Alex Baran
Alex Baran has lived in Providence Bay for the last six years, moving to Manitoulin from Hamilton with his wife Mary-Jo Gordon, who originally hails from the Island.
“Manitoulin has a hold on people,” said Mr. Baran. “If you’re from here you always come back, or you come up here once, like me, you’re bitten and stay.”
As for Mr. Baran’s decision to run for council, he said he awoke with a “calling.”
He shared that people had suggested that he run for council in the past, but the timing just didn’t feel right until recently. He has now resided on Manitoulin for six years and has experience in various community initiatives.
Mr. Baran is the Manitoulin Arts and Cultural Council chair and was also the president of the Providence Bay Residents Organization, which he explained was struck to address the economic health of Providence Bay.
He and his wife also founded Providence House where they ran four summers of art camps for youth.
“It was a terrific experience,” said Mr. Baran, “but both our professional lives changed, not allowing us to take the summers off to run the program. We hope one day we can come back to it.”
Besides his interest in the arts, which he calls vital to the health of any community both in terms of a personal outlet for residents and as an attraction to visitors, Mr. Baran brings with him a wealth of experience from his work with not-for-profit and various community groups in terms of media relations, fundraising and serving in a leadership role.
“I am very comfortable around the boardroom table,” he explained. “It’s something I have done well for a number of years.”
He sees Central Manitoulin as a unique municipality in terms of taxes, due to its large population of pensioners, and places a great responsibility on council to weigh every municipal dollar spent.
“Here in Northern Ontario we all have to drive a lot, especially seniors, to the various doctor appointments and specialists,” continued Mr. Baran. “Travel is important as our services are spread across the map. This travel makes the issue of roads and signage very important to Island life. Council has a leadership role to advocate with the province for safe road standards and good directional signage.”
“Council also needs to have a collaborative role with community organizations,” added Mr. Baran. “MICA (Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates) is a good example of this. They have done stellar work appealing to the provincial government for paved shoulders along Highway 6 and this has enabled increased cycling tourism. Council needs to continue to support MICA and their efforts to have the stretch of road from M’Chigeeng to Mindemoya paved and advocate for a healthy lifestyle for our residents.”
The environment is another issue on Mr. Baran’s radar, calling it a “key asset to Central Manitoulin” and stressing the importance of preserving the natural ecosystem and practicing good stewardship to protect this resource.
“There has been some discussion on council about the ongoing maintenance of community halls, beaches and parks,” said Mr. Baran, “but I think we need to continue to be vigilant in maintaining and supporting the maintenance of these key areas of our municipality.”
As Central Manitoulin continues to grow, Mr. Baran said that he wants to be part of a council that looks at managing and controlling development in the best way possible by continuing to develop and expand services and turning to the public for input.
“Central Manitoulin has done a lot for me,” continued Mr. Baran. “Everyone has been so welcoming and I would like to return the favour and give back my personal wealth of experience to help the community.”
