Accessibility, community development key issues for Neepawa mayoral candidate
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- Published on Thursday, October 2, 2014
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
While Adrian de Groot is a new name to the political scene in Neepawa, that certainly doesn’t mean he’s new to municipal politics.
The mayoral hopeful, who along with his wife Sandra moved to Neepawa last October, has almost three decades of experience working as a councilor in the city of Thompson.
“It’s kind of ironic because when we moved to Thompson in 1974, we arrived there in the spring and by the fall I was participating in the municipal election,” said de Groot. “I’ve always been involved with municipal organizations, doing things. Be it through the church or the community or things like that.”
de Groot, by most definitions is retired. He does however remain busy in the community serving on the Board of Managers for Knox Presbyterian Church, member of the Neepawa Rotary Club and President of the Agassiz Progressive Conservative Association. He said giving back to his community has always been a passion to him.
“I was elected in Thompson in 1974 and over the course of the 29 years that followed, I always worked hard at everything I did. Whether it was my family, my job, or my politics. During that tenure I was engaged in a number of committees at council,” noted de Groot. “My biggest strength was working with people and when I saw the opportunity and the need in Neepawa for this municipal election, I knew I had to step forward.”
As for this upcoming election, de Groot said his vast array of expertise would serve Neepawa very well.
“It’s fair to say I have a lot of municipal experience, not only on a local level but also in dealing with issues on a provincial level. I’ve sat on some task forces, on behalf of the province for federal initiatives as well. So I’ve had a very broad range of exposure. And I enjoyed it. When I look back, there is tangible legacy of that involvement. Of that engagement,” said de Groot. “I see leadership as one of the things that all communities need when it comes to a council and working with your administration. That’s a solid strength of mine. I engage people in working towards a common goal.”
de Groot said his campaign platform focuses on moving the community forward. He notes municipal leadership needs to identify where the future opportunities for growth are.
“We’re a key to the agricultural region surrounding us. We need to work with those communities. I see that as being part of my [campaign] platform. One of the things that I also noticed when I first came here was the amount of entrepreneurship that we have in Neepawa and the surrounding area. It’s amazing because there are so many small businesses and that means that the community is healthy and part of my platform is to maintain that health. If [Neepawa] wants to grow, we should be prepared to see it grow,” said de Groot.
