Jason Bodnarchuk, 42, is a five-year resident of St. Adolphe and the first in the RM of Ritchot to throw their name into the ring to challenge a sitting member of council. On October 26, St. Adolphe residents will have a reason to head to the polls.

“I like a challenge,” Bodnarchuk says of his decision to run for council. “Since [St. Adolphe] is our forever home, I want to see it get better, safer, and stronger, and I want to be the person to [help get it there].”

Bodnarchuk says he and his wife chose this community to raise their children because of its small-town, know-your-neighbour feel. It brings back fond memories, he says, of growing up in Charleswood when it still felt like a suburb. Parents could comfortably let their kids play in the neighbourhood, and children referred to the neighbourhood adults as “auntie” and “uncle.”

With his oldest son starting Kindergarten this fall, Bodnarchuk says he is impressed by the supports available to his child in the smaller school system.

“[My oldest son] is special needs so there’s a little bit more of a fear factor, I guess,” Bodnarchuk confesses. “We’ve had numerous meetings with counsellors, the principal, and [special needs] workers and I have never felt so supported.”

If elected to office, it will be Bodnarchuk’s first time tackling politics. He’s had a keen interest for a while, though, and follows closely in the decisions coming out of local council meetings and how they reflect on the community’s needs.

He takes no issue with current councillor Ron Mamchuk or any other member of council, he adds, but a fresh set of eyes and a new vision could be of benefit.

For the past 15 years, Bodnarchuk has worked as a civil servant in a government office, so he understands teamwork and how to make decisions that are best for the whole, not just the individual.

His career and family provide him the flexibility to be available to the residents at this time of his life, he says. The strengths he can bring to council are his problem-solving abilities and listening skills.

In his words, he doesn’t easily back away from a problem and isn’t afraid to push for what’s right.

Bodnarchuk says he sees a few gaps in the community and, while he doesn’t know that he can fix them, he’d like to give it his best shot.

First and foremost, for Bodnarchuk, is the lack of RCMP presence in the community, resulting in Main Street operating like a daily racetrack. He’s terrified, he says, for the local children who cross the street twice a day to get to school, and he’s hopeful that something can be done on a council level before there’s a tragedy to reckon with.

“I don’t know if we need to build a better relationship with the RCMP… but [I’d like to know] how we can work with them,” Bodnarchuk says. “Can we get a cruiser car to sit at a certain spot for a week for maybe an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening?”

Of course, there’s also something to be said for the condition of St. Adolphe’s Main Street. If elected, Bodnarchuk says he’ll spend time during the early weeks paying personal visits to the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP detachment and the Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure offices, building personal connections right out of the gate.

“I want to talk to those people to make sure that our relationships are solid and in place,” adds Bodnarchuk.

This past winter, Bodnarchuk says he became aware of another safety concern. This, he says, was in regard to the high snowbanks that were allowed to build up in front of the daycare, making navigation for pedestrians and vehicles perilous at times.

“I called [public works] every day for a week until that [snow barrier] got ploughed down… If I have to call two times a day every day to get something done, because it’s a safety concern for a resident, I’ll do it.”

Bodnarchuk also feels hopeful that, with council support, a community watch group could be formed to assist in providing even more layers of safety to the community.

Another gap that’s deeply concerning to him is the lack of adult housing options so seniors can age out in their own community and stay close to their children and grandchildren.

“There’s limited resources [for seniors]. We don’t have that 55-plus housing that I want to see. We don’t have that senior care home that I want to see. So who do we need to speak to at the province to get these projects going?”

The same conversations, he says, can be had at the other end of the age spectrum. As Tourond Creek development swells with new young families, where will all these new children go to school?

Conversations with the province on this subject should be happening now, he says, not when the school is overflowing into huts that extend across the schoolgrounds.

“[Huts] are a band-aid more than anything. It’s not a solution to the problem.”

One more gap in the community, he says, is the lack of interest businesses seem to have in setting up shop in town. St. Adolphe’s proximity to Winnipeg can explain the lack of interest from larger-scale businesses like grocery chains, he says, but what stands in the way of small-scale business such as coffee shops, hair salons, and gyms?

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that we’d like a grocery store here, but we also want to make sure that whoever brings that business in, we’re setting them up for success and not to fail. We don’t want to see businesses come in and then close down.”

He cites the strip mall on Main Street as a prime example of static or even reverse commercial growth in the community.

“I want to sit down [and assess] why businesses can’t survive out here. What’s causing them not to want to come out here? And then to find the solutions on how we can draw businesses in.”

In terms of recreation amenities, Bodnarchuk isn’t convinced that the town is too small to support those either.

“I would love to see some development of more greenspaces, baseball diamonds, and multiuse fields so we can have areas for kids to play more sports,” he says. “[It would] be nice to see baseball and soccer tournaments happen to bring more people out in the community.”

Bodnarchuk says his campaign will also run on a platform of improving transparency between council and constituents.

“I want people to know what’s going on in their town,” says Bodnarchuk. “This council has done quite well with being transparent and the new Connect app is great, but I want everyone to know that [they can] email me or call me personally.”

He says, too, that social media could be better utilized by the town for getting information out.

In the coming months, Bodnarchuk hopes to get to as many doors as possible. If he doesn’t get to someone’s door, he hopes residents will take the time to reach out to him, inviting him to meet or just chat by phone or electronically.

As well, he plans to meet with business owners and committee heads to find out if they feel supported or if council could improve on that in the future.

“I’m driving towards that finish line and I really hope [I’m elected]. If people want change, I’m willing to help them get that change.”