The civic election is coming up on Wednesday, November 13.
There will be ten candidates on the ballot for councillor in Humboldt including Sarah McInnis.
She is the Executive Director of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce, currently on a leave of absence.
Prior to that, she worked in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, doing legislative and policy work.
With her background, she feels municipal politics is right up her alley with extensive work alongside large and small municipalities.
McInnis decided to enter her name as a candidate for councillor because she wants to see Humboldt and its residents prosper. McInnis feels she’s a community minded individual involved in several boards and community initiatives.
During her time with the Chamber of Commerce she’s heard from residents who’ve worked with the city and those interactions are what helped push her into running for council.
With the anticipated growth that is expected to develop in the region over the next few years, including the BHP Mine in Jansen. McInnis wants Humboldt to be at the centre of growth.
“Right now, we’re seeing places like Lanigan and Muenster with the highest population growth in our region, while Humboldt is not near matching that, so I think that’s a sign we need people in place at the city who are going to focus on what need to be done to draw people to Humboldt and keep them.
McInnis explains this will include housing, along with other community needs such as childcare, things to do, transportation. She feels there is a need to look at the bigger picture.
Infrastructure was another motivating factor for McInnis to pursue a seat on council. She said that speaking to residents that many of them are concerned with the state of Humboldt’s roadways and sidewalks along with snow clearing during the winter.
With regards to other major potential infrastructure projects like a second ice surface, McInnis says she’s heard concerns from residents about the potential funding.
“The city has increases taxes this year, and people understand that you kind of have to give some money to have some nice things in our city, but at the same time, people are feeling it in their pocketbook and they’re not feeling that the city is necessarily kind of doing that same financial fiscal number crunching and tightening up the purse string.”
During the door-knocking portion of her campaign, McInnis says a key issue she’s heard from many people from Humboldt is a disconnect between the residents and the City’s Administration.
“People are saying they like, when they try and bring issues forward, they either can’t contact who they want to contact, or things are swept as a small minor issue, but the thing with municipal politics is most grassroots level you can have is a city councillor.”
McInnis explains that it’s important for a councillor to be available for the residents of the community and to listen to all the concerns of the people whether they are big or small.
The full conservation with McInnis is listed below.