ThoroldToday will be profiling every candidate in the upcoming municipal and school board elections on Oct. 24. Today: Ryan Smith.
32-year-old Ryan Smith thinks that his younger age could offer Thorold a new perspective.
“I want to see Thorold grow into what I see its potential is,” Smith says, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “I’m a younger dude so I want to bring a bit of a younger perspective to city council and the City of Thorold.”
Smith felt inspired to run for city council after talking to other residents.
“The whole thing that got me into it was listening to people and saying: ‘I should do something about that,’” he says. “Somebody has got to step up and I could be the candidate to do that for people.”
Smith feels that for the past four years city council hasn’t been doing enough research when making decisions. He points to the city’s spending on the Canada Games Park, which he has heard residents complain about.
“I think there’s a lot more that can be done differently or better, in the sense of more evidence-based decisions, rather than emotional decisions,” Smith says. “Doing the research of it better, where the money can be spent best and for the people of Thorold essentially. Council is shooting from the hip a little bit.”
If elected, Smith wants to increase the money spent on servicing infrastructure, such as roads and sidewalks, and he would also like to create more affordable housing.
Spending money on public projects is also high-up on Smith’s agenda.
“When I say that I mean increase funding for the public library, and increase mental health support,” says Smith. “We should probably be looking into the well-being of our community a little bit more, rather than leaving everybody out in the wind. There’s also a lot of opportunity in our parks to have more events and such.”
Another important item for Smith is attracting more businesses to Thorold.
“I want to create incentives for medium-sized or larger-sized businesses to move to the area,” he says. “Right now we’re hurting a little bit for anything that isn’t a farm. We need to streamline the permit process for businesses that are coming into Thorold. We definitely need to attract as many smaller sized businesses as possible too. That’s kind of where people spend their time.”
Smith owns two businesses himself: Canadian Global Electronics, which provides LED lighting and commercial LED retrofits, and the Keystone Consulting Group, which does consulting work for the different ministries of the provincial government.
“I have a pretty good understanding of how government functions at that level, how it should function, and be more efficient,” Smith says. “Not a lot of people know the delineation of what a municipal entity can do versus a provincial one and all the infighting and finger pointing. I got a pretty good grasp on what we’re able to do as a city and what the province could help with.”
It’s this knowledge that Smith hopes to share with Thorold.
“I’m looking at the most efficient ways of doing things and the way that makes sense now,” he says. “We can’t have old-town thinking in a town that has basically turned into a city now. That just doesn’t work anymore. We need to be thinking into the future for Thorold. I think I’ll be able to bring that.”
If he gets elected, Smith is looking forward to the challenge of being a city councillor.
“It’s a little daunting but at the same time I’m not going to shy away from something that might be hard or might be challenging,” he says. “I’ve been running two businesses. I’ve been talking to the big boys and the big players in the area and those larger business owners and making deals with them, negotiating with them. I don’t shy easily I suppose.”
Ultimately, Smith just wants to see Thorold reach its full potential.
“I love seeing opportunity and seeing what we can do with it, and watching it grow into something you can be proud of,” he says. “That’s something I hope to bring to Thorold as well: a city that we can be pretty proud of with proper investment.”
