On Oct. 24, voters across Waterloo Region will head to the polls to elect city and regional councillors, mayors and a regional chair.
Residents of Kitchener, the region’s largest city, will elect councillors in 10 wards as well as a mayor to form city council.
There will be at least three new faces in place, as Ward 3 Coun. John Gazzola, Ward 5 Coun. Kelly Galloway Sealock and Ward 10 Coun. Sarah Marsh have chosen not to seek re-election.
Mayor Berry Vrbanovic is seeking a third term in office, but he will be facing challenges from four people including Rehman-Ullah Kahn, Manikantan Nair, Val Neekman and Milos Sokollu Posavljak.
To help voters ahead of this election, Global News has reached out to all of those running for regional or city council, mayor or regional chair in Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo with available online contact info. Those running for office were emailed a list of seven questions and in the coming days, the responses for every candidate who replies will be shared.
What follows are the responses received from those running for mayor in Kitchener, with the candidates being listed in alphabetical order. (This page will be updated if more candidates choose to respond.):
Val Neekman
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
My name is Val Neekman, a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience with a balanced set of skills. I’ve contributed to the bottom line of many companies; small, medium and large; both in Canada and the U.S., and I back that experience with a ton of energy.
Kitchener is a tech hub, in dire need of a mayor who lives and breathes technology. A mayor who can attract companies to the region; attract the best talent from all around the globe, create high paying jobs with good livable wages so our local talent and new grads stay at home. I will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of a prosperous and thriving Kitchener.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I am not a career politician with a narrow vision or bound to a fixed track. I know how to pivot; how to lead; how to listen; how to motivate the young folks, and most importantly how to be accountable to the people I am committed to and those people are the residents of Kitchener.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
When an organization gets stale, when leadership overstays their welcome, when new ideas become old, when a group of people who need to challenge one another get comfortable overtime, and outvote any meaningful opposition, when that happens, the culture has become very ingrained.
A prosperous Kitchener needs to think in new ways. We need to come up with new ideas, new options, new ways of doing things; and to do that, we need to leave the old culture behind, and opt in for a change.
Kitchener deserves better. Just keeping the status quo is not enough and just keeping the taxes the same is not enough.
We need to have a two-term limit on elected officials, so the city gets some fresh blood, who can bring in the changes we so desperately need.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
My long-term goal is to bring the region in particular Kitchener back to its glorious past as a prosperous tech hub which we had during the RIM era. Then after 2 terms, I’ll step aside and pass the torch on to our next young and vibrant mayor and make myself available as an advisor on an as per-need basis.
Q.5 What is your platform?
My platform is based on fostering a culture of kindness, and is made up of a simple list. Each item in the list will be examined and reprioritized after each quarter.
- Address homelessness properly
- Grow and ensure a high performing economy to benefit all
- Keep the taxes as low as possible
- Attract talent so the city is run better now and in the future
- Enforce two-term limit for all elected roles and promote a culture of change
- Make housing affordable and available
- Foster, nurture, and attract the best talent in the world
- Attract the best companies to the city; create high-paying jobs
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to help young entrepreneurs online, walk or bike around the area and just do simple things in life
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
The breeze, the clean air, the changing color during autumn around the Grand River, the Saturday visit to the Kitchener market in downtown and most importantly, the nod and the smile I exchange with people during my morning walks.
Milos Sokollu Posavljak
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
Since 13-dec-1995, Westmout Public School, Margaret Ave, KCI.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
Because I love public service.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
Not enough funds for an organic infrastructure renaissance.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
0 vehicular accidents, 0 tax increases, 0 stress
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
Sort through Microsoft Excel sheets and then hit the bar.
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
Berlin.
Berry Vrbanovic
Q.1 Please give a brief background of yourself including what you do for a living and how long you have lived in the area? (If you are an incumbent, please state how long you have held the position.)
I’m Berry Vrbanovic and I’ve lived in Kitchener most of my life. Born in present day Croatia, I went to the former St. Jerome’s High School and Wilfrid Laurier University. I have had the privilege to serve as your mayor since 2014 and as city councillor before that.
Q.2 Why do you believe you are the right person for the job?
I love our city. I have dedicated my life to public service and I’m passionate about serving Kitchener as its mayor, while together we build one of the best cities in Canada and in the world.
In the eight years since you chose me to serve as your mayor, I’m proud of what we have accomplished together to build a better Kitchener including stronger neighbourhoods, becoming one of Canada’s fastest-growing economies and working towards building a more inclusive and equitable Kitchener for everyone.
Looking ahead, we can see many challenges facing Kitchener that will require demonstrated leadership, proven experience, endless energy and strong relationships with other orders of government and community partners. I am ready to work for you and face those challenges, together.
Q.3 What do you think is the most important issue facing your ward and the city as a whole?
The biggest challenge facing Kitchener is ensuring that after more than two years of the pandemic and the current economic downturn, we both build back better, and differently.
As we look ahead, we can see many challenges facing our community – including continued management of the pandemic, housing affordability and supply, financial pressures resulting from global events, increased demands in terms of service delivery and social need and the impacts of increased polarization that exists in our nation’s cities and communities. Dealing with these dynamic social challenges and complex economic issues impacting our cities will require proven leadership and a careful balance in managing the varying priorities of our community.
As mayor, I will continue to build on my proven track record of collaboration and partnership with community partners and other orders of government. I will work with the new City Council to build our team of independently elected officials where we work towards consensus where possible on complex community-building issues, while continuing to ensure a principled, values-based approach when dealing with people-focused issues that require both care and compassion. This will require continued strong fiscal management, pursuing efficiencies where possible, and ensuring we continue to advance the community’s strategic objectives.
Q.4 Looking down the road, what are your long-term goals for the city?
Kitchener’s vision is “Together, we will build an innovative, caring and vibrant Kitchener”, and presently, the community is being engaged in reviewing this as part of the City’s update of our 20-year strategic plan for 2023-2042, which is currently underway.
While the role of mayor and council is to implement the strategic vision of the community, and not our own, my own goals as a community leader align with those community priorities.
- A diverse, caring, equitable and inclusive community with a strong sense of belonging by everyone.
- A well-planned, sustainable community, built on principles of 15-minute neighbourhoods, complete streets and thoughtful development offering a variety of housing choices and a range of affordabilities.
- A vibrant community of active and engaged neighbourhoods with both neighbourhood and district and city-wide amenities to serve residents cultural and recreational needs
- An innovative, smart and connected community that leads the country for innovation and entrepreneurialism that is part of a diverse regional economy providing meaningful career opportunities for everyone.
- A well-managed, efficient and citizen-focused community focused on affordability, exceptional customer service and a local government committed to engagement, accountability and transparency.
Q.5 What is your platform?
A better Kitchener for everyone
- Affordable and inclusive Kitchener
- Healthy and sustainable Kitchener
- Growing our Kitchener and regional economy
Additional details of my platform can be found at http://www.berryvrbanovic.ca
Q.6 What do you like to do in your spare time?
Spending Time with friends, reading, cycling, and travelling.
Q.7 What is your favourite thing about living in your city/ward?
I love that Kitchener is a mid-sized urban city while still maintaining a smaller town feel. We have many amenities of a large, urban centre including a LRT and yet we are only 20 minutes away from being in the country from almost any point in the city where you see farms and Mennonite horse-drawn buggies moving people from place to place. And when you want to go to Canada’s largest metropolis, Toronto, with all the excitement of a big city, you’re merely 100 km away. And all of this is tied together with a barn-raising spirit unlike few other places in the world. We really are the jewel of Canada and beyond.
Global News has also reached out to Rehman-Ullah Kahn and Manikantan Nair but has not received a response as of publication. This copy will be updated as further answers arrive.
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