MOOSOMIN — Victor Santos Cardoza has many reasons why he’d like to rejoin the town of Moosomin council table, but the prime motivator is simply to give back to his community.
“Many years ago, my family was in dire need, and the community rallied together and fought our deportation order. They got us to stay,” he said. “Part of what me running for town council does, it’s a way of giving back to that very community that helped my family all those years ago.”
Santos Cardoza is no stranger to town council, having served two terms already as a junior councillor during his high school years.
“I have some prior experience, being Moosomin’s very first Junior Councillor. That was a really eye-opening experience,” he said, crediting Councillor Murray Gray and McNaughton High School staff for the opportunity. “They piqued my interest, introducing me to what goes on in municipal politics, and the ‘behind the scenes’ of running a town, what it takes. It really got me immersed into what was going on in Moosomin and that motivated me to get more involved in town and make more of an impact.”
As for priorities, Santos Cardoza would like to see more involvement from all community members.
“I want to be well-rounded,” he said. “Being an immigrant, the goal would be to represent a lot of the visible minority community in town and get the youth involved a lot more. My main priority is getting everybody involved, getting everybody together, serving everybody and anybody, seeing where Moosomin as a whole can improve.
“I want to get the youth involved, too, in town. How can we keep the youth of Moosomin in Moosomin? Later down the line, when they do grow up and settle down in life, how can we keep them in Moosomin? How can we grow Moosomin even further? Can I be that middle point between the youth and town?”
In addition to retaining the younger generation, Santos Cardoza is also interested in discovering how to link the generational gap.
“Our youth—my generation—is the future of Moosomin,” he said. “How can we keep them around? And then, how can that generation now help the older generation that’s already in Moosomin?”
Santos Cardoza is an active Knights of Columbus member and has volunteer coaching experience—particularly through Moosomin United Soccer. He has also served two terms as junior councillor with the Town of Moosomin.
