Burlington Life — Joan Little

Diverse platforms in Ward 5

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.

Meeting the candidates

Burlington council salaries have been deservedly increased. Effective Jan 1 a
Burlington/Halton councillor will earn $87,168, plus benefits, plus a generous expense account
of $6,900, and the mayor will earn $149,168. Public school trustees will earn $13,159 Dec 1, also
merited, but I disagree adamantly with the $8,153 retroactive chunk per trustee, and the extra
$1,882 per month until the end of the term. Retroactivity for elected officials is wrong, wrong,
wrong!
     On Oct 11 Burlington enjoyed its first "meet-the-candidates" night, sponsored by Rambo
Creek Ratepayers, with capable John Boich moderating. Ward two (downtown) candidates spent
over two hours outlining platforms and concerns, and responding to questions.
     Six candidates are running. Boich used a novel approach. Candidates were selected by draw,
and invited someone to introduce them. The introducer and candidate shared ten minutes.
     Five candidates were present: Dave Bedini. Cheryl Craig, Rob Forbes, Ann Marsden and
Peter Thoem. Judy Morrison missed the meeting for medical reasons, but sent an emissary.
     Questions ranged from traffic, community character, protecting Burlington's identity, the
power of the OMB, and assessment, to mention a few. Several questions related to the proposed
location of a McMaster University campus downtown.
     Only perennial candidate Ann Marsden lacked campaign literature. She alone said she did not
know about the province's "Places to Grow" legislation which is putting such pressure on the
city. Growth and building height were key issues.
     None had an answer to traffic, although many zeroed in on making transit go where and when
people need it, and Dave Bedini drew applause noting that the narrowing of Lakeshore west of
Locust might have been done for the right reasons, but was a bottleneck, needing review.
     Candidates were asked about working with school boards on common issues. All agreed this
was worth while, and all agreed a seven-person council was too small, and should be reviewed.
Increased density and shrinking green space were also top-of-mind issues.
     Bedini, Forbes and Thoem, I thought, answered particularly well overall, and. Thoem had a
practical suggestion to reduce garbage truck stops (and emissions). Two neighbours could put
their garbage at the same spot, reducing stops by 50 per cent. Craig and Marsden spoke more in
generalities. It's too bad Morrison was not able to attend.
     These are strong candidates, a real change from many elections when you were tempted to
write "None of the above" on the ballot. Please vote - they've worked hard, and deserve a high
turnout.