Bill Antle is seeking re-election to Mount Pearl council. Submitted photo
By Mark Squibb
Mount Pearl city councillor Bill Antle will be putting his name forward for re-election for a third term of council in the upcoming municipal election.
“I’ve got some more things I want to get done, and I know I can deliver,” said Antle.
Antle was first elected to council in 2017 following his retirement from Heinz Canada, where he served as District Key Account Manager. He decided to run for council, he said, as a means of giving back to the community, and initially only intended to stay on for one term.
“So far, I think I’ve been fairly successful, and that’s why I want to do it again,” said Antle.
Over the last two terms of council, Antle has co-chaired the Planning, Engineering and Development committee, the Corporate Services (Finance) and Economic Development committee, and the Community Development and Planning committee. He has sat on the Regional Fire Services board, Regional Water Services board, Eastern Regional Service Board, served as vice-chairman of the Northeast Avalon Joint Council, and as council’s liaison with both the Mount Pearl Library Board and Ministerial Community Supper board.
When working for Heinz, Antle would draft annual budgets for the company, and said he carries that financial literacy over to his position as a councillor.
“I know how to be fiscally responsible, and that’s my key job in the city, to be fiscally responsible,” said Antle. “When we do our budget, we make sure it’s dead on. I think Mount Pearl is one of the most financially well-run municipalities in the province. We have a six percent debt ratio, which is fabulous when you think about it.”
Antle is an advocate for maintaining and improving the city’s 65-kilometres of trails and increasing recreation offerings and said over the next term he wants to advocate for a regional water tower and increased police presence in Mount Pearl.
He also wants to see changes in public transportation.
“I want to focus on Metrobus,” said Antle. “I want to fix Metrobus. The way Metrobus works now, it’s just not working, so I want to spend my time focusing on Metrobus the next four years and make that better. Paradise does it right. Paradise has a destination drop-off. You don’t go up and down every street in Paradise to get a bus. In Mount Pearl we go up and down every single street, and we pay $7 a kilometre for Metrobus. Metrobus costs us $2 million a year and it’s not delivering what we need.”
Antle said that on the campaign trail residents have raised concerns about safety, affordability, and housing, particularly housing for seniors.
Meanwhile, he thinks the current iteration of council is doing a pretty good job.
“We are doing the right things right, and I think the council we have now all work well together,” said Antle. “Sometimes we have disagreements, but we always have the betterment of the city in mind.”
Antle was born and bred in Mount Pearl. His parents, Mary and Irv Antle, moved to the Pearl in 1952 — well before the city was incorporated. He married Roxanne Ryan in 1984, and the couple raised their children, Ryan and Megan, in Mount Pearl. Today, Antle is the proud grandparent of five, two of whom are being raised in Mount Pearl.
“Experience counts, and my history counts,” said Antle. “Over the last eight years there’s not a resident that’s called me and said they can’t get a hold of me. That’s what counts. When I say something, I deliver it.”