Ward 2 Coun. Senos Timon feels ‘personal responsibility’ to give back

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As Saskatoon’s new city councillors are getting settled in at city hall, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix sat down with each of them to get an idea of what they hope to see in the city …

Soon after emigrating from war-torn South Sudan to Saskatoon in 2000, Senos Timon made a personal commitment to be involved in his new home community.

He never intended to seek public office — but that’s where he finds himself today, he says.

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“I feel a sense of personal responsibility to the community, to the place I call home, that gave me a second chance to live,” says Timon.

“I could not imagine what my life would be if I was still in Sudan.”

The country and region has been in a state of chaos and war for more than half a century. Civil war between the north and south raged from 1955 to 1972. A second civil war took place from 1983 until 2005, when a peace agreement was reached and South Sudan was officially formed. Years later, from 2013 to 2020, a civil war was waged between the government and opposing forces.

Since he arrived in the Bridge City 24 years ago, Timon has lived in the Meadowgreen neighbourhood and witnessed the ongoing social issues on the city’s west side.

He was lucky to have a friend help him get oriented, he says.

“At that particular time I took a deep interest in really educating myself on why we see folks struggling on streets.”

Timon started educating himself further around topics like social justice advocacy.

“I got involved in my local community association, really just helping out, being part of the community,” he says.

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“It exposed me to understanding a lot of the challenges in our community.”

Last month, he made a big leap and ran for council in Ward 2, seeking to replace departing councillor Hilary Gough, who did not seek reelection.

He attracted 1,592 votes to beat Jean Beliveau (1,230), Franklin Arthurs (869), Fraser Kent (489), Karen Kobussen (523) and Janna Horn (294).

One of the first hurdles facing the new city council was an update to the city’s budget. While the meeting lasted for two days, he was prepared to dig into budget for the full three days, Timon says.

He learned a lot, giving him further insight into why city council makes certain decisions around things like the budget.

“Administration had offered enough resources for us to make themselves available, to answer any questions, or go through the numbers from the past and previous budgets,” he says.

One of the decisions made during deliberations was to fund two additional fire inspection officers to help address issues around shelters and homelessness, and to work on a backlog of fire safety inspections.

Timon says several homes in his ward are part of that backlog, and while he would have liked to see even more resources for fire inspections, these additional resources will help.

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He wants to change negative perceptions of the west side while helping to improve people’s lives, he adds.

“I want to be a part of that team. I want to be part of the community that really works with others to help find a solution to the problem.”

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