Veteran Warman City Councillor Gary Philipchuk is running for the Mayor’s chair in the upcoming civic election November 9.
“I’ve been Deputy Mayor for many of the years during my time on council and I see this as an opportunity to keep the momentum going after her Worship Mayor Sheryl Spence announced that she was retiring from her role,” said Philipchuk in an interview September 9.
Philipchuk, who moved to Warman with his family in 1999, retired at the end of June from his position as Vice-Principal at Warman High School (WHS).
Over the past 17 years on Warman City Council, he’s balanced his work commitments with his responsibilities as an elected official. Now, he said, he’s prepared to devote his energy full-time to the Mayor’s job.
“I now have the time to commit to this,” said Philipchuk.
He said he has “tremendous respect” for Mayor Spence and noted that under her leadership during the past decade, Warman became one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
“We have good infrastructure in place, with many recreational opportunities and a solid business community,” said Philipchuk. “However, we need to take it to the next level. I’d like to see more business investment and additional amenities so that we are able to keep growing and attracting more people.”
Philipchuk said he wants to continue the “managed growth” and create more investment opportunities for businesses.
“Recreation has been foundational for me over the years, being a strong advocate for many of the facilities we have, and I want to see the second hockey rink completed and plans formulated for an indoor swimming pool.”
He said he also wants to see additional medical services in the community.
“I think we have the opportunity to take the pressure off north Saskatoon and be a hub for a great medical service centre that way,” said Philipchuk.
He said he wants to continue working with Martensville in strengthening the RCMP to keep the communities safe.
“We have built strong relationships with our RCMP and through our community plans will focus on areas of concern,” he said.
Philpchuk has been a member of the Partnership for Growth (P4G) committee since its inception.
“I think it is important to connect our surrounding communities where possible with roads and bike paths,” he said. “It’s also important to look at the benefits of working together to meet our infrastructure needs.
“Wastewater is a good example,” he added. “We’re going through that now, and we need to look at ideas on how we can link into a mechanical system down the road.
“We don’t know what the standards will be five or ten years from now, and if we work in partnership we have a better opportunity to be more sustainable as a community, instead of simply trying to figure it out on our own.”
Philipchuk said his experience as an educator, administrator and coach has enabled him to contribute, through his work on council, to Warman’s growth.
“When you make decisions, you need to base them on the best information, and the most complete information, you have,” he said. “I’ve always reached out to other people to get their viewpoints and opinions, and I’ll continue to do that.
“I pride myself on being dedicated and well-prepared, and I look forward to contributing to the future of this community.”