Richard Kaufman says he wants to give back to the community now that he has the time, the interest and the experience to make a difference.
Retired from his career as a supervisor for the Canada Food Inspection Agency and a decade in the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, the Ward 1 candidate says he also has a personal goal in putting his name forward for the role; to ensure the city is in a better position for his kids.
“I don’t come with any issues I need to champion,” he says.
What he does bring to the table is decades of experience working for federal and provincial governments, and knowing how to develop collaboration to achieve a common goal.
His ability to “offer words of comfort,” find common ground and foster understanding has served him well in his post-retirement gig as a grief recovery specialist, wedding officiant and “end of life celebrant.”
“I have a heart for helping people,” Kaufman says of the role that developed from an acute personal interest and encouragement from his family.
“I sleep so well at night knowing that I’ve helped someone.”
Kaufman says he believes those skills would also serve him well working with fellow councillors and says now is as good a time as ever to bring that knowledge to the horseshoe as inflationary pressures highlight how all levels of government need to be fiscally transparent with constituents.
He fears the notion that Cambridge is less than transparent played out to the city’s detriment through the results of a recent citizen survey.
“Half of our citizens don’t believe they’re getting value for their money,” Kaufman says.
“This should be a wake up call for all members of council,” he says, calling the result shocking and asking for a deeper dive into what’s causing such unhappiness.
He suspects the discontent has roots in overarching issues of homelessness, inflation and the lack of affordable housing; issues Kaufman believes, like many fellow Cambridge residents he’s spoken to, are beyond the role of city and regional governments to manage on their own.
“I feel our councils have been paralyzed by analysis.”
An example of that is the two decade push to build a recreation multiplex in Cambridge; a goal that still hasn’t been fully executed, he says.
Then there's the city’s transit network.
The pro transit advocate worked part time as a Grand River Transit driver in Cambridge and understands the routes better than most, but would like to push for more innovative ideas, perhaps articulated buses, to get more people out of their cars.
“I often felt like the route planners never left their cubicles,” he says.
In his assessment, the city is underserved by the region’s transit service, particularly through Ward 1, where it’s become essential and will be even more critical once Amazon begins to impact traffic patterns through Blair.
Something has to improve while the city waits for light rail transit to materialize, he says.
Speaking of Blair, Kaufman believes now that Amazon is here, one of his goals if elected would be to collect the cell phone numbers of every top executive working there.
There’s no denying the impact the company will have on local employment, not to mention the taxes it will bring into city coffers, he says.
His role, if elected, would be to ensure a “harmonious relationship” between residents and businesses.
“Even after 28 years of civil service, I’m optimistic,” Kaufman says with a smile. “I believe I can govern. I have the experience and knowledge.
“Government is about the greater good and we need to keep that in mind. It’s about doing the best for the most. I understand that and I want to bring that to the table.”
To learn more about Kaufman, visit his website.
The City of Cambridge Ward 1 byelection will be available to eligible voters through internet voting beginning Oct. 30, until Nov. 13, and at two advance polls on Nov. 1, and Nov. 4, and four locations on election day, Nov. 13.
The city says Ward 1 residents should expect to receive their Voter Notification Letter in mid-to-late October.
The four candidates running for the office of Councillor in Ward 1 include Karl Kiefer, Helen Shwery, Michelle Goodridge and Richard Kaufman.
For a full listing of advance in-person voting dates and locations, visit the 2023 byelection web page.
