Political newcomer faces off against veteran

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This article was published 22/05/2021 (1969 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Political newcomer Matthew Reimer is facing off against political veteran Merv Tweed in the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain’s byelection.

The mayor’s seat is up for grabs upon last year’s retirement of outgoing mayor Rick Pauls, and both candidates carry strong roots in the community.

Reimer pledges “outside the box” thinking, while Tweed leans on his experience in politics as proving he’s capable of getting things done.

The following is what the two candidates had to say about their respective campaigns for the June 23 election when the Sun reached out Friday:

 

MATTHEW REIMER

Reimer last sought public office when he ran for council in the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain a few years ago.

Although he’s striving toward the mayor’s seat this time around, he said his goal remains similar.

“I like the community and I’ve always kind of been interested in politics and leadership,” he said. “I definitely am someone who thinks outside the box and will consider all kinds of ideas.”

At 35 years of age, he said he would the perspective of a new generation to council chambers — one whose experience includes joining his wife in raising two young children, aged 3 and 5, in the community.

Reimer was born and raised on his family’s farm in the municipality, which he recently sold to his brothers-in-law.

Upon selling, he joined his family in travelling and exploring their options, but ultimately decided to remain in Killarney.

“Family’s here — that’s nice — and the community’s great,” he said.

“I’m bound to win,” he added with a chuckle. “Everyone in Killarney’s too polite to tell you they’re not voting for you!”

In preparation for his run as mayor, Reimer sat in on a city council meeting to gain a base knowledge of how meetings are run.

This experience was complemented by his service as chair of the Turtle Mountain Bible Camp.

Though he’s early in the process of connecting with residents about his campaign, Reimer said he has already seen an appetite for the municipality to postpone renovations to its civic building.

“They want to do a renovation there, which is needed, but with building prices so high I’d like to wait on that,” he said.

The Shamrock Centre is facing financial hardship that will need dealing with, rural roads have maintenance issues and there’s a prevailing conversation about council’s need to ensure the community doesn’t degrade.

“People care about … how we’re going to grow the community — how we’re going to get people to move here, attract new businesses and make sure Killarney doesn’t die,” he said, pointing to smaller communities in the area they’ve seen whittled away over the years.

“We want to make sure we keep our hospital running strong, that we have doctors here. We wouldn’t want to see our hospital and our facilities move to another community.”

Reimer said his campaign has been evolving online, where he’s reaching out to residents via Facebook to get his campaign platform across as well as seek feedback.

Door-knocking isn’t feasible at this time, he said, adding that while some people might be comfortable with him going door to door, wearing a mask, he wouldn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

 

MERV TWEED

As Progressive Conservative MLA for Turtle Mountain from 1995 to 2004 and Brandon-Souris Conservative MP from 2004 to 2013, Merv Tweed is known in the political arena.

His first introduction to the world of politics was several years earlier, in the then-RM of Brenda, when in his early 20s he served as councillor.

“I was the youngest on council and a lot of the veterans offered me support,” he said, adding that having served in all three levels of government, the municipal level is “as local as you can get.”

Tweed relocated to Killarney in the early 90s to head a Chrysler dealership before setting out on his political career.

Despite family relocating from the community, he and his partner decided to stay, purchasing a house that overlooks the lake.

“I couldn’t think of anything nicer,” he said. “Once people come here they want to come back.”

After retiring from his most recent position as president of Omnitrax in 2018, Tweed settled down in retirement to learn “how to enjoy things a little bit more.”

But, a busy person by nature, he said the opportunity to help his longtime home community as mayor was too appealing an opportunity to pass up.

“I have the time, I love this community and I’ve got the experience and think we can move it forward,” he said. “I want to get back.”

“I’ve had the opportunity to see how other communities, not only in Manitoba but across Canada operate — some of the functions I think may work here — I will certainly look to introduce to council.”

Road conditions, internet service, boosting traffic to the Shamrock Centre and building up the community’s housing market are among his chief goals.

“The young people I’m talking to 40 and younger, there’s just not a lot available for them,’ he said, adding that while it’s nice to see properties sell quickly, it’s indicative of greater opportunity to usher in growth.

“We have a tremendous amount of professional people living or working in Killarney, and I can see that as a real opportunity to expand and become a centre for the region.”

Tweed said he planned on getting the word out regarding his campaign within the next week, via social media and the phone.

“I’m going to bat for Killarney,” he said. “I’m using every tool I have and the experiences I’ve learned, but also want to make sure people surrounding Killarney recognize that what we’re trying to do is build not only our own community but the region so we can start to rely on each other some more.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

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