James 'Bud' Grohn is running for Reeve of the R.M. of Weyburn.
With this being his first time running for the office, Grohn said that, if elected, he hopes to spend his first 100 days communicating with ratepayers.
“The first 100 days for me are going to be kind of a whirlwind because, you know, I'm not privy to some of the things that are on the R.M. plate already. I'd like to review some of the things that the ratepayers have told me. They have issues with taxation, infrastructure, there's a water issue, spending, and basically it just gets back to listening to ratepayers. Whatever it is in the first 100 days, I'm going to have to hit the ground running.”
He explained there’s no one policy he hopes to change.
"Policy and change, it's multifaceted, because if you change or delete a policy, it usually affects other policies around it. So, I don't have a specific agenda on policy change, but I'd sure like to review some of the policies and maybe bylaws that we have.”
When asked about the main issue facing the RM, he mentioned concerns of the ratepayers and transparency in governance.
“We have gotten away from actually listening to the ratepayers. There's a concern there. It used to be that's what the job of the RM was, and we've drifted away from that, and we have to get back to working with ratepayers, working within the council, and solving some of the problems and issues that we have, and you have to have good people to do that.”
“Transparency, good governance. You know I like change, but we have to have all the proper information to do change.”
He expressed what he most looks forward to if elected.
“I like people. I enjoy solving problems. That's what I've done all my life, and, you know, when you don't have answers, the way you solve a problem is you surround yourself with some people that can help you solve that problem. I'm looking forward to dealing with all the staff and the councillors, and I'm looking forward to being approachable for the ratepayers to come and give me information, opinions, or beefs.”
Read more: R.M. of Weyburn election details: who is running; where, when to vote