Over the next week, BradfordToday will be highlighting the candidates in the Ward 2 by-election taking place Nov. 27 - Dec. 7.
Ward 2 by-election candidate Natasha Leskiw is no stranger to the Bradford community.
Leskiw moved to town in 2015, and over the years has immersed herself in the community by joining and taking part in various organizations, charities and events.
Not only is she the President of SWAN (Successful Women Always Networking), she is also a director (currently on a leave of absence while she runs for council) for the Bradford Board of Trade (BBT) and was, up until recently, an administrator for one of the largest community Facebook pages, The Original Welcome to Bradford.
"I am passionate about this community," she said. "I am big on community involvement."
Living just across the street from Ward 2, right on the border of Ward 6, she is very much invested in the Ward, and its people.
Originally, she had planned to run for the next municipal election in 2022, but when the opportunity arose to fill the role of Ward 2 councillor in the second half of the current term, she decided to throw her name into the hat.
Like many others in the community, Leskiw was saddened to hear of the passing of Coun. Gary Baynes this past summer, and would often see him at community events and grand openings.
“It’s Gary! Those are big shoes to fill,” she explained about the possibility of filling his role on council. "Gary and I had a lot of the same passions when it comes to the town."
Ward 2 is important to Leskiw as it encompasses many of the things she loves most about Bradford including the downtown core, mature homes, and small businesses.
The main issues she addresses in her campaign include downtown revitalization, traffic congestion and enforcement, the repurposing of town-owned buildings, and residential development.
“I’m a very big believer in the community, I really want to be more involved and help shape the future (of Bradford),” she said.
She and her spouse live in a century home in the downtown core and love its attributes and old charm. Part of the reason she started getting more involved with town politics was because of her passion for preserving the older part of Bradford.
“We used to be able to see into the Marsh from our house and now we see a condo building,” she said.
She understands that new developments need to be inlcuded in the town's future, but would like to see them planned in more thoughtful ways that don't take away from the established, older neighbourhoods.
“We do need to build houses, but I think we need to make sure we’re building affordable housing that is appropriate to the areas in which we’re building,” she said. “It’s finding that happy medium.”
Leskiw is a business owner with her own marketing and social media company, who recently won the BBT's Home Based Business Award. With her entrepreneurial background, Leskiw says she can bring a different perspective to council and the town’s economical decisions.
Due to the pandemic she will not be door-knocking for her campaign, and decided not to print pamphlets or brochures as a way to be more environmentally conscious.
I’m pretty much trying to run my campaign right now entirely online, with the exception of signs.”
Whoever takes the seat of Ward 2 Councillor will chair the Downtown Revitalization Committee, which Leskiw is excited about.
“Everything you need is on one end of town,” she noted, adding that she's like to see more things like banks and grocery stores more accessible to the people in the downtown core.
Another hot topic Leskie addresses in her campaign is traffic.
“It’s a combination of a couple of different issues,” she said. “We need to look at for short term traffic congestion, things like light timing and alternative routes.”
With the recent news of the county approving an affordable housing building on the Bradford Community Centre’s property, Leskiw said she would like to see more details about it but appreciates that the limitations on the height of the proposed structure, and the plan to have social services inside the building.
“But I do have concerns,” she says, noting that it is not that close to amenities as stated in the original plan. “I think our town needs a better transit system before we can say that these buildings are in a great area for people to get around."
As a social media expert, she thinks there needs to be better communication between councillors and residents.
“I am hearing the concerns of the people of Ward 2,” she said, noting, it would be her job to make sure their voices are heard.
If elected, she will keep her website up to date with issues being discussed at council, and invite residents to reach out, ask questions and watch the meetings.
When she would attend in-person council meetings in pre-COVID times, she noticed there were never many residents there, and she would like to change that.
“I think that more people should go to council meetings and make sure they’re informed,” she said.
If she doesn't win, Leskiw said she will still feel good because her fellow candidates seem passionate about the town.
"You have to have a level of passion to put yourself out there and try and fill this spot," she said.
To learn more about Leskiw’s campaign, you can visit her website here or her Facebook page here.
