Three Flin Flonners are running this month to be the city’s next mayor and nine candidates are coming forward for the next term of city council. Who are they, what do they value and what do they want to do?
The Reminder reached out to all 12 people seeking seats in the Oct. 26 elections. Here is what we found out.
Mayoral race
Sitting city councillors Tim Babcock and Leslie Beck both announced intentions to run for the mayor’s seat last summer, with former mayor George Fontaine joining the race earlier this fall. The Reminder interviewed Babcock and Beck about their bids for mayorship earlier this year, contacting Fontaine after his candidacy was announced.
Babcock
Babcock has sat on council since 2010 and serves with the Flin Flon Kin Club and on the board of the Flin Flon Bombers as the City’s representative. At 43 years old, Babcock is the youngest current member of Flin Flon’s city council and the youngest person in the mayoral race, but told The Reminder in August that his decade-plus of experience on council would be an asset if elected.
“I’ve got 12 years of experience before most people are thinking about running for office. I think that says a lot about who I am and where I come from,” he said in August.
“I’ve pretty much dedicated my whole life to giving back to my community, whether it's through the Kinsmen, through being on the Bomber board or volunteering for things. It’s something I’ve always done and I feel it’s important.”
Babcock listed seniors’ housing, economic development and public safety as Flin Flon’s three biggest issues in August.
“We’ve had COVID-19 and we’ve had byelections and the mine is shutting down. It seems like there haven't been a lot of wins and a lot of things to celebrate. But we have to keep moving forward. If we don't do it, who will?”
Beck
Beck has had two stints on city council, first from 2014 to 2016 before stepping down to run in that year’s Manitoba provincial election, then from 2021 to present when she won a council seat in a byelection. Beck ran for mayorship in 2010 against Fontaine and outgoing mayor Cal Huntley, finishing third in the running. A former RCMP officer, Beck ran for council last year saying she planned to run for the mayor’s chair this year.
Beck said she hopes to focus on retaining and growing business in the community, stepping up bylaw enforcement and attempting to boost Flin Flon’s profile to the world if elected. The incumbent councillor added she felt it was time for change in the City’s governance group.
“I think that we need to move forward from our status quo. I think that it's time to get some new people and some new energy into mayor and council,” she told The Reminder earlier this summer.
“I’d like to be a very active mayor. I'd like a mayor and council that are actually out there, developing the policies, engaging the people to see what they want, going out there and driving our name forward.”
Fontaine
Fontaine is the only member of the group running for mayor to have held the seat, having done so from 2010 until 2014, when he lost the seat to outgoing mayor Cal Huntley by four votes. Fontaine is a now-retired shop teacher by trade and served on city council before his election as mayor.
Fontaine was also a negotiator for the Flin Flon Teacher’s Association before his time on council and served on the Flin Flon Public Library board, as well as other City committees and with Community Futures Greenstone.
“I’ve never lost interest in the City and the workings of the City. I’m approached all the time by people who tell me they liked the way I worked with council when I was mayor before and would like to see me try it again,” he said. Fontaine did not initially want to run for office again after his 2014 defeat - hearing interest from locals is what pushed him to change his mind.
“I had eight years to rest and I’m not doing this flippantly, just in case anybody wonders. My wife cautioned me about the same thing - ‘Are you sure you want to do that? You’re not a young pup anymore,’ but I do have experience in the workings of the City.”
Fontaine’s main points are to improve communication between council and the community at large and encouraging cooperation with neighbouring areas.
“Our relationships with Denare Beach, with Creighton and with the surrounding areas are really important to me. We have to have some real conversations because the services we all enjoy right now are not going to be able to be maintained with the size of the taxpayer base that we have and with the reductions in the grant-in-lieu payments,” Fontaine said.
“I don’t want to see cuts. I want to see people get together and try and maintain some of the things we have, because most of the things we do use here are shared services… if we lose that, everybody here loses that, not just the people in Flin Flon.”
Council race
All nine candidates running for city council shed light on their motivations for running for office, community involvement, preparation and plans to solve issues facing Flin Flon.
Dallas-Funk
Alison Dallas-Funk is the executive director of the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank, the owner of Dee’s Courier delivery service and sits on the Everyone Deserves A Home and housing committees.
The sense of community service, even during down times, is what she said has drawn her toward running for council.
“If I look at the core of it, you would have to love your community to do this because it's a four-year commitment. I can honestly say that I love and I care about our community and I have a core value that giving back to your community is a really important thing, that you often get more than you give. I live my life on a daily basis like that,” she said.
Dallas-Funk’s main concerns are transparency, financial accountability and building up relationships with non-City groups and organizations, as well hoping to encourage involvement from the community at large. Housing, including seniors’ housing, is also a concern for her.
“I think about the current time we're in right now. It's highly emotional, it's very concerning for people - these are uncharted times that we're entering. That is what’s pushed me to put my name forward to be on council, because I feel like I have a lot that I could offer and bring to the council and to our community,” she said.
“I think it’s important that we have a council that reflects our community and a diverse council that can govern.”
In preparation, Dallas-Funk said she has read over council agendas, financial plans, minutes and other public City documents, as well as studying up on other communities similar to Flin Flon.
“I’ve never been on council. I don’t know all the answers because I’m not privy to all the information, so I’m just trying to gather as much knowledge as I can based on what’s available to me.”
Eagle
Judy Eagle is a lawyer working out of her own law office based on Boam Street, a former school board trustee and Flin Flon/Creighton and Area SPCA cofounder and president, business owner and ex-executive director for the Women’s Resource Centre. Eagle hasn’t run for city council before, but said the time was right for her to run this year.
“It's my sense of pride and my love for Flin Flon and our surrounding area. That's the core of it right there. Being a councillor is another way to serve,” she said.
“I can say that I've considered putting my hat in the ring throughout this whole year. This wasn't something for me that just turned up, though we have some significant and serious issues to deal with.”
Eagle wants to focus her campaign on community health and safety, including City communication and input with the Northern Health Region, infrastructure, Main Street loitering and recreation. Eagle said she sees all these issues as interconnected, with each playing a role in building a healthy community.
“Health care delivery in this in this area is important. Health to me also involves loitering and vagrancy issues on Main Street that, frankly, are scaring people. It involves the pool construction. It involves our zoo. All of that has to do with community health and wellness - all of it. I think that some people may see those all as separate issues - I see them as interconnected.”
Eagle also wants to look at local taxes and budgeting to ensure the City can continue operating despite Hudbay’s local closures.
“This is a major shift for Flin Flon, with Hudbay’s recent changes and so on and so forth. We have to really be mindful of that and mindful that we want to draw people to come and live here and stay here,” she said.
Ellison
Vair Ellison manages Flin Flon’s HR Block, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education and has worked with the Flin Flon Rotary Club, Flin Flon Revitalization Corporation and other groups.
When asked why Ellison was running for office now, he had a simple response.
“Family,” he said.
“That’s my ultimate guiding principle - family. I could talk about other campaign things, but ultimately, Flin Flon is not facing a single issue that isn’t a family issue. I focus on that - my work had me away for a bit and my work has had me here for a decade, but now I have the opportunity to be here and I want to contribute in a way that ensures Flin Flon is a good place for families.”
Ellison said local government has always been a focus for him in the past.
“That’s always been one of my biggest focuses because municipal government is the government that's closest to us - that's the biggest impact on our family and our lives,” he said.
Ellison said he doesn’t have particular issues that he plans to run on - “in the end, the community is going to tell us that,” he said - but has heard concerns from voters about fiscal stewardship post-Hudbay shutdown, public safety uptown and transparency with council.
“Those are the three things I really feel are most important. Once those are effectively managed, with a focus on family, all the others will fall into place,” he said.
Ellison also wants the new council to work with other local groups and different levels of government.
“From speaking to other existing councillors, there have been strides made towards that. I trust the mayor, whoever's elected, to really champion that, but I know as a member of the council and as a team member, I'll need to help further that agenda.”
Hanson
Only one person running for a council spot has won one before - that would be Bill Hanson. The long-time councillor is running for a whopping seventh term on Flin Flon’s city council, in part to help keep some kind of experience on what would or could otherwise be a completely new city council.
“I was just a little afraid that stuff was going to be missed. Maybe that’s arrogant of me, I don’t know, but there was no continuity,” he said.
“With a new council, it’s a steep learning curve when you get on council. I think there’s some really good people running and I’m encouraged by that - I’m sure this is going to be quite a different term on council than previous.”
Hanson stepped down from council in 2018 after 19 years on the job, but felt the itch to run again in 2021 and won a seat back in a byelection. Hanson has spent most of his time on council, including the present day, on the City’s engineering services committee - infrastructure, especially water and sewer infrastructure, is paramount to Hanson.
“I think our bigger challenges are water and sewer renewal. Those are so important,” he said.
“The next four years are going to be a bit of a challenge.”
Hanson also mentioned wanting to help Flin Flon’s homeless population, Main Street business beautification and recreation maintenance as key issues.
“We're going to build a pool and some people are saying we shouldn't build a pool. We’ve got the money to build it and I think we should actually just go ahead and do it,” he said.
“I don't know what we're going to do to deal with homeless people we have in town. The police are placing a heck of a lot of resources, taking care of that problem… How do you find the balance between law and order and compassion?”
Highfield
A former manager of the Flin Flon Hotel, ex-Canadian Navy member, union steward, Legion member and construction worker, Ted Highfield hopes to add “city councillor” to a long list of titles.
“It’s about time we got some people in power who have a little bit of experience and knowledge of construction and stuff like that, because I worked construction for the last 25 years. Before that, I ran the Flin Flon Hotel as management,” he said.
Highfield brought up seniors’ housing and water and sewer as key issues for his campaign this year.
“I’d like to see the City of Flin Flon build a seniors’ complex for people who are older who are looking for places to stay. My father got the Legion housing built - I would like to see another one,” Highfield said.
“You go out to Creighton, they’ve got a line of 20 or so people waiting. At the Legion housing, as soon as somebody passes on, they get the apartment done up and have new people moving in. It’s time to get another seniors’ complex here.”
Water and sewer infrastructure, specifically for Channing, is also front of mind for Highfield.
“I’d like to see them put some waterworks down in Channing - it’s been there since before Flin Flon was there and they still don’t have good sewer and water,” he said.
Highfield also mentioned wanting to fix some of Flin Flon’s problem roads and infrastructure.
“Fix some of these potholes, but we can’t say anything about that because we’re separate from City works - we’re allowed to give suggestions, we’re not allowed to phone the superintendent and demand it, we’re allowed to advise,” he said.
“What I hear from people is they like the idea of a seniors’ complex. They’re not sure they want the pool - I hear that a lot. The roads… how do you put it politely? They suck.”
Lytwyn
The current principal of Hapnot Collegiate and a teacher, guidance counsellor and coach, Steve Lytwyn has had a long-time interest in running for office - one that led him to run for the first time this year.
“I went door to door, getting signatures and talking to people at the same time. That was actually very, very valuable for me. That actually kind of strengthened my resolve - like, ‘I'm definitely doing the right thing here.’
The Hudbay closure this year made Lytwyn feel now was the right time to run, hoping he can bring new ideas to tackle possible economic stagnation.
“I was motivated to run because I love Flin Flon - I can't stress that enough. This is such a great place. I grew up here. I’ve raised my kids here, I love it here. I’m just really, really concerned with where the community is going,” Lytwyn said.
“I do know that, with cutbacks to Hudbay, there's a lot of things on people's plates. I can step up and try to help out - that’s basically what I'm trying to do. I think I have some good ideas and some good energy to hopefully keep the town not just afloat, but flourishing again.”
Recreation, infrastructure (including water, sewer and roads) and providing seniors’ housing are all targets for Lytwyn, whose main goal is to find a balance between providing better services without breaking the bank.
“I think fiscal and financial responsibility is my number one importance,” he said.
“There’s going to be less money coming in to the City - at least that’s my understanding with the Hudbay drawdowns. How do we do more with less? How do we find creative ways to get money that maybe we haven't explored in the past, or maybe we have explored and haven't fully developed?”
Richardson
Current Flin Flon/Creighton and Area SPCA president Heather Richardson, also the manager of the Rotary Park community garden and a board member for Community Futures Greenstone, Norman Community Services and others, feels she has what it takes to work well on council.
“Flin Flon is… well, it's changing right now and it's going to continue to change. We're needing strong leadership right now and people who can make decisions and are willing to stand up for what they believe the community needs. I feel I'm one of those individuals,” she said.
“I have an interest in politics, I have an interest in the community - I have four children and a husband, we've been here for years and years and we plan on staying here for a while. I'm trying to do what I think is best for our community.”
Making Flin Flon more family-friendly - including boosting options for family activities and recreation - is one of Richardson’s top priorities, as well as building up local infrastructure.
“Some of the issues are definitely a lack of stuff for children and families to do. If you’re not outdoorsy people - there’s fishing and hunting and everything, but otherwise there’s the zoo, the Aqua Centre, maybe stuff like that,” she said.
Richardson sees the work she already does on other community boards or with other groups as an asset for community building.
“We're trying to build a better community for people already. I think being on as many boards as I am on, just getting that broader perspective, is important,” she said.
“I'm taking facilitation skills workshops, I'm taking self-improvement workshops all the time, just trying to improve myself so I can help improve our community more and have that knowledge and understanding going forward that we will need.”
Siemens
Roger Siemens wants to put his money where his mouth is.
One of nine candidates that have come forward for city council seats in the upcoming election, Siemens says he often voices his opinions, but Hudbay’s closure earlier this year made him want to step up.
“I just want to be part of rebuilding our community after Hudbay. I need to be a part of that. I don't like to complain and not be active in trying to fix what I'm complaining about,” he said. “I'm going to put up and not shut up.”
During the day, Siemens is a driver and salesman for North of 53 Consumers’ Co-op’s bulk fuel department. He is a union steward for UFCW Local 832, a member of the provincial UFCW executive board and runs a small business doing tire and mechanical repairs.
One of his main motivations for running is community interest.
“One word says it to me - that's community. I'm a very community-minded person. I'd like to see some changes, but at the same time, I know we have a lot of changes ahead of us coming,” Siemens said.
“We need to see what things we can bring in to attract people to the community.”
Siemens says his biggest concerns are fiscal responsibility while pursuing new goals, bringing professionals and new industry to town and communication and cooperation with nearby communities.
“Whether I'm on it or not, the new council is basically going to be almost brand new. Anybody that sits on council now has to make some very hard, very important decisions regarding the city's finances… Number one is finances, second of all is infrastructure and that all kind of ropes around together,” he said.
“Let's see what else we can do about bringing the rest of the communities in to help us out with the swimming pool, with recreation facilities, so on and so forth. Everybody in the area uses them, so let's get everybody on the same page and see what we can do. I know it's been worked on before, but we need to keep working at it - maybe something might pop up.”
Slipp
Mike Slipp settled in Flin Flon five years ago after his son Connor joined up with the Bombers. Now the marketing manager for Northland Ford, organizer of the Trout Festival Canada Day parade and a frequent volunteer and colour commentator with the team, Slipp hopes he can bring a new perspective to council, an outsider’s view with insider credentials.
“I felt that I could add a fresh viewpoint, an unbiased viewpoint, to council,” he said.
“We love it here, but there are challenges and I thought I could help with those. That’s exactly why I’m running, for the community and for the people and I thought I could bring fresh eyes to council.”
One of the issues that pushed Slipp toward running was derelict buildings on Main Street - Slipp is hoping to help beautify the area’s buildings.
“One of the things that got me running is the condition of Main Street - and I'm not necessarily talking about the people, I'm talking about the appearance. I'd like to see revitalization and beautification of Main Street. There's some fairly derelict-looking buildings there and we can make it a more positive place,” he said.
Slipp also sees recreation, tourism and safety as keys, adding his home had been broken into recently and he hopes council can work with police to help stop crime.
“I'd like to work with community groups on council and the RCMP to see if we can come up with some solutions with crime that's running through this community right now. I mean, we started the year off with a murder. I'd like to really concentrate on that,” he said.
“I really believe that we need the swimming pool and I also think that the zoo is an asset to the community. With hopefully more people moving in with new mining activity around, I think we need to provide more rec facilities and activities for our youth.”
Each council and mayoral candidate has been sent out a questionnaire by The Reminder - answers from participants will be printed in next week’s issue.
