Ernie Sirski is a familiar name to much of the RM of Dauphin, whether it's through his role as the current Reeve, or one of the many ways he's been involved in the region's agriculture.
With the upcoming Manitoba Municipal Election in October, Sirski was faced with a choice: run for a second term, or step away from the role of Reeve? He says it best.
"I have taken my papers out, I've got the required number of signatures on my nomination forms, so yes, I've decided to put my name forward for one more term...we've got a new CAO who's doing a wonderful job for us, and I think it's just imperative that we try and have some continuity, not only through the council, but through the leadership at the Reeve as well," said Sirski.
Sirski said the past few year's certainly have had their challenges, especially the past couple months. Though it looks great on a resume that Sirski was able to handle recent flooding in the role of Reeve, he said the focus shouldn't be on him.
"The thing that it's taught me is that it's not myself or the council, it's the resilience of the entire community that pulled together to make sure that we all, number one stayed safe, number two got things working in a manner that benefited the whole municipality, and number three the people that we have working in our municipality," said Sirski.
Before he first took on the role of RM of Dauphin Reeve, Sirski had no political experience whatsoever, aside from farm politics. He said that played a big part in why he even considered running in the first place, and his agriculture experiences have definitely helped him during his term.
"I really believed we need farmers on a rural council, and I still believe that, I still believe that we need active farmers that are willing to step up and lead this organization," said Sirski.
Going forward, whether he ends up in the role of Reeve for a second term or not, Sirski said he'll continue to make sure his voice is heard when it comes to standing up for agriculture in the Parkland.
