Eric Russell
Eric RussellEric Russell served on the Tehkummah council as a councillor for the past four years and is now seeking the reeve’s seat in the upcoming municipal election.
Growing up in Tehkummah, Mr. Russell moved away to work at Domtar in Espanola, but moved back to his Island roots nine years ago.
Now retired from Domtar, Mr. Russell serves on council, in addition to working at Brookwood Brae Golf Course in Mindemoya and running his own business, Island Clubs—a custom golf club venture.
Mr. Russell and his wife Betty have been married for 44 years and have two children, Derek and Tammy.
He originally joined council four years ago out of a desire to ‘get things done.’
“I wanted to see positive changes in the community,” said Mr. Russell. “This council has worked hard and we have built the new fire hall and are working on the new bridge (on Government Road).”
Though Mr. Russell is proud of what council has accomplished over the last term, he still thinks there is more that could be done to better the community.
“We (council) met with South Baymouth residents because they wanted to brainstorm ideas to help attract tourists to the area,” continued Mr. Russell. “We also talked about the ferry, because when ridership is down it affects the whole Island. Nothing ever came out of the discussions, but I think this is something that council needs to look at more and take action on.”
“I also think the new fire hall and bridge was a good first step, but we need to look at updating roads, as well as upgrading old town equipment,” he added. “We have old trucks, old equipment. I know we can’t do it all at once, but we need to come up with a plan. We also need to look at recreation elements for youth in the community. We have an old baseball diamond, but we could do some work to it and we should also look at a basketball court. We have a lot of youth in the municipality during the summer and they need activities to keep them active.”
“All of these ideas come down to money,” Mr. Russell continued. “We need to apply for grants and keep on top of the things that we need for our municipality.”
During his term on council, Mr. Russell was council’s representative on CPAC (Community Policing Advisory Committee) and the Little Schoolhouse and Museum of South Baymouth board.
He describes his attributes as being a dependable and a hard worker (noting that he worked at Domtar for 37 years).
“I like talking to people and hearing their ideas for our municipality,” concluded Mr. Russell. “I am determined to make positive changes in the community and to take a hands on approach.”
To learn more about Eric Russell and his platform for reeve, be sure to attend Tehkummah’s all candidates meeting on Wednesday, October 8 at 7 pm.
