Long before Warwick Mayor Todd Case stepped down, Jackie Rombouts threw her hat into the ring for his job.
“I wanted to give people a choice for mayor. It’s been 20 years since we had an election for mayor, so that was really important for me.”
Rombouts has served on council for one term and is stepping up to the challenge.
“Also I think it is time to have some new representation on Lambton County Council. To have a new voice, a new set of eyes coming in there maybe new ideas.”
Rombouts says one of her concerns is keeping the seniors and young people in the community.
“We have such a great community to offer in rural Ontario I think there a just a few things we need to improve on.”
Rombouts believes youth will return to rural Ontario simply because they can’t afford to live in the city. “A community centre that is multi use is going to be huge in that aspect,” she says adding it will have to offer unique programs to catch people’s attention.
There is also a need for retirement living for seniors. “As they age, they need the next step, and we need the next step.”
She plans to get out and talk to people to see who might be interested in developing in Warwick.
“We have so much to offer…it’s selling developers our community and showing them the benefits.”
Rombouts says she also has a passion to make sure the farm community – which is just 1.4 per cent of Ontario’s population – is heard . “We need more farmers step into the political scene just to have our voices heard.”