Chris Deslandes was born in Tillsonburg, but has lived in St. Thomas for more than 30 years.
He and his wife have one daughter, and he previously owned Northside Glass and Mirror. He still works full-time in the glass industry in London.
He is the first in his family to seek political office, although he says he has been thinking about it for some time.
Deslandes continued, “If you look at the city finances, there’s got to be places to cut. Or look at the contracts, the upcoming projects. Is there any flexibility? Then we should be taking a look at it.
“And I want to make sure that the residents are getting the best value. I want to do the work for the residents of St. Thomas. And they need to know what is going on.”
We asked him whether he thought the last couple of councils have been fiscally responsible.
The conversation shifted to the downtown core.
He bemoaned the lack of a high school in the city’s north end.
If elected later this month, Deslandes would like to turn his attention to finances.
He added, “I want to do the work for the residents of St. Thomas. And they need to know what is going on.”
The backbone of his campaign is several thousand flyers he will be distributing.
“All I can do is put the name out there.”
He was at last month’s candidate meet and greet, and he plans to be at the Oct. 7 event at Memorial Arena.
“It’s always interesting to get feedback from people and get their insight and let them pick your brain.”
Written by Ian McCallum
