Meet the four candidates vying to take the empty seat in Ward 4 in St. John's

A new councillor for Ward 4 will be chosen in a byelection on March 12. (John Gushue/CBC)

Four people are vying to represent St. John's' Ward 4 in a byelection on March 12, with candidates focusing on issues ranging from transportation to taxes.

Myles Russell, Tom Davis, Greg Smith and Nicholas Hillier are running for the seat vacated by Ian Froude in December, who cited a lack of motivation for the work.

Froude had represented Ward 4 since 2017 and was re-elected by acclamation in 2021.

Meet the candidates

Myles Russell says he wants to craft better municipal policies to fix what he calls 'broken regulations.' (Submitted by Myles Russell)

Myles Russell, a civil engineering technologist, says that after 15 years working in heavy civil industry and sitting in on government meetings about development regulations, he wants to be on the other side of the discussion.

"What we need in council are people who have a deep understanding of the actual engineering guidelines and policies. That's how our built environment is managed, and essentially, the City of St. John's is civil engineering design and modelling with regulations on top," he told CBC News.

Russell said he wants to fix what he calls "broken regulations" by crafting better policies.

"The way we urban plan the city is very bad. It's a horrible method, should not be repeated. We've been doing the bad thing for 75, 80 years in North America. It's got to stop."

Russell also took issue with council's recent decision to reduce the Metrobus budget by $1.4 million — which was justified by council because of the additional money coming in for high ridership.

"That's a bad move. Imagine if all of a sudden, 'Hey, more people are here, we got more sewer tax. So let's just have less sewer,' like we're going to slow down the amount of septic systems and the amount of treatment we can do down at the South Side Hills. No, that's silly."

He added there are also ways to be more efficient with bus routes that can serve more people.

Tom Davis, who is running for a seat on council for a second time, promises to not shy away from important issues. (Submitted by Tom Davis)

Tom Davis says he's a business person and involved with the community through the Rotary Club and other organizations. He said he feels he has the skills to give back to the city through sitting on council.

He ran in the 2021 St. John's municipal election as an at-large candidate, and said he's making another go at municipal politics.

"I really feel that there's an absence of courageous leadership to address the root problems of a lot of the big issues that we see in the news, which in my opinion, are symptoms of underlying lack of forward thinking," Davis said.

His main motivation was to address what he saw as a problem with increased city spending and increased taxes for residents and small businesses.

"There's other things that are really important. But for me, right now, it's dollars and cents. It's the pocketbook. It's the fact that the residents don't even realize the impacts," Davis said.

He pointed out that back in December, council voted unanimously to pass its budget — which includes property tax increases — and he said they downplayed the impact it would have on residents.

He also vowed he would not shy away from issues and was willing to disagree with others on council.

"Probably not going to be super popular around the council table because I'm not gonna stand idly by and be managed by the public relations people that are down there."

Greg Smith, who is running for his third time, says he wants to make St. John’s a city people stay in and come back to. (Rod Wells/Submitted by Greg Smith)

Greg Smith says he gets to see how policies impact people's daily lives through municipal politics.

"I think that my voice is necessary at city hall. As an openly queer man. As a person raised on social housing. A person that is a transit user, a pedestrian," said Smith.

"I think that I get to bring some distinct and unique life experiences and also some policy pieces forward to city hall that's, you know, that's gonna set me apart from the rest."

He has a number of issues he wants to tackle if elected, such as creating more urban density that's pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

When it comes to businesses, he's interested in looking at ways to ease restrictions on small business owners, pointing to the time it takes for a restaurant owner to get permission to turn some parking spaces into space for an outdoor patio.

"I've always wanted to step up and represent this place and represent the people here. And I think that at this time more than ever, Ward 4, St. John's as a whole, is at a really pivotal moment," he said.

Smith ran in the 2020 Ward 2 byelection and then again in 2021 as an at-large candidate.

"I can make a lot of change and that's why this is my third time running and hopefully the third time is the charm," said Smith.

Nicholas Hillier says the people of Ward 4 feel ignored by recent council decisions and inaction on issues like potential flooding. (Submitted by Nicholas Hillier)

Nicholas Hillier, a substitute teacher and community volunteer, says he wants to be the voice representing the people of Ward 4.

"I know there are a number of candidates who don't live in the ward, and for me, I'm a firm believer that the representative should come from within," he said.

He said he's always been drawn to municipal politics, even studying it as a university student and sitting on a St. John's advisory committee.

"I see a gap there in what our ward wants and what our ward is getting in terms of a representative," Hillier said.

"My list of things is all about representing the ward, representing the wishes of the people who live here."

He said there are a wide range of issues in Ward 4, from getting help renovating heritage homes to concerns about flooding, water and sewage problems.

"This is my home. I live here and I experience these issues too. And you know, people are saying they feel like they don't have someone in their corner to fight for and they don't feel somebody is representing their wishes well."

He cited council's recent approval of a fourplex near the university where dozens of people came out to a public meeting to voice their disapproval for it, including the strain it would but on the existing sewer system, but were dismissed.

"And that, in my opinion, is not good governance," Hillier said. "Government should be for the people. I always will stand by that."

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