Blake McCutcheon might’ve been born on the eastern side of the province, but he chose Neepawa for his home decades ago and ran a successful business for 35 years before retiring. He and his wife raised two daughters here, one of whom has remained in the area and one of whom now resides on the west coast.

One of the first things McCutcheon talks to us about is how he might’ve run his own business and been on many local boards, but despite any similarities in duties, it’s different when you’re elected. He recalls receiving a piece of advice years ago from a former councillor: that everyone should serve at least one termon their town council. Now that he has three years on council under his belt, he agrees.

“If everybody sat in those chairs for four years, “ says McCutcheon, ”I think they’d have a different perspective.”

The last municipal election three years ago brought a big shakeup to Neepawa Town Council, turning over five of the seven seats including both Mayor and Deputy Mayor. McCutcheon says he was prompted to run for mayor based on what was happening in the town at the time, including a need for more transparency and better communication, but before then he hadn’t really considered it.

He acknowledges how fortunate the town is to have such solid administration. As he puts it, councils come and go and it’s the administration that provides the continuity and keeps things running.

As for his role as mayor, McCutcheon talks about how he likes to keep a finger on the pulse of everything that’s going on in the office, and puts a lot of time into his committee work including the Planning Committee which encompasses not just Neepawa but the neighbouring municipalities of Rosedale and Glenella-Lansdown. Considering how much growth the area has seen over the past decade, it’s a busy place to be. But ultimately, his philosophy about running the town is straightforward.

“Let people who know what they’re doing do their jobs,” he says. “That’s what I learned a long time ago. You surround yourself with capable people and then get out of their way. … At the end of the day, I think the most important thing I can do as mayor is to give my council and my administration the best opportunity to succeed.”