Andrii Zvorygin for Mayor of Owen Sound

The Three Pillars

Transparency

Residents should be able to see what decisions are being made, what services cost, and how city spending connects to real results. Andrii has already worked toward this through helpos.ca, which makes Owen Sound agendas, transcripts, and local articles easier to access so residents can decide when to attend a meeting, follow what happened, and understand the outcome.

Read more about transparency.

Participation

A stronger city is built when residents can take part in caring for their neighbourhoods. As service, infrastructure, policing, machinery, insurance, fuel, and material costs rise, Owen Sound needs more civic capacity to maintain services while reducing pressure for property-tax increases. Participation means making it easier for people to contribute time, skills, ideas, and practical help toward caring for and improving the places where they live.

Read more about participation.

Compassion

Hard problems should be approached with forgiveness, love, respect, and compassion for everyone involved. The goal is to understand the needs, limits, and responsibilities on all sides, then work toward decisions that benefit people and the community over the long term.

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The Core Idea

Seven neighbourhoods, one councillor per neighbourhood, with clearer local accountability, alongside a mayor who can represent Owen Sound effectively at Grey County and higher levels of government.

The goal is to bring decisions closer to residents so people can better see what services cost, understand what is happening in their area, take part in improving their neighbourhood, and work through difficult issues with compassion for everyone involved.

Experience and Qualifications

Andrii has lived in Owen Sound since 2015 and has spent years working with practical systems: local business technology, communication tools, civic information access, and food-producing nursery work.

His background includes:

• IT and communication systems work with local organizations and businesses.
• Farming and tree nursery work focused on food security, edible landscapes, and long-term resilience.
• Regular attendance and monitoring of Owen Sound and Grey County council meetings.
• Building helpos.ca to make Owen Sound agendas, transcripts, meeting results, and local civic issues easier to follow.
• Practical experience explaining complex systems in plain language so more people can understand and participate.
• Relationships and familiarity with neighbouring municipal leaders through county-level civic involvement.
• Service as treasurer of the Grey Bruce Makerspace, supporting local skills, tools, practical education, and community infrastructure.
• Hosting a monthly podcast where internationally recognized scientists and engineers present research on resource limits, energy transition, infrastructure, food security, and practical transition pathways, including guests whose work has appeared in leading journals such as Science and Nature and who have presented to the UN as well as other international and national bodies.

Through this work, he has developed a practical understanding of:

• how public decisions are made;
• how communication gaps affect residents;
• how systems and infrastructure shape daily life;
• how budgets, tools, volunteers, and local organizations support community capacity;
• how food, housing, energy, land use, and local resilience connect;
• how global resource pressures can affect local costs, food systems, infrastructure, and municipal planning;
• how Owen Sound’s decisions fit into the wider Grey County region.

Main Priorities

• Neighbourhood representation with clear responsibility.
• Transparent local budgets and service costs.
• More opportunities for residents to help care for and improve their neighbourhoods.
• Stronger local food production and distribution.
• Housing and land-use planning that helps families build stable lives.
• Regional infrastructure such as grain mills, food processing, cold storage, and farmer-to-market connections.

He supports planning around what land, food, water, energy, and infrastructure can realistically support.

County-Level Leadership

The mayor represents Owen Sound at Grey County, where decisions about housing, roads, social services, land use, public health, and regional infrastructure affect daily life in the city. Andrii’s approach emphasizes practical coordination with neighbouring municipalities so Owen Sound can advocate clearly for local needs while helping strengthen the wider region.

Why Andrii Is Running

Many residents feel local decisions are too distant from neighbourhood realities. Andrii is running in the 2026 municipal election cycle to make city governance more transparent, more participatory, and more compassionate.

This campaign is based on shared stewardship: the idea that Owen Sound works better when residents have clearer ways to understand local needs, contribute their abilities, help care for the places where they live, and feel that they belong in the life of the city.

Andrii wants to help rebuild community cohesion by encouraging residents, neighbourhoods, city staff, council, local organizations, and neighbouring municipalities to work through challenges with respect and compassion for everyone involved.

He aims to build a practical civic culture where people feel heard, useful, and connected; where future council leadership can grow from neighbourhood experience; and where difficult decisions are made in a way that strengthens trust, belonging, and compassion for everyone involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Andrii Zvorygin?

Andrii Zvorygin is an Owen Sound resident and official candidate for Mayor of Owen Sound in the 2026 municipal election.

Is Andrii Zvorygin running for mayor of Owen Sound?

He is an official candidate for Mayor of Owen Sound in the 2026 municipal election cycle.

What is his platform?

His platform is built around transparency, participation, and compassion, with a focus on neighbourhood representation, local food security, and practical long-term planning for Owen Sound.

What are his main priorities?

His main priorities are neighbourhood accountability, transparent local budgets, resident participation, stronger local food resilience, and compassionate decision-making that helps people work through hard local problems together.