Burlington's ward five lies between Appleby
Line and Burloak south of Dundas Street. It contains the older stable southern
part, and the brand new Orchard community, and the nine candidates running
for council are as diverse as the area.
All nine were at last week's candidates'
meeting:
Software expert and former
school trustee David Abbott
Lawyer Bill Bastien, past
president of Junior Achievement, past Chair of Ducks
Unlimited
Vice-president of the Ontario
General Contractors' Assoc, former purchasing manager, City of Hamilton,
Steve Bauld
Director of non-profit SEDI
(Self Employment Development Initiatives), Casey Cosgrove
Financial Planner and Cogeco
co-host of Taking Care of your Future, Rick
Goldring
Communications and Marketing
Manager for Toronto Convention and Visitor Bureau, Vera
Kurnitzki-West
Former teacher and law
clerk, and community volunteer Marnie Mellish Project Manager and
Planner for a Burlington engineering consulting firm, Sam Sarraf
Mediator and paralegal,
former OPP officer, and community volunteer Fred Suter
I wish space permitted more about the
backgrounds and accomplishments of these talented individuals. Regardless
of who wins, there is not a loser among them.
Their platforms are fairly similar -
all recognize the issues - traffic, need to increase transit,
development intensification, taxes, loss of green space. Their
resoponses were thoughtful.
ABBOTT appeared more tuned to school board than
council issues, and theorized that more development would yield more taxes,
allowing a high school in the Orchard community.
BASTIEN often commented that he would need to
know the implications of action on competing interests, which was
refreshing on a stage where it's easy to promise everything. He was firm,
however on the importance of protecting green space.
BAULD referred frequently to his Hamilton
experience, including drafting specs for that city's recycling
program, stated that staff could be an excellent resource, and
supported zoning bylaws preventing monster homes.
COSGROVE stressed the importance of public
consultation, noted that closing schools was shortsighted, stated air quality
should be a priority, and supported making a council work well
together.
GOLDRING had the most informed responses.
He stressed the importance of retaining the city's urban
boundary, advocated greening of the city, and cautioned that spending
had to be contained.
KURNITZKY-WEST said the Official Plan is almost
utopian, that growth should be directed to underutilized areas, that
development should be sustainable, and green building standards should be
implemented.
MELLISH emphasized community safety, and said fear had to be
prevented. Rather than build an EFW plant, she suggested waste should be
reduced. She questioned whether school boards should own land at all, given
their changing priorities.
SARRAF warned of infrastructure needs. He
supported recycling of organic and building waste, and suggested
investigating whether Toronto's excess garbage could help
subsidize a proposed Halton EFW plant.
SUTER suggested diverting growth away from the east
end lakeshore area, and suggested using dial-a-bus in the transit
system. Roundabouts could be considered, he said, and cost/benefit was
essetial in assessing an EFW plant.
I thought Goldring and Bastien stood out for the
reasonableness of their answers, but all were credible. Voters have a tough job
this time.
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