With weeks to go before Denare Beach’s by-election, candidates are putting their agendas before the voters.
Wanda Ginnell, Greg McBratney, Elfriede Reimer and Paul Trottier are running to fill two council vacancies in the April 15 vote.
The Reminder spoke with each candidate on Wednesday.
Wanda Ginnell
Retired from running her own business (among other occupations), former village councillor Ginnell calls Denare Beach “the best place around.”
While she has no “major complaints,” she does have concerns. Among them is ensuring the streets are properly marked, and that paramedics have maps of the community, so that in an emergency all addresses can be easily located.
So if someone asks why they should vote for her, what is her response?
“Because I have concerns for the average citizen,” Ginnell says. “I’m not running to better something for myself. I’m just concerned about the average citizens and the concerns that we all have.”
Greg McBratney
A retired Hudbay employee, McBratney says his candidacy stems from a desire to give back to Denare Beach.
“I’ve been out here since I was six years old, [in the] summer mostly, and then when I retired I moved out here permanent,” he says.
“I just figure, well, you need councillors, you need somebody to keep the community going. You need people to run the affairs of the municipality. I figured, why not? I’m retired, I have the time.”
McBratney says he is known in Denare Beach and hasn’t thought about actively campaigning.
“There’s four people running – vote whoever you want in,” he says.
Elfriede Reimer
When Reimer lived in the area years ago, she loved going to Denare Beach “because there was such a feeling of community there.”
When she moved back, she says, “that the feeling had kind of disappeared.”
“I’d really like to try and…help bring it back,” says Reimer, who is semi-retired and works as a graphic artist for Northroots magazine.
Reimer has not been on Denare Beach council before but feels very much up to the challenge.
“I’m educated enough to come in and know what I’m doing,” she says. “Plus I’ve also served on the rec board out there for the last three years.”
Paul Trottier
A former village councillor, Trottier now hopes to regain a seat. His reason?
“To try and ensure that the council is making professional, responsible decisions, and basically just to do my part for the community,” he says.
Trottier, who manages a local flooring business, says he wants to “progress the community,” try to maintain “reasonable taxes” and encourage new development.
And if he is asked why someone should vote for him?
“The main reason is because I’m going to do my best to try and…steer [council toward] what I feel [are] responsible, professional decisions on the numerous operations of a northern municipality,” he says.
