Gerry Marchuk profile

Gerry Marchuk
(incumbent
councillor)

Political/Community Experience:
I spent three years on council for Sleeman/Worthington. I was elected to Rainy River Town Council in 1992 and have served since on the following committees: Chair of Public Works, Property, Water and Sewer and By-law. At present I am serving as Acting Mayor of Rainy River and sitting on the AMBIS and DSSAB boards. I was on the executive committee for the Rainy River Riding NDP Association for numerous years. I was also part of the fund raising committee for the new hospital, active in the Meals on Wheels Program, Vice-chair of 4008 Committee and a member of the Families Northwest Feasibility Steering Committee.

Why are you running for office?
I would like to say we have a great little town to live in and I would like to be part of a team to keep it that way. With my experience serving on different committees we can achieve our goals within our four year mandate.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Rainy River?
I strongly believe that we need to stimulate economic growth and encourage new enterprises in the area. I am really concerned that the local businesses are facing hardships and in some cases, closure. Jobs and new businesses are crucial to our Town. The downloading of services onto municipalities from the provincial government puts an enormous strain on our taxpayers. Despite the limited economic growth currently facing Rainy River our municipality is faced with different choices: to cut services already in place or raise property taxes to make ends meet. For example, Ministry of Environment just informed us that we have to make a major facelift of our landfill site, which amounts to an enormous expense to our Town.

If elected what do you plan to do about it?
As other candidates have mentioned there is no quick fix to the problems facing Rainy River. But as I have stated before and will state again, I will work to the best of my abilities for the taxpayers of Rainy River.

Tell us about yourself:
I attended school in Sleeman and Rainy River, retired from CNR in 1989 with 46 years service. During that time I was the local Union Representative for 14 years and spent four years as Vice-General Chairman of the B of LE Prairie and Mountain Region. I was also a cub scout leader in Rainy River and Sleeman.
At present I am President of the local Legion and have held that post since 1990. I have received the Meritorious Service Medal (1992) and the Palm Leaf to M.S.M. (1995) which is the highest award for achievement and leadership a person can receive in the Canadian Legion. I continue to stay active in the community with council and am ready to serve another term should I be reelected.

Do you have a plan or platform you are running on?
If reelected to Council, I would like to focus on putting a four year plan together to accomplish various goals and deal with the challenges that face Rainy River.