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Ruller accustomed to taking team approach

Nick Ruller, former fire chief in NOTL, is about to begin his first term on town council. Nick Ruller, who captured 8.
Nick Ruller, former fire chief in NOTL, is about to begin his first term on town council.

Nick Ruller, who captured 8.18% of the votes for councillor to finish sixth in the race Monday, believes he brings a unique perspective to his new role when compared with the other seven Niagara-on-the-Lake councillors.

The town’s former fire chief, who resigned on Feb. 28 to become platoon chief in the city of Brampton, says his experience as a former town staff member will be an advantage as a councillor. “I’ve been on that side of the council chambers,” he told The Local. “It gives you that understanding of where the staff side is coming from and what their objective is. It should serve to make me that much more effective.”

It also arms Ruller with a deeper understanding of how the town works division by division. “When I was in senior management as chief,” explained Ruller, “I always took a real team approach to the issues at hand regardless of whether they were fire-related or not. There’s definitely an opportunity to grow and develop on that knowledge, but I’m pretty comfortable about how things work.”

Though there have been some concerns about high staff turnover in town in recent years, Ruller doesn’t feel there is cause for alarm on that front. “A lot of people re-evaluated their employment during COVID,” he said. “Some that were eligible to retire were ready to go after a couple of years slugging through the pandemic from a work perspective. I’ve heard people discuss the turnover, and of course we want to retain high performers. But I don’t think it paints a dire picture of the overall climate there.”

Like others who were elected, Ruller feels the makeup of the new council provides a good balance of incumbents and new councillors. With four returning to their seats ready to mentor the newcomers, he thinks they will be able to get to work on things quite quickly. Ruller knows, too, that the first little while the new council will be implementing items left behind by the current cohort, including the new short-term rental recommendations. “We have the recommendations,” he said, “and really, my desire for this term of council is to take action on them and other items. I like having plans and I like having a clear direction."

Of campaigning for council, he says he thought long and hard about running, and didn’t realize how vulnerable he would feel while fighting to get elected. “You throw yourself out there,” Ruller says. “You say to your entire municipality ‘here’s who I am, this is what I bring to the table.’ Then they essentially make a decision as to whether or not you are worthwhile to invest in. And in a real public forum. It’s a really vulnerable position to be in.”




Mike Balsom

About the Author: Mike Balsom

With a background in radio and television, Mike Balsom has been covering news and events across the Niagara Region for more than 35 years
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