee of city council meetings, and has had past political experience after making a run for office in Smithers, B.C, in previous years. He is currently retired.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the project, and cited concerns about the way council approval was given for the purchase. Expressed support for an alternative property for the project site, at the former United Furniture Warehouse location.
Transparency
-Would want to see the council agenda available online at an earlier date. (The agenda is currently usually available to the public four days prior to a meeting).
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would want to see more collection of outstanding fines and utility bills in the city.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Wants both the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta government to help pay, plus federal money from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s infrastructure fund.
Miscellaneous
–Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is the municipal administration.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Van Kleemput indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended five to six council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Erwin Warkentin
Warkentin is a pilot, and chief instructor with Border City Aviation. He has run for a council seat in the past, and the 2016 race is his second attempt at winning a spot.
Community Hub Project
-Not in favour of the project as it currently stands. He likes the idea, but would be concerned about the holes created across the city by the centralization of non-profit offices.
Transparency
-Would want to see council meetings broadcast online for members of the public to easily view the proceedings.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would want to see the information presented to council to put “in plain English” so they can know what they’re deciding on.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-The plant would be priority number one, in Warkentin’s mind. He also wanted to see the project get done as quickly as possible, so residents can avoid paying penalties.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is communication.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Warkentin indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended five to six meetings of city council, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Riley Weinrauch
The youngest candidate in the race at 22 years old, Weinrauch was born and raised in the Border City, and currently works in the oil and gas industry.
Community Hub Project
– “If the City of Lloydminster had a money tree, I’d be in favour of this project. But we do not.” Weinrauch did not believe it was the right time for the project, given other financial issues facing the city and the ongoing challenge of the wastewater treatment plant.
Transparency
-Would want to be “open and honest with the people of Lloydminster,” and did not support the newly-created Lloydminster Record. He also echoed Wright in moving meetings to evenings and weekends, so city residents would have more opportunity to attend, along with a meeting once a month where the public could attend and ask the mayor and council questions.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would cut back on spending, and make “appropriate cuts where needed.”
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Weinrauch wants to look into getting both federal and provincial help, with extensions, to avoid penalties. Echoed Warkentin in wanting to get it done quickly.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that most pressing issues facing the City are transparency and the waste water treatment plant.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Weinrauch indicated he would want to address a railway overpass.
-Has attended zero council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Daryl Wright
Bio: A vegetation manager, Wright has focused his platform on fiscal conservatism. He has lived in the city for the past six years.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the project, and would want to see a feasibility study on other options that could be presented in the community. Looks at the Hub as an example of the City being involved in real estate development, which he does not want to see the municipal government involved in.
Transparency
– Would want to see council meetings on evenings and weekends, so members of the public can view the processes.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Wright said he would have voted to not accept the draft budget, which was recently presented to the outgoing council. He would have told administration to come back with more.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Wants to set a plan to get our finances in order before we ask for federal and provincial government’s help with funding and extensions.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is the spending, debt and long term payments.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Weinrauch indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended one meeting of city council, and would want to see council invest a portion of their pay back into community partnerships.
Stephanie Brown Munroe
Bio: A nurse at a local clinic in Lloydminster, Brown Munroe was raised in Lloydminster, and is making her first run at political office in 2016.
Community Hub Project
-Said that revitalization of downtown is crucial to Lloydminster’s history. As for the project, she questioned the “fiscal commitment” and the timing of the project, and said that City cannot afford the project right now.
Transparency
-Wants to have another city council meeting that would take place in the evening, two weeks after the regularly scheduled council meeting, where it would be open for members of the public to stand up and ask questions.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would want to see the comparisons of City wages made against other, similar sized communities.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Wants to use every resource to get the plant done in a cost effective and timely matter, ask provincial governments for funding, and revisit the EPCOR proposal.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is communication.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Brown Munroe indicated she would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended three council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Aaron Buckingham
Bio: A resident of Lloydminster for 20 years, Buckingham has had multiple volunteer roles in the community, notably in his role at the Britannia-Wilton Fire Department.
Community Hub Project
-Likes the idea of the Hub, says the idea has been discussed for years. However, he believes the current plan is in the wrong place, at the wrong time, citing accessibility issues for the Synergy building and the current financial situation for the municipal government.
Transparency
-Thinks that poor communication is the cause of non-transparency.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said there would need to be careful consideration with the possibility of slashing City jobs, as it could have an impact on the local economy.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Wants to tap into local industry to build the plant, so money goes back into the community, instead of looking at the EPCOR solution. Stated that not building the plant was “not an option”.
Miscellaneous
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Buckingham indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended two council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Lachlan Cummine
Bio: A former realtor, Cummine has worked on multiple volunteer boards in Lloydminster, and is a current member of city council, having served on the body for the last three years.
Community Hub Project
-Voted in favour of the project while it was in front of council. However, during the forum he said he was “still not 100 per cent sure” of his decision. He viewed the Hub as a project to “spur things along” when it came to improvement of the downtown core, and compared the idea to the creation of Bud Miller Park back in the 80’s.
Transparency
-Cummine would want to see a return of the committee system, so council members could be more “hands-on” and report back to the community.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that municipal administration would need to be able to function with whatever amount they are given by council.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Stated that city administration is very close to a solution on the matter, and called the current situation a “waiting game”.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is the balancing of the municipal budget.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Cummine indicated he would want to address a train overpass.
-Cummine has attended three years of council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Michael Diachuk
Bio: Diachuk spent eight years as the director of the Lloydminster Public School Division, and is currently working as an education consultant. This is his first time running for elected office.
Community Hub Project
-Based on the information that he has learned about the project, Diachuk’s short answer was a “no” to the project. However, he did say he would want to see more discussion with administration about the project, and more information. If it came down to the money, the answer would be no.
Transparency-
-Said that more transparency is usually asked for when trust is lost, and that council now has to “walk the talk” when it comes making decisions for the community. However, he did note that closed sessions need to be held about human resource matters and financial decisions. “If you start opening up the books about financial contracts to the public, you won’t get any contracts.”
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that budgeting is a list of needs and wants. Would want to see an organizational review of the municipal government within the first 60 days of the new administration, taking a look at city structure and municipal salaries.
Wastewater Treatment Plant-
-Wants to explore all options, and meet with administration to ask about what has been explored to date.
Miscellaneous
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Diachuk indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended two council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Glenn Fagnan
Bio: A 27 year resident of Lloydminster, Fagnan has founded businesses in Lloydminster and is heavily involved in area non-profits, notably the Lloydminster Handi-Van.
Community Hub Project
-Believes the concept is interesting, but purchase of the Synergy building is a bad idea. Similar to Buckingham, it would be “wrong place, wrong time,” in Fagnan’s opinion. He had additional concerns about the viability of the building when it came to the rent for non-profits.
Transparency
-Said that bringing transparency to the “highest level” is a goal for municipal government, to have everything as open as possible. He would want to see a year where there were no Freedom of Information requests filed.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said the City needed to be run like a business, and all areas needed to be considered in efforts to save money.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Expressed disappointment with lack of provincial and federal funding for the project. Voiced support for a company that set up a water-treatment system in Unity, Saskatchewan, and would want to talk to administration about what has been done on the project to date.
Miscellaneous
Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Fagnan indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended four council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Ken Baker
Bio: Longtime resident of Lloydminster, previously served as mayor for two terms up till 2009. Current member of city council.
Community Hub Project
-Does not agree with the purchase of the Synergy Credit Union building, and said that in his experience on the board of the library, the Synergy building would not be one where the library would want to be relocated to. Baker also said he had “letters in his briefcase” from non-profit groups who did not wish to move into the building.
Transparency
-Baker expressed support for the way the City operated in his days as mayor, with expense account reports included in council meetings, and also supported the return of the committee system.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that Lloydminster has one of the lowest municipal tax rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan and that lowering taxes is not the issue, and that he’s been fighting budget increases for the last two years.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Would want to try and finance the plant over a 25-year period, similar to the method used to secure a freshwater pipeline into the city from the North Saskatchewan River in years previous.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issues facing the city right now are a review of procedural bylaws, and the wastewater treatment plant.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Baker indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Said he has never missed a council meeting, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money.
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is the need to review the procedure bylaws, and the wastewater treatment plant.
David Hennessy
Bio: Hennessy has lived in Lloydminster for the last year and a half, and works as a property manager. He has prior experience in the banking industry back in Ontario.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the Community Hub, and questioned how many jobs the Hub would provide to Lloydminster residents.
Transparency
-Supports the idea of live-streaming council meetings, and expressed a dislike to the practice of closed-door meetings.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that the City needs to “cut hard and fast” focusing on discretionary spending. Hennessy also said he would “lead council and mayor in a strategic plan” to keep taxes low, and also raised the idea of a tax cut.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Wants to look into funding from the federal government, promised that he was a “screamer” when it came to his approach to securing such funds.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is job creation and the economy.
– Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Hennessy indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended four council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Laurie Makichuk
Bio: A member of the Catholic Schoolboard, Makichuk currently works at the Lloydminster Airport. This will be her second run for a city council seat.
Community Hub Project
-Likes the idea of keeping the downtown revitalized, and thinks that real estate is a good investment. However, she disagreed with the process of approval for the project, and wanted to see an opportunity for council to table the motion, and get more information. As for the building itself, she said it was “ok”.
Transparency
-Believes all paperwork should be available and all decisions open, but would like closed meetings for information between members of city council and the administration of the municipal government. She also said that the outgoing council had done a good job with the Your Voice meetings and online surveys.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Said that due diligence would need to be done about City spending, and that administration needs to be made accountable.
Wastewater Treatment Plant-Priority
-Wants to argue for federal funding.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the city is the restructuring of meetings and City staff.
Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Makichuk indicated she would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended council meetings on and off for the past 20 years, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Gigi Rempel
A former member of the finance department municipal administration, Rempel has lived in the city for the past six years. She has been describing herself as a bridge between council and administration, based on her experience “behind the scenes”.
Community Hub Project
-Thinks the Hub is a “great idea” and admires the view of admin for making change in the community. Has concerns about funding for the project taking from other projects, and the impact that a debenture for the project would have on City finances.
Transparency
-Would want to create a task force made up of council members and members of the public to create reports on council matters, and supported the idea of streaming council meetings.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Expressed a desire to look at how the top tier of City administration has been spending money, and would want to ensure that management wages were comparable to other communities with similar sizes.
Wastewater Treatment Plant- Would want to do due diligence on costs of project.
Miscellaneous
-Believes the most pressing issue facing the city is a restructuring of the current leadership.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Rempel indicated she would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended “around 20” council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money.
Wayne Ross
Ross has lived in the Border City full-time since 1994, and has worked as a truck driver for the majority of those years. This is his first time running for council.
Community Hub Project
-Does not support the idea of the Hub. Believes it will cost too much, and that there will be parking issues.
Transparency
-Said he was “shook up” about transparency, brought up his concerns about the total cost of the new RCMP building in Lloydminster.
Financial Management and Accountability
-Would want to improve financial accountability at City Hall, did not provide any proposed method to do so.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Would want to put the question of what to do about the plant to a vote amongst Lloydminster residents.
Miscellaneous
–Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is snow removal.
-Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Ross indicated he would pursue a train overpass.
-He would take a pay cut to save taxpayers money, and has attended zero council meetings.
Don Schille
A longtime resident of Lloydminster, Schille is the owner of the local Papa John’s pizza restaurant, and a volunteer firefighter with the Lloydminster Fire Department. This will be his first time running for council.
Community Hub Project
-Does not believe the City can afford it, and it is a “huge commitment” of long-term debt to commit to. During the forum, he said he was hearing the end of the project in the feedback from other candidates on the topic.
Transparency
-Says he will keep people up to date with how money is being spent, wants to update the website and make it much easier to navigate.
Financial Management and Accountability
-“Some cuts will have to be made to balance the budget” , did not specify what kind of cuts.
Wastewater Treatment Plant
-Views the plant as priority number one, and wants to look for more options on who to pay for it.
Miscellaneous
-Believes that the most pressing issue facing the City is the trust of the public.
Out of a choice between addressing the passage of dangerous good, creating bike lanes and walk ways, or the one-way couplet project, Schille indicated he would want to address dangerous goods.
-Has attended two council meetings, and would take a pay cut to save taxpayer money.
Good luck to all the candidates!