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Dillon Anderson has thrown his hat in the ring for a seat on Callander’s council in this October’s municipal election. His main platform includes improving infrastructure, local services—with emphasis on the more rural areas of the municipality—and ensuring all residents “have your voice heard at the council table.”
Anderson lives in Callander, volunteers with the Powassan Voodoos as a scout and has lent his time to Cassellholme as well. He’s a bit of a political junkie—CPAC is always on” his television—and he’s currently enrolled as a business student at Canadore College. He’s 19 years old.
But he doesn’t want his age to deter voters from casting their ballot for him. He’s very involved with the town, ambitious, and “really wants to make an impact” within his community. Anderson also wants “to see some changes on certain things,” which is what motivated him to run for a seat at the table.
“I live in the rural part of Callander,” Anderson said, “and I think sometimes that part of the community gets abandoned” as far as services go. He mentioned “a lack of snowplowing,” and he recalled how “a couple of weeks ago we saw a flood” roar down Callander Creek. “We need to make sure we’re better prepared” on the infrastructure front, he emphasized.
See: Early morning flood rips down Callander Creek
“Improving infrastructure is my main goal,” and it’s also paramount that “people have the services they need, and that they are reliable services they can depend on.”
Anderson wants people to know that “just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I can’t do this job. You’ll get to know that I’m very passionate about our community, and I think there are things we can do to make Callander more social,” and build community events. He mentioned the recent FunFest, and how having a winter version of that event would be something to explore.
For Anderson, it’s important that the community “socializes more often, and communicate with each other more often” to strengthen the civic bonds and put the collective knowledge to use in Town Hall.
“It’s also important to be financially prudent with our money next term,” he added, mentioning the “transition to OPP” service was costly for the municipality, and he wasn’t too pleased with the recent changes to the town’s waste management contracts. “There are some things we need to pay attention to when it comes to fiscal responsibility,” he said.
See: New year, new police service as Callander welcomes OPP
And: Callander has some new help to take out the trash
“I’m going to be accountable on that end. That’s what I’m promising the people, and that’s what I will deliver.”
Besides fiscal prudence, Anderson also wants to improve accessibility for people with disabilities within the community. “I’m disabled, and we often see people with disabilities sometimes getting abandoned,” so he wants to ensure “Callander becomes more accessible and more inclusive” for all.
Anderson wants to “represent your voice” at the council table and looks forward to hearing from residents. “Reach out if you have concerns, and I’ll be glad to talk.” Anderson can be reached via his Facebook campaign page or by email at [email protected].
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
