Ron for Council

Why I Am Running For Council

I have three main reasons to run for Council and they are all focused on making Delta an even better place to live. Delta needs a world-class urgent care clinic, affordable housing and lower taxes. Below are specific proposals as to how this can be done.

  1. Build a world-class urgent care clinic and cooperative housing for 500 families on land leased from the City of Delta at the location known as Paterson Park. An AI sketch of what this development could look like is attached. To help BC’s forestry industry, the clinic and housing units would be constructed primarily with BC lumber and, whenever possible, with appliances that are made or assembled in Canada. The development would be a block away from Delta Hospital, and adjacent to a major transit hub and two major highways. There would still be a jogging and dog-walking path around the development.

  2. There is a concept called Total Quality Management (TQM) that was developed in Japan after WWII that led to reviving Japan’s economy. When embraced, this program has always resulted in eliminating waste, improving quality and cutting costs. Using this strategy to reduce operating costs at City Hall by ten percent would be my goal if I’m elected to Council.

Last, but not least, here is another thing I would bring to Council.

  1. We all have neighbours and sometimes disagreements can make life miserable. I think that having a Municipal Ombudsman available to help neighbours resolve issues is something worth investigating.
AI-generated sketch of what the Paterson Park development could look like.
AI-generated sketch of what the Paterson Park development could look like

Ron’s Background

I was born in northern Manitoba in a small town called The Pas which is famous for its Trappers Festival every winter. My parents sacrificed a lot and I worked hard at summer jobs so that I could go to university. I eventually earned a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario Ivey School of Business. My Certified Food Scientist Designation came later from the Institute of Food Science and Technology.

My wife, Janice, and I have lived in Winnipeg, Ottawa, London and Kitchener, where we raised our daughter and son. We moved to Delta in 2001 and are fortunate that our children, now married with families of their own, also live in the Lower Mainland. (See the attached photo of our family at my last birthday celebration.)

Ron's Birthday (Ron in the middle)
Ron's Birthday (Ron in the middle)

Most of my working career has been in quality assurance, research and product development and technical food safety aspects of the food industry. I worked in leadership roles in businesses ranging in size from a two-person operation and all the way up to multi-nationals like PepsiCo, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, as well as in food safety advisory roles with various levels of government. Jobs with White Spot and a meat processor in Langley called J.D. Sweid brought me to the West Coast in 2001.

I retired from full-time work in 2007 to make time to travel with Janice who retired from teaching in 2006. To continue contributing to Canada’s food industry, I reactivated my own consulting company and wrote for a food industry magazine called “Food in Canada” in addition to consulting with local food businesses. In 2009, I developed and started teaching a business course for food science graduate students at UBC.

I believe in community involvement and am a long-time participant in the Delta Choral Society and local church activities, and more recently in the South Delta chapter of Men’s Shed and a local walking group. I have also been very active in Scouts Canada as a Leader for over 40 years in Ontario and BC. Shortly after arriving in Delta, I reactivated 1st Boundary Bay Sea Scouts and I am currently the Troop’s Group Commissioner. The Troop is in the process of establishing a sailing program for all scout-age youth in the Lower Mainland of BC. Our Troop is also piloting a program called “Young Minds – Aging Hearts” for Scouts Canada. The program’s objective is to introduce youth 12-16 years of age to seniors of different ethnicities, religions and colours as well at those living with dementia.

You can get in touch with me by email at rjwasik@gmail.com.

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