Editor’s note: Three individuals have entered the race to replace outgoing mayor David Bosiak in the city of Dauphin.
The Herald offered the candidates an opportiunity to introduce themselves and answer some questions over the next three weeks prior to election day.
Following are the responses received from Keith Durston and Steve Sobering. A third candidate, Carter Taylor-Luke, had not provided a response prior to press time.
Keith Durston
My name is Keith Durston. I was born and raised in Dauphin.
I’ve lived here most of my life. I did live in the Northwest Territories for a number of years. I have been a plumber and HVAC person for approximately 50 years.
Upon my return to Dauphin I built a successful plumbing, heating, and hot tub business.
Having run a private business I know you must work for the people in order to run a successful business. I am used to being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I believe being a mayor and representative of the people of the City of Dauphin is a 24/7 job.
The major issue with the City of Dauphin is the stagnation of development. New and proper economic development would lower taxes and grow the population, leaving resource monies for policing, crime prevention, infrastructure maintenance, and development.
Working with a multifaceted approval the city can do it all.
From my experience importance of working with provincial government and utilizing working with local organizations.
If successful I will contact the provincial government for work on a bypass from the Vermillion River to Edwards Creek. This could prevent future flooding in the City of Dauphin.
Steve Sobering
Community service has been at the core of my life. My parents ran a funeral business when I was growing up and I pitched in from an early age by cutting grass, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming and watching them work with families at difficult times.
I helped them volunteer with the Lions’ Club, their church community and the Chamber of Commerce. I saw by their example that to have a successful business you first need to contribute to building a successful community.
Perhaps not surprisingly, most of my career has been in funeral service and then, due to an interest in environment and energy reduction, a new career in energy efficiency. The opportunity to work with people to save money through energy efficiency really met my goal to have a career with meaning and purpose. During those years, while my wife Melanie and I were raising our children here in Dauphin I also went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in business.
I have built community in Dauphin through volunteering. There is a vibrant group of progressive thinkers in this city working towards making Dauphin a great place to live. I have recognized, over time, that you can’t wait for someone else to fix things. You just need to roll up your sleeves and build the community you want to live in. As a past president of the Dauphin Rotary Club, I am proud to have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to contribute towards projects including the recreation centre and cinema. I was also one of the organizers of Manitoba MudRun, which raised several hundred thousand dollars to help build the Northgate Trail development.
I sit on two boards right now - Fusion Credit Union and Efficiency Manitoba. Participating on boards is just one more way to contribute to the community and I have learned a great deal about governance and the role boards play. This has served me well the last four years as a councillor at the City of Dauphin.
Dauphin is an amazing community and we enjoy living here. I am committed to working hard to address any challenges our community faces head on while simultaneously pursuing opportunities.
What is the major issue for council to consider?
There are many issues that the City must address. The needs and challenges of people struggling with drugs, mental illness or a lack of housing have become a central conversation. People sometimes feel unsafe on our streets. The city works closely with partners at community mental health, MMF, the Friendship Centre, and the RCMP to address these issues. This is a difficult topic and a clear priority for council, at the same time we still have many other responsibilities that we must continue working on at the same time.
To move the city forward, we need to attract talented people, skilled tradespeople, professionals and others to keep the city vibrant. There are vacancies in every sector that need filling. There is opportunity here. In this high cost of living time, Dauphin has the potential to be a very desirable place for families to move to.
While we try to fix problems, the city must also focus on longer term priorities. We must build the community we want while we are living in it. This is an exciting time for Dauphin. We are seeing historic investment in apartment blocks, the justice centre, hotels and more. The community has its chance on Oct. 28 to put the right team in place at the right time. Please vote.