Candidate for Dryden City Council
Dennis
for Dryden.
Practical leadership. Fiscal responsibility. A voice at council that listens first.
Meet Dennis
Built on experience.
A retired worker, public-policy graduate, small-business owner, volunteer, husband and father—with 29 years invested in Dryden.
Dennis Lawrynuik is 66 and has been married to his wife, Dr. Faye Kehler, for 44 years. They have two grown children, Sarah and Peter, and a daughter-in-law, Gabby.
After high school, Dennis spent ten years as a warehouse worker and truck driver for CNR Express while earning a BA in History and Economics from the University of Winnipeg. He later completed an MPA in Public Policy at the University of Manitoba, focusing on rent control and labour law, and earned a certificate in Health Care Administration from the University of Saskatchewan.
In Dryden, Dennis worked in sales at the Mill for five years before he and Faye purchased, operated, and sold a fast-food restaurant and bus depot over twelve years. He served two years on the board of a Canadian relief charity in Haiti and volunteered locally with non-profit boards to rewrite constitutions, bylaws, and policy manuals in compliance with Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.
He enjoys fishing, golfing, trap shooting at the local club, and stock picking. After a visit to Ukraine, Dennis re-engaged with the Ukrainian language and has continued studying it daily. Slava Ukraina!
“I’m not running to be a politician. I’m running to be your voice at the council table.”
Priorities for Dryden
The work
in front of us.
A new Dryden Council and mayor have an opportunity to increase public participation in council decision-making. I believe in having a well-informed public; an open and democratic governing processes. The citizens of Dryden would be well served by a city government that is determined and thoughtful in seeking public input on all important city business. It should be the City’s habit to encourage questions and supply information to taxpayers.
In a time when we find almost no local media coverage, a new council should find more ways and new ways to inform the citizens of Dryden about the City’s business. The City should actively solicit the opinions of community members and take into consideration taxpayer’s self and community interest. Every day Canadians are reminded about federal and provincial governments that choose to limit public consultation. Dryden City Council should distinguish it self by actively seeking greater public input.
Public consultation is a big issue these days and something courts and regulators are mindful of in their rulings, in deciding if various levels of government are acting legally. News letters, town halls, quarterly financial reports, the use of referenda and public voting, live streaming, the internet, are all tools that council could use to discover what the citizens of Dryden want. Having discovered what citizens want from their municipal government, it is the job of council and mayor, to the best of their ability translate the people’s will into public policy and laws. Dryden residents should decide what is good for Dryden.
In Dryden we need more democracy. Transparency is the key to keeping Dryden residents informed.
To that end I suggest two ideas. First, I would try to establish a “sponsored” position in city hall that reported on city business. The person(s) in that position would work to form a comprehensive package of information for distribution to Dryden citizens.
Second, I would try to find money within the existing budget, for a position dedicated to, “grant application writing”. The position would insure that at all times the city was seeking all available government funds and at the same time be proficient at writing the applications.
Get involved
Step forward
with us.
Change starts with a conversation. Reach out, share what matters to you, and let’s stay connected.
DENNIS@DENNIS4ABETTERDRYDEN.CA