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Dozens of citizens crammed the parking lot of downtown sandwich shop Between the Bun in support of North Bay mayoral hopeful Peter Chirico, Thursday.
Chirico officially launched his bid for the mayor's chair and a crowd filled with many of the city's movers and shakers cheered him on as he gave the broad strokes of his platform with a promise of more specifics to be released on his campaign website.
"I've been involved with local politics and local initiatives for the last 25 years and I'm extremely proud of my record of service to this community," Chirico said from the podium. "I've served under three mayors and I served nine years as deputy mayor and I'm ready for this job."
The main talking points included the state of the city and how to make North Bay an attractive place to live for families.
"If North Bay was on the right track, I would be planning my retirement but, I believe, like many of you do," Chirico said, in addressing the crowd, "our community could do so much better. There's lots of work to do to make North Bay a community we can all be proud of, and I've got some definite thoughts on how we can get there."
See related: Lack of mayoral leadership made me run: Chirico
Chirico believes that with strong leadership and a long-term vision of the future, North Bay is poised to be the best place to live, work, and play, and his platform is designed to drive growth and development with a focus on sustainability to achieve that goal.
He added, "I decided to run for mayor for a very selfish reason, my children and grandchildren. I want my children and grandchildren to live in, and be proud of, North Bay and I want your children and grandchildren to live here too. I want to build a community that will be the number one choice for newcomers and investors.
"Ambitious? Yes. But, without vision, ambition, and a plan to succeed, we risk being a city left behind. I prefer to believe we have a brighter future ahead."
According to Chirico, his plan also includes revitalization of the downtown, a green action plan, low-impact development for the waterfront, a total review of all city services, and a greater say in local democracy by advocating for a ward system.
“I encourage folks to visit peterchirico.ca to view my platform,” he said. “It is an ambitious plan, some of which will not be completed in one term of office, but we have to lay the foundation now if we want a community we can be proud of in the long term.”
Chirico indicated he is taking the long view and believes future success starts with laying out a vision and building the team needed to carry the plan forward. He elaborated by saying some of what has been done in the past has been shortsighted.
"I want to build on the successes of past councils and not dwell on things that haven’t worked," he said. "As President of the Chamber of Commerce, I have been working with businesses, various associations, labour, stakeholders and others and I can tell you they all believe more can be done and that strong leadership and collaboration will result in change for the better."
See BayToday's one-on-one interview with Peter Chirico in which he discusses the Memorial Gardens cost overruns and his health situation.
See also: BayToday's 2022 Municipal Election coverage
Chirico is an active board member with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Canadore College and One Kids Place. Over the years, he has served on numerous boards, agencies and committees.
“People have told me they want to feel proud of our city again, that problems downtown, with homelessness and individuals dealing with addiction and mental health issues, have hurt our community,” he said. "As a compassionate community we have been open to assisting those in need, but the current situation is unsustainable and working on solutions in this area is my number one priority."
Chirico noted we cannot expect others to invest in our community if we are unwilling to invest in it ourselves. “The City needs to work with both senior levels of government, the private sector, not for profits and others if we are going to grow and prosper.”
Chirico has confirmed he will participate in next Wednesday's debate, hosted by North Bay Pride, alongside candidates Johanne Brousseau and Leslie McVeety.
The municipal election is scheduled for October 24 and Chirico told the crowd he has been going door to door already and is looking forward to more evenings canvassing neighbourhoods and meeting with voters on the doorstep.
