After one term on municipal council, Darrin Canniff wants to step up his game – he announced this week he would seek the mayor’s seat this fall.
Canniff, currently a councillor for Chatham, said he believed the municipality has massive potential, and just needs more guidance.
“I am invested fully in this community. In the past 20 years, I have put my heart and soul into it,” he said. “It just hasn’t moved forward.”
While Canniff has just the one term on council under his belt, he has an extensive list of community support accomplishments.
He has initiated and led several successful charitable endeavours, such as the Festival of Giving that has raised millions of dollars for various charities and foundations.
As well, he has led a number of community initiatives, including the $2.4-million United Way of Chatham-Kent campaign in 2006.
“I am just so excited about the community I want to be part of it full time,” Canniff said.
An area he said needs immediate improvement is the loss of population.
“When you take a stat from the Census, from 2004 to 2016, we are one of the very few communities in Ontario that has lost population,” he said. “We obviously need to do something different to attract people to this community. I want to live in a vibrant community. I want my kids to come back here because there are jobs and infrastructure.”
The father of four said the municipality must do more in terms of investing in the community.
“If we don’t, why would businesses and individuals,” he asked. “If you’re looking for a community to move to, you are looking at amenities. We have a 1947 arena (Memorial Arena). We need to have the base investment in our community to attract people.”
Canniff said infrastructure and marketing need improving in Chatham-Kent.
“With visionary, proactive and collaborative leadership, we can unlock this potential and make Chatham-Kent a truly amazing place to live, work and play,” he said
In terms of competition for the mayor’s position, Canniff said he’s not sure who or how many he will go up against.
“At this point, I don’t know what to expect. There could be one, there could be 10,” he said.
In the 2014 election, seven people ran for mayor. Incumbent Randy Hope was re-elected with less than 29 per cent of the ballots cast.
Canniff hopes fewer people step forward this time around.
“The more people who run, the more diluted the vote becomes,” he said.
He added one of the reasons he announced his intentions at the earliest possible moment is to serve notice to others considering running for mayor.
Canniff looks forward to the challenges should he prevail.
“I’m just excited about the opportunity. My whole life, I either do something extravagantly or I don’t do it at all. I want to put my skills to use for the community on a full-time basis,” he said.
Canniff is also looking forward to the campaign trail.
“We’ll get out in the community, for sure. I’m going to do this right,” he said. “If at the end of the day, I don’t win, it won’t be for lack of trying.”
Your ideas sound great, but please don’t put the cart before the horse, Darrin. Jobs and investment first and then you can justify a sports complex for all to enjoy once the basis is there. Our taxes are insanely high already and it would be a shame to burden the existing population with more to pay for when we’re already strapped. Good luck to you in the mayoral race!