The race is on for the top political seat at the Timmins council table.
Richard Lafleur has registered to run for mayor in the Oct. 24 election. Michelle Boileau, who currently sits as a Ward 5 councillor, is also running for the seat. People have until this Friday, Aug. 19 at 2 p.m. to register for the municipal election.
Lafleur is a longtime Timmins resident, has owned Vet's Taxi since 2015 and recently opened Dr. Wrench Automotive in Schumacher, according to information sent out by his campaign team.
Through Vet's Taxi, he started the No One Gets Left In The Cold offering free rides to and from homeless shelters, food banks and other places that provide services to people in need. In 2018, he won the Venture Centre Business Contribution to the Community Award.
"Being a local business owner himself, Mr. Lafleur understands the importance of having a safe, vibrant downtown core and recognizes that some of the recent struggles impacting many communities across the province and country, as well as our residents here, have hindered our ability to provide that. His hope is that collaboration and compassion paired with strong leadership and direction can help to identify and resolve key issues that will bring us that feeling of safety and vibrancy," reads the announcement.
"Having operated a business throughout the pandemic, Mr. Lafleur is also no stranger to fiscal responsibility and the need to both make difficult financial decisions and becoming more creative in generating revenues during difficult times. It is no secret that the cost-of-living post-pandemic has seen a steady increase and he believes that the municipality has a responsibility to ensure that no additional financial burden is placed on the residents of the City of Timmins. Careful consideration on spending will have to be, more than ever, at the forefront of council's decision-making process to try to help ease the stress of inflation that is outside of their control."
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In Timmins, there are nine seats at the table. The mayor is elected at large, with everyone getting to cast a ballot.
One councillor is elected for Ward 1 (Mountjoy), Ward 2 (South Porcupine), Ward 3 (Schumacher) and Ward 4 (Porcupine), and Ward 5 (Timmins) is represented by four councillors. You can look at the ward maps here.
The unofficial list of candidates so far is:
Ward 1: Rock Whissell (incumbent
Ward 2: Mickey Auger (incumbent), Marcus Niebler
Ward 3: Bill Gvozdanovic
Ward 4: John Curley (incumbent), Tim Jamieson, Kenneth Karl Steinbrunner
Ward 5: Cory Robin (incumbent), Neil David Siblall, Ed "Edge" Stecewicz, Veronica Farrell
Mayor: Michelle Boileau, Richard Lafleur
English public school board trustee: Mark Clemence, Bob Brush, Stephen Meunier
English separate school board trustee: Colleen Landers, Ron MacInnis, Paula Del Guidice, Fred Salvador, Glenn Sheculski
French public school board trustee: Liliane Francis, Nicole Arcand
French separate school board trustee: Langis Dion, Paul St-Jean, Denis Belanger
