Municipal election season is upon us. Barring any pandemic tragedies, on May 10 Sackville will be heading to the polls to cast votes for the next group of people to sit around the town council table, even if it is a virtual one for the time being. In an effort to help inform you about who your candidates are, CHMA news plans to speak with all 12 council and two mayoralty candidates in the coming weeks.
First up is new candidate Matt Estabrooks. Hear his interview here:
Check out all of CHMA’s local elections coverage here.
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: Tell us a bit about yourself.
Matt Estabrooks: So I’ve been in Sackville my whole life. I’ve been very actively involved in the community and volunteering with minor sport, breakfast clubs of Canada… Minor sport including hockey, baseball, even golf. So I’ve lived here my whole life, went to school here, married somebody from here, had three children. So you know, Sackville is home to me.
And I’ve always thought at some point in my life that I would get involved in municipal politics. I almost did it in 2016, and things weren’t just quite right. So I didn’t want to miss the boat in 2020-2021. So that’s a little bit about me in a nutshell.
CHMA: This would be your first time on, you know, running for Council, would it?
ME: Yeah.
CHMA: Can you tell me a bit about your day job, Matt? What do you do for a living?
ME: Sure. I am the manager of building maintenance and fleet at Mount Allison University. I’ve been there since 2009. I’m a Red Seal carpenter and a Red Seal motorcycle mechanic. So kind of two different baskets. Previous to that I worked for NBCC Moncton. I taught from 2004 till 2009 as a carpentry instructor. I have a certificate in adult education from UNB. I’ve kind of bounced along. I went to Tantramar Regional High School, went into construction with local company Can-Tech right out of school, and just kind of found my way along.
At Mount Allison, I look after all the campus buildings, all the infrastructure, outside pavement, asphalt, all the buildings inside. So anything from a maintenance perspective, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, paint… anything at all, that’s what I do for Mount Allison.
CHMA: So, what went into your decision to run? I guess you said you’ve always had an interest, where do you think that comes from?
ME: I think it comes from wanting to be engaged in the community. I’ve always had the outlook that somebody has to do these things. And I like to be involved, so that I can have an impact. Somebody has to do them, and somebody has to do them for the right [reason]. So I like to be involved in decision making in the community.
I mean, Sackville is a big part of who I am, having lived here my entire life. So, I guess it’s that I want to be engaged in the community and with the people that surround me in life every day. So just to be engaged, to be to be active and to make a difference.
CHMA: Do you have issues that you were hoping to highlight in your campaign?
ME: I don’t specifically have anything in my pocket, and that’s a funny thing. I thought, now what are things that I’m going to campaign on? I mean, I have opinions on a lot of things, and I’d like to be heard. I’d mostly just like to be at the table, to be heard when decisions are being made, and to maybe bring a hometown or a transparent or a logical perspective to them. I try to approach problems that way, but I don’t necessarily have things that I’m bringing to campaign on.
Although I am certainly interested in the future of our Sackville Hospital. That’s near and dear to me. And, you know, we’re coming out of a pandemic. So I mean the important things to our community are going to be physical and mental health, obviously, of everybody coming out of this. And also, you know, how our town has fared. I drive up and down Main Street and I see a lot of closed businesses. So that community, the business community, the entrepreneurs, are going to need help from the municipal side to get Sackville back to where we were pre-pandemic.
So I guess those are the things that I have in mind, but I don’t have any personal things that I’m trying to accomplish, I guess it’s the best way to put it.
CHMA: Can you think of what might be your favourite and least favourite things about Sackville?
ME: Well, Sackville, I love the town. I love the people. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
Things that I don’t like about Sackville? I guess really the only thing that concerns me with Sackville in general, if I look long term at it, is our elevation, closeness to floodplain and stuff like that. That’s concerning when you hear about possible sea levels rising and things like that. But that’s not something that’s conscious everyday, but it is something that I’m aware of, you know, where we are geographically.
CHMA: That’s on the radar.
ME: Yeah. It should be.
CHMA: Matt, is there anything else you’d like CHMA listeners to know?
ME: Not necessarily, other than I really would like to the opportunity to be at the table when things in Sackville are being discussed. Because I think I’d like to bring a perspective of hometown and just logic to the discussions.
I see all sides of issues. I’ve had lots of different life experiences. Lots of different jobs. So I think that the opinions that I can bring to the table, or the thoughts, I’m hoping will help in some of this decision making.
CHMA: All right, and you’re also quite busy as a volunteer in town with local sports. Are you the coach of the Tantramar Regional High School hockey team right now?
ME: Girls team, yes. I’m not the head coach. I’m assistant coach of the TRHS girls varsity team. And I just finished up as coach with Sackville minor hockey at the youth 13 level. I sit on the executive of Sackville minor baseball, that’s just getting going. We’re kicking off the season here next week with a Zoom. Then I will be back at the golf club this summer.
I stay active. It’s no trouble to fill the hours in the day.
CHMA: Well, Matt, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from you over the next four weeks.
ME: Excellent. Thank you.
