MOOSE JAW — Godwin Ezizor announced that he’s running for a position on Moose Jaw’s city council in the upcoming civic election. Following his announcement, the Moose Jaw Express reached out with a few questions on Oct. 16.
Q: “What motivated you to enter public service?”
A: “I’m running for councillor to bring my unique global experience to the City of Moose Jaw,” Ezizor announced. “I’ve always been involved in public service in some form, and I thought that there’s so much… opportunity in this city and I’m motivated to add value to the city and bring my own experience to move the city forward.”
Ezizor’s experience spans more than 20 years and includes both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industry, academic qualifications from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. and from Sask. Polytech, and he’s served on numerous boards including the Sask. Polytech Student Association, Sask. Soccer Association, and several churches. He also served a public role through non-profit missions to more than 15 countries.
“I think I’m more than equipped and I’m ready to take on leadership in city council.”
Q: “How would you describe yourself as both an individual and a candidate?”
A: Ezizor described himself as “a visionary leader, a results-oriented person, and a well-focused, strategy driven guy.”
“As a candidate, my focus will be on my three point agenda, which is basically focused on improving infrastructure, (promoting) sustainable growth, and fostering entrepreneurship to strengthen the local economy and also enhancing public safety through community driven initiatives.”
His extensive international background brings new insights to local governance, and he believes in what he calls “a servant leader mindset,” which can be described as leading with a focus on others rather than on yourself.
Q: “How do you stay connected to the community?”
A: Ezizor said one key element to stay connected will be “an open online platform where people can be in touch if they want to reach out to me online to bring concerns and issues.”
His plan also includes “a monthly and quarterly town hall, where I will be engaging with the citizens to hear feedback, be consistent in my leadership, and see areas of concern that need to be addressed,” he said. He plans to be heavily involved with community events as well.
Q: “How would you describe your vision for the city?”
A: Ezizor’s vision is laid out and available to read on VoteGodwinEzizor.com.
He plans to improve infrastructure through the strategic use of provincial and federal government funding, and plans to create a dedicated infrastructure reserve fund for “dedicated, long-term infrastructure for the city” similar to the existing general capital reserve.
Ezizor plans to focus on public-private partnerships to attract more business through incentives and fostering entrepreneurship which, he said, will lead to more local jobs and out-of-the-box thinking that will bypass some of the need to constantly wait for tax dollar funding.
Businesses will also benefit from “a small business incubation hub” which will exist in cooperation with institutions like Sask. Polytech “where we can… offer training and a (cooperative) working space for people to think outside the box and come up with ideas.
“I’m going to be focused on creating incentives to attract and retain businesses here (through the) equity business development setting program, which I think will include stuff like tax reductions or temporary property tax reductions to smaller, new businesses (and in those businesses where) we have a strategic advantage, like Agri-tech, tourism, and restaurants.”
His vision includes enhanced public safety with a consideration of community policing policies — namely for Crescent Park — and he’s looking to improve mental health and addiction supports and increasing youth engagement programs.
Q: “How will you ensure accountability and transparency in your role?”
A: Ezizor said his servant leader mindset model requires individuals to be accountable to the community. This, he said, will be supported by “opening the books before the people, engaging with the people day to day, getting feedback, and showing the people (the results of my work).”
“And, of course, all of these (measures) will be marked by tangible, measurable outcomes where the citizens can see feasible, realistic timelines of what I’m doing on council.” To achieve this, Ezizor plans to create timelines that publicly indicate where he is — and should be — on a quarterly basis.
Q: “What are your top guiding values?”
A: Ezizor said his top guiding values include accountability and achieving results, transparency, and the servant leader mindset which is focused on serving the needs of the people he will represent.
Q: “What would you say are the top three issues or concerns that you would like to address?”
A: Ezizor said the top three issues from listening to residents include developing and maintaining infrastructure to support sustainable growth, building the local economy, and enhancing public safety.
Q: “In your own words, why should people vote for you?”
A: Ezizor said his global experiences and exposure to new and innovative ideas is an important asset for Moose Jaw’s city council.
“Part of what’s necessary in this day and age is to bring in some of the experiences from my global experience (and add) my global exposure to the city, where we can think outside the box and not just have business as usual… (without) a fresh, new sense of direction,” he said, adding that he has a “passion to get results.”
“Moose Jaw is just a beautiful city with a lot of potential, and, in my opinion, what we need is… out-of-the-box thinking,” Ezizor added. “We need a fresh set of eyes, a fresh set of ideas, and actual policy development and implementation.
“There’s so much more we can do… than what we’re currently doing. I’m more than fired up (and ready) to get stuff done for the people (and) make the city really exciting, interesting, and a beautiful city to live in.”
To read Ezizor’s platform visit VoteGodwinEzizor.com. Ezizor can be reached by phone at 306-737-8635 or by email at [email protected].
