Collingwood is changing, and Norm Sandberg hopes to be the mayor to unite both newcomers and multi-generational residents to find common ground.
Sandberg is one of three candidates for mayor in the October municipal election.
Sandberg served as a councillor in Collingwood from 1993-1999 and again from 2002-2010. As part of his council work, he sat on boards for Breaking Down Barriers, the Collingwood Museum, and Collingwood Public Library. He worked as a senior engineering technologist with Ainley Group from 1987 to 2012.
During his time spent on Collingwood council, Sandberg says his greatest accomplishments include being on the museum board when plans were implemented for building the museum that stands today, as well as the library on Ste. Marie St.
“I’m a do-er. I like to do things, accomplish things, I like to start something and see it through,” said Sandberg. “Along with other members of council, I’ve had the vision and desire to implement the vision on a lot of things that we see in town.”
“I was also part of a council that fought really hard to maintain the integrity of the downtown, keeping some of the key businesses here, like the banks, centrally located in the downtown to keep vitality here,” he said. “I’m so passionate about doing that.”
When he looks back at his time on council, there’s one matter that sticks out in his mind as something he would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight.
“Reverse-angle parking. We didn’t implement it, but I’m a firm believer in looking to other jurisdictions to see if there is something to be learned,” he said. “There was resistance. We had a trial at Sunset Point but it just failed.”
“My history has been, I want to be informed and carefully consider my decisions based on the values of who I represent while not compromising my personal ethics. I have been the single person out at times. I don’t regret that,” he said.
After losing an election bid in 2010, Sandberg turned his attention elsewhere, focusing on work with federal non-profit Nuclear Waste Management Organization from 2012-present. He has also spent time contributing through work with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Ontario Small Urban Municipalities and the Georgian Bay Waterworks Association.
“I bring vast experience within the municipal sector in dealing with small-town issues, but also the broader issues of the municipal sector,” he said. “I also have a way of bringing people together with differing views.”
“I’m a collaborative leader, not a commander,” said Sandberg.
Sandberg lists three leading priorities should he be elected as mayor: affordable housing, council collegiality and fiscal responsibility.
“(With) affordable housing, everybody is going to talk about it. It’s not an easy solution,” said Sandberg, noting that when he and his wife first came to Collingwood 40 years ago, they lived in the Pretty River Villas Co-operative Housing development.
“We know how important it is to have affordable housing and sometimes have assistance with housing. It’s really personal to me,” he said. “People who are making six figures can’t afford to move into town and work.”
“How can you afford to live in our town making $20 an hour? You can’t,” he said. “Something has to happen. It’s not within the lower-tier municipality’s ability to address that.”
Sandberg says the main barrier to addressing the affordable housing issue isn’t necessarily a lack of dollars, but a lack of community buy-in or social licence.
“If the community decides it’s not a fit for them, then projects won’t go ahead,” he said.
“Most people fear change. It’s a natural reaction. Usually, information and understanding addresses the change,” said Sandberg.
Taxation is another priority item for Sandberg.
“We’re coming out of two years of COVID, and businesses have been shuttered. There may be a lot of things we want, but there are things we need – like roads improvements – but we have to raise taxes in a responsible way because people haven’t had full incomes. There are a lot of things to balance here,” he said. “Big jumps are what people can’t manage, but they can manage little increases.”
He’d also like to improve internal council relationships.
“What I’ve observed over the last three terms is, I’ve seen things happen that might have been prevented if I had been at the council table, and things I think could have been done in a better way,” he said. “It’s important to have a diversity of views and opinion, because it leads to better decision making.”
“It starts at the council table and leads right into the community,” said Sandberg.
While out on the campaign trail, Sandberg says he’s hearing that the Collingwood is more divided than ever.
“Our municipality has changed, and it’s changed very quickly over the past three years,” he said. “We’ve evolved from the former industrial-based community that we were, and now we’re talking about doubling the population over the next 20 years. Change is happening. People don’t like change. Council needs to set the example of working together no matter how diverse it is, because diversity is a good thing.”
Sandberg says he’d go so far as to encourage more outreach on the part of the town to different community groups to gather input on various initiatives to ensure as many viewpoints as possible are considered.
“If it can be done, I think it’s a better way to reach out to bring groups together. I don’t think the values of people both old and new (to Collingwood) are really different, but it’s the experiences and expectations that perhaps are,” he said. “People are drawn here because we have a lot of things going for us. They don’t want to change things that were the reason they came.”
Election to the mayor’s seat would also include a seat at the County of Simcoe council table. Sandberg said a lot of the matters that would be important to him at the Collingwood level would also carry over to the upper tier.
“There are divergent views and sometimes conflicting priorities so it’s, once again, finding those commonalities,” he said. “If there’s something that’s good for Clearview, it’s probably good for us as well. If there’s something that’s good for Collingwood, it’s probably good for Clearview or Wasaga Beach.”
“We are so integrated whether we realize it or not. If we work together, we all benefit,” he said.
Sandberg said he’d like to see the common ground go even further, and would like to look into more opportunities for Georgian Triangle municipalities that are in either Simcoe or Grey Counties, such as the Town of the Blue Mountains or Meaford, work together more often.
“We have a lot of commonalities. Is there a way for us to work, promote and benefit together?” he said.
Sandberg also has specific ideas about what the role of the mayor should be.
“The mayor has to be the champion for everybody. There are no singular priorities over others, and certainly champion the municipality outside of the municipality,” said Sandberg. “The mayor truly must lead council and bring those views together for the betterment of the town.”
“I think I have those skills,” he said.
“I don’t know what Collingwood is going to look like in the future,” said Sandberg. “I’m encouraging everyone to get involved, because we are changing. We are at a crossroads. We have the opportunity now to set the direction.”
“I’m not arrogant enough to say that my vision is the right vision. We need to bring people together,” he said.
Sandberg is running for mayor against current Collingwood acting deputy mayor Mariane McLeod and current councillor Yvonne Hamlin. Watch CollingwoodToday for profiles of McLeod and Hamlin.
Election day is Oct. 24, but advanced voting begins Oct. 8.
This year, Collingwood residents will have the option to vote online anytime between Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. and Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. There will also be paper ballot voting available at the Collingwood Public Library on Saturdays and Wednesdays in October leading up to and including voting day on Oct. 24.
