Vaughn Martin, Amherst
Vaughn Martin is running for mayor of Amherst.
Q. What’s your full name?
Vaughn Martin
Q. Where are you from?
Amherst
Q. What did you do before you decided to run for office?
I worked for Enheat/Amherst Aerospace and IMP for 32 years before going to work for the Town of Amherst. I started in the Amherst Stadium and then went to work with the horticulturalist looking after the flowers downtown. I have also run a masonry business for many years.
Q. Why have you chosen to run in this election campaign?
I want to make Amherst a better place to live and what better place to do that than from the mayor’s chair. I will be a hands-on mayor and I will be involved in going out and getting more jobs and work for our community. I want to get Amherst’s economic engine going like those towns and cities around us. We don’t need an economic development office to do that, it’s something the mayor should be doing.
Q. What strengths would you bring to council if you are elected?
Anyone who knows me knows how hard a worker I am, and I don’t take no for an answer. I intend to be a fulltime mayor who will do everything it takes to improve our community.
Q. What do you see as the biggest strength/asset of the community/region and what measures would you take to capitalize on them?
I believe our location is our biggest asset but it’s something we haven’t done enough to capitalize upon. We need to work with the provincial government and federal government to find a way to get more people off the highway and into Amherst. We have a lot of great things in our community that people don’t know about, things like our history, developing Fort Lawrence into a tourist attraction, celebrating the Four Fathers of Confederation and putting our dog park closer to the highway so visitors can take advantage of it.
Q. What do you feel is the key challenge facing the community/region and how would you work to address it?
Getting jobs here is the biggest challenge facing Amherst. Amherst is a great retirement community, but we need to attract more young people and keep our young people here. The way we do that is by creating more jobs and more work for people. I would like to see Amherst work with Cumberland County and Oxford as well as Westmorland County in New Brunswick to bring more people to the region and the way to do that is by attracting more jobs and opportunity.
Q. What one message do you hope gets out to the voters during this election campaign?
The most important message I would have for people is to get out and vote. I would not want to win, or I would not want to lose, if there are no people voting. If you are 18 years or older cast a vote for who you want to lead you for the next four years. Voting starts Oct. 5 and runs until Oct. 17. Be a difference-maker.
Q. How can people contact you?
902-664-6572 or email vaughnphillipmartin@hotmail.com.