Todd Bedore is one of four non-incumbent candidates running for Weyburn City Council.
He sat down with Discover Weyburn earlier this week and outlined what he sees as his priorities for the city. At the top of the list were infrastructure improvements, along with budget management and community growth.
If he is elected, Bedore noted the budget will be one of the big things in the first 100 days, as the work on the 2025 budget is already underway behind the scenes. He pointed out he would face a steep learning curve, but he wants to hit the ground running.
“I’ve got the mandate of the people that I’ve chatted with, so I want to talk about infrastructure; we want to talk about budget,” Bedore said.
When it comes to the infrastructure, Bedore said he has heard from residents they have concerns about how the roads selected for improvement are chosen. He would like to have a review of the selection process.
While roads are a big thing, Bedore acknowledged there is one big elephant in the room that is one of the biggest issues facing the city – the Weyburn Leisure Centre.
“It’s unfortunate it failed a little early,” he commented. “We’re just waiting for some reports, and that’s going to be the big issue coming into this year.”
Those reports will hopefully help show what the path forward will be on the facility that houses Weyburn’s swimming pool.
Bedore also discussed the importance of revitalizing Weyburn’s downtown and bolstering local business development. He suggested that the city’s growth depends on actively promoting Weyburn as an attractive place to live and invest in. Bedore believes that drawing new residents and businesses to the area will help prevent increased tax burdens on residents by expanding the tax base.
“We need to just promote Weyburn a little more, and get ourselves back on the map with the province,” he said, pointing to the need for city-wide promotion and outreach.
As Weyburn faces potential housing bottlenecks, Bedore believes the city’s existing inventory of lots provides a foundation for growth, contingent on demand. “People will build if there’s people to build for,” he noted, expressing confidence that an influx of residents can be supported by the current housing availability.
Advance polls for the municipal election will be Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Credit Union Spark Centre, and again on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The election itself will be November 13th from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Discover Weyburn is your best source for the most comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Weyburn Municipal Election. With live results, in-depth analysis, and immediate reactions, Discover Weyburn’s dedicated team will be working throughout election day to bring the story to our community. Tune in for real-time updates on-air and follow online for the latest results as they happen.
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Discover Weyburn will be chatting with all of the candidates for Weyburn City Council election, and the Weyburn Mayoral election, in the coming days.