The owner of Grand Denture Clinic in Steinbach is running for a seat on council in the R.M. of La Broquerie.

Timo Gerzen has been living in the R.M. of La Broquerie since 2002 and attended Arborgate School. He is seeking a council seat in Ward 2 and says his main priority as a candidate is fiscal responsibility.

“I have been hearing a great number of concerns from family members, also from neighbours and people out in the community regarding taxes and a few other issues and it has really made me interested in looking into why things are the way they are and if there is something I could contribute to it and see if we could work together as a community and make it a better place for our kids.”

Gerzen says in talking with local residents, gravel road maintenance has come up a number of times. He says if elected, he would work to improve gravel roads in the municipality and keep them at a high standard.

Another priority is good communication between council and municipal staff.

“I’ve been talking recently to some of the employees of the municipality and they are saying that their voices aren’t really being heard right now and that council hasn’t really paid much attention to them and that is kind of an important part because as a business owner myself, I can see the importance of treating employees right and listening to them, that way you have very high employee satisfaction and get work done.”

Gerzen says he would also like to see council hold monthly open house sessions with the reeve or a councillor so that residents have a place to have their concerns heard and share their ideas for the R.M. of La Broquerie.