Michael Ribicic is sure to be one of the younger candidates who will be running for city council, and he said that will help with perspective when considering Nanaimo’s future.
“I’m thinking long-term when I make decisions,” said the 27-year-old. “I’m not just looking at what’s a Band-Aid solution, what’s something that will get me to the next election … that’s not how I think.”
Ribicic, who also ran in the 2018 election, was one of the first city council hopefuls to announce his candidacy for 2022 with a launch event in August in north Nanaimo.
“I want to contribute to making a positive impact in our city. I want to help our amazing city be an incredible and prosperous one,” he said. “I bring with me a wealth of board and committee experience and feel qualified and ready for the significant responsibility that comes with the role.”
Ribicic is a Nanaimo-Ladysmith school teacher and is a director on the Nanaimo Art Gallery board, a member of Vancouver Island University’s senate, vice-president of the VIU Alumni Association and vice-president of the Rotary Club of Lantzville.
He said he has a passion for relationship-building and would like to bring that mindset and skill set to city council to try to facilitate more co-operation with other levels of government and non-profit agencies to solve problems. He said he wants to work for students who don’t see opportunity in Nanaimo, business owners who feel unsupported, people who are struggling to make ends meet and those who don’t feel safe in their city. He’s looking forward to working on addressing homelessness, the affordable housing crisis, and implementing the city plan.
He finished 18th out of 40 council candidates in the vote count in 2018 and said he will do his best to connect with more people in person and online.
Ribicic, who arranged for former prime minister Paul Martin to attend a Rotary Club meeting via Zoom during the pandemic, said at his campaign launch that a former PM told him that he needed to run for election, and run like hell.
“Well folks, that is exactly what I intend to do,” Ribicic said.
For more information, visit http://michaelribicic.wordpress.com.
Anyone running for mayor or councillor in the City of Nanaimo or the District of Lantzville, regional director in the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Area A, B, C or E, or school trustee in School District 68 is asked to contact the Nanaimo News Bulletin to set up an interview or invite us to a campaign launch event. Phone Greg Sakaki at 250-734-4621 or e-mail editor@nanaimobulletin.com.
ELECTION 2022: Candidates in Nanaimo, Lantzville, RDN and SD68
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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