Waterloo (City) Election Talk

[UrbanWaterloo]

Waterloo (City) Election Talk 2010
Voting Day is October 25, 2010. Campaigns have started. This is a place to discuss them.

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/election/WaterlooCityCentre.png

Candidates (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=2526)

Mayor | Southwest Ward 1 | Northwest Ward 2 | Lakeshore Ward 3

Brenda Halloran (http://brendaformayor.com/): 12247 (45.7%) Jan d’Ailly (www.dailly.ca): 7092 (26.5%) Dale Ross (www.dalerossformayor.com): 5466 (20.4%) Franklin Ramsoomair (www.fram4mayor.com): 1987 (7.4%)Total Votes: 26792 | Scott Witmer (http://scottwitmer.ca/): 2228 (56.5%) Henrik Noesgaard (www.noesgaard.ca): 1715 (43.5%)Total Votes: 3943| Karen Scian (www.karenscian.ca)Total Votes: *ACCLAIMED* | Angela Vieth (http://www3.sympatico.ca/ja.vieth/votevieth10-2/index.htm): 2874 (76.3%) Mike Gagnon: 895 (23.7%)Total Votes: 3769

|

Northeast Ward 4 | Southeast Ward 5 | Central-Columbia Ward 6 | Uptown Ward 7

Diane Freeman (www.dianefreeman.ca): 2546 (70.5%) Blaine Gray (www.BlaineGray.ca): 1063 (29.5%)Total Votes: 3609| Mark Whaley (http://www.markwhaley.ca/): 2270 (50.5%) Gary Kieswetter: 1597 (35.6%) David Sangster (www.davidsangster.com): 624 (13.9%)Total Votes: 4491 | Jeff Henry (www.jeffhenry.ca): 1061 (30.5%) Mike Connolly (www.mikeconnolly.ca): 802 (23.1%) Ed Korschewitz (www.responsiblevision.ca): 826 (23.8%) Anne R. Crowe (http://annecrowe.ca/): 787 (22.6%)Total Votes: 3476| Melissa Durrell (www.melissadurrell.ca): 1653 (37.9%) Peter Woolstencroft (www.peterwoolstencroft.com): 987 (22.6%) Erin Epp (www.erinepp.ca): 819 (18.8%) Duncan McLean (www.duncanmclean.ca): 616 (14.1%) Edwin Laryea (www.edwinlaryea.ca): 177 (4.1%) Noel V. Butler (www.noelvbutler.com): 112 (2.6%)Total Votes: 4364
http://www.waterloo.ca/ImageGallery/7158/Maps/WARD_POLLING_STATION_AREAS_3648_2010_3_nm.jpg

[Spokes]

D’Ailly to challenge Halloran in Waterloo mayoral race
December 17, 2009 | Jeff Outhit, Record Staff | http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/646106

WATERLOO — There will be a heavyweight race for mayor in Waterloo next year.

Coun. Jan d’Ailly revealed Thursday that he will challenge Mayor Brenda Halloran, who is seeking re-election.

It’s an early launch to the 2010 municipal campaign. The election is expected next October and candidates can’t even register until January.

D’Ailly, 50, was first elected to Waterloo council in 2003 and now represents Ward 6. He runs a waste-energy technology company, and has management experience in business development and strategic planning.

“I move projects forward and get things done,” he said, citing his council and business experience. “It’s time to move the city forward.”

Incumbent Halloran, 54, is completing her first term and said she has more she wants to do, including working to bring more doctors and a family health team to the city.

“I’m very confident in the job I’ve done as mayor,” she said. “I’ve given this community strong leadership.”

She was not surprised to learn d’Ailly will challenge her. “I’ve known for quite a while he was planning on running.”

Residents re-elected d’Ailly in 2006 after he had a run-in with the law in 2004.

He had to comply with the terms of a peace bond, commonly known as a restraining order, in return for the withdrawal of an assault charge laid after he slapped his wife.

“I made a mistake,” D’Ailly said. He has since divorced and remarried and says he has put the private incident behind him.


New faces but no major reforms in local elections
December 28, 2009 | Jeff Outhit, Record Staff | http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/649378

WATERLOO REGION — You’ll see an earlier election date and you’ll see two city councils expand in the municipal campaign that launches Jan. 4.

But you won’t see the major reforms that a pro-reform lobby group was seeking.

Highlights of the 2010 municipal election:

It’s been moved ahead to Oct. 25, to escape miserable November weather. The term remains four years.

Kitchener is adding four councillors. Cambridge is adding two councillors. The total number of municipal politicians in the region will grow by six to 57.

Waterloo residents and some others will be asked by referendum if they want to continue fluoridating drinking water.

Pro-reform residents had called on politicians to merge some local councils in 2010, saying this would streamline municipal government. Their effort, launched in 2008, got little traction and politicians chose instead to tinker with the election.

“We’re disappointed but we’re not discouraged,” said Jim Erb, spokesperson for the group Citizens for Better Government. He said he hopes candidates make reform a municipal election issue.

Local mayors applaud the provincial government for advancing the election to the fourth Monday in October. It’s hoped this change will improve turnout.

“The date will probably make it more convenient for people,” said Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr, who has not decided whether to seek re-election.

The new date shortens the long municipal campaign by a few days, sets the election in potentially better weather, and gives local governments more time to prepare for the inauguration of new councils.

Cambridge council is expanding to nine members in the election. Kitchener council is expanding to 11. Proponents contend expansions will improve governance and spread the council workload around.

“It will allow for a wider diversity of opinion on council, and of course representation,” said Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, who is seeking re-election. “I think that’s very good news for everybody.”

“You have a chance of having more representation and more views on a subject, so that’s a good thing from a democratic standpoint,” Zehr said.

Zehr expects the next Kitchener council will be mostly newcomers, as council opens up four new seats and some incumbents decline to see re-election.

Waterloo council is staying at eight members. Regional council is staying at 16, including seven mayors. Four townships are staying at five members each.

The municipal campaign formally launches Jan. 4, the first day candidates can register for office. They must register before they can raise money or spend it.

Zehr and Craig want local politicians to debate municipal reform during the next council term. Regional Chair Ken Seiling doubts reform will happen until provincial politicians signal their interest in shaping it.

“Clearly the province hasn’t shown an interest in touching municipal structures,” said Seiling, who has not announced if he will seek re-election.

Ontario has made changes to financing rules for the municipal election. The province will also require more accessible voting places.

[Spokes]

Candidates gear up for municipal elections
January 4, 2010 | Melinda Dalton, Record Staff | http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/650114

WATERLOO REGION — Municipal elections may still be months away, but the race is on already in several communities across Waterloo Region.

Monday marked the first official day candidates could register for the October elections in the three cities and the region.

First out of the gate in Waterloo was Mayor Brenda Halloran, who registered her bid for a second term.

Close behind was Waterloo Ward 6 Coun. Jan d’Ailly, who informally announced his intention to run for the mayor’s job in December, but officially registered Monday.

D’Ailly has served as the councillor for the city’s Central-Columbia neighbourhood since 2003.

Also stepping forward Monday in Waterloo was Coun. Diane Freeman, who will campaign to keep her spot as Ward 4 councillor, and Dr. Anne Crowe, a family physician, who will run for councillor in Ward 6.

Waterloo is the only city in the region where voters will elect the same number of council members as in the previous election.

Kitchener and Cambridge will expand their ward system and council tables to 10 and eight members respectively.

Community activist Scott Piatkowski announced early Monday morning he’ll be running for Kitchener’s Ward 8 seat, one of the city’s newly created wards which will include the Forest Hill, Victoria Hills and Westmount neighbourhoods. Piatkowski ran for the Ward 6 seat in the last municipal election and lost out to the incumbent, Christina Weylie.

He was the only person to file nomination paperwork in Kitchener on Monday.

Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr has not yet publicly announced if he’ll run again. In December, Zehr became the city’s longest serving mayor. He was first elected in 1997 and won his fourth consecutive election in 2006 with nearly 68 per cent of the vote.

In an email response Monday, Zehr suggested he won’t be rushing to a decision on any potential re-election campaign.

Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig and Ward 5 Coun. Pam Wolf formally submitted the paperwork needed to launch their campaigns Monday, as did Ward 1 candidate, Donna Reid.

Both Ward 5 and Ward 1 will look different following the fall election.

The southeastern portion of Ward 5, below St. Andrews Street, will be moved into Ward 6.

The boundaries of the current Ward 1 will be redrawn to include the portion of Hespeler north of the Speed River as well as a part of Preston.

Wolf, a former public school teacher, was a political newcomer in 2006 when she unseated the Ward 5 incumbent.

Reid, a retired teacher, ran and lost to the current Ward 1 councillor, Rick Cowsill, in the same election.

Regional Chair Ken Seiling has yet to make an announcement on whether he’ll run again for the position he’s held for 25 years.

Candidates in all three cities, the region and the townships have until Sept. 10 to register for the Oct. 25 election.

To run for municipal office, you must:

— Be 18 or older
— Live, own property or be the spouse or common-law partner of someone who owns property in the municipality
— Be legally allowed to vote
— Not be disqualified by legislation from holding office
— Pay the nomination filing fee of $100 for councillors and $200 for mayor or regional chair.

For more information on the nomination process, see the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s 2010 Municipal Election Guide at www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page5606.aspx, check your city’s website or contact the city clerk in your municipality.

[Spokes]

Race for 2010 election is on
Jan 6, 2010 | Greg MacDonald, Chronicle Staff | http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/198982

The race is on — officially.

Two candidates have formally declared their intention to run for the mayor of Waterloo.

Incumbent mayor Brenda Halloran will face off against two-term Coun. Jan d’Ailly for the top job in the city. Both declared their intentions to run weeks ago, but put in their formal declarations on Monday, the first official day to do so.

Some of the wards also have candidates after the first two days of the declaration period.

Coun. Diane Freeman will run again in Ward 3 in the east end of the city. Freeman is finishing up her first term as a councillor in an area that covers RIM Park and Eastbridge.

A new candidate is in the running for the ward that Coun. Jan d’Ailly will vacate.

Anne Crowe, a local doctor who works at Grand River Hospital, will run for d’Ailly’s seat. Crowe, 54, has lived in the ward since 1981 and will run on a platform of financial and environmental stability.

She decided to run because she wants to something to be done about climate change following the Copenhagen conference.

“Municipalities have a great potential to do things in the short-term,” Crowe said.

Four candidates declared on the first day of eligibility, according to Susan Greatrix, the city clerk. That’s large in comparison to the one candidate who declared on the first day during the 2006 election.

The election is set for Oct. 25 after changes made by the provincial government.

[Spokes]

More candidates declare for election
Feb 03, 2010 | http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/201542

Coun. Jane Mitchell has announced her intention to run for regional council again this fall.

Mitchell has been on regional council since 2000 and is chair of the employment and income advisory committee, past-chair of the licensing and retail committee, vice-chair of the community service committee.

On the city side, incumbents Karen Scian and Angela Vieth have declared their intention to run again.

Both will be running for their second term on council.

Scian represents Ward 2 in the northwest of the city, while Vieth represents Ward 3, known as Lakeshore.

Coun. Diane Freeman has also declared her intention to run for a second term in Ward 4 on the east side of the city, while newcomer Anne Crowe will run in Ward 6.

Current Ward 6 Coun. Jan d’Ailly will challenge incumbent Mayor Brenda Halloran for the city’s top job in October.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Super-Stickied this thread so it will be easier to follow as we get closer to the election. 32 weeks to go. Is anyone here considering running for a position?

[uptownfoodcritic]

Super-Stickied this thread so it will be easier to follow as we get closer to the election. 32 weeks to go. Is anyone here considering running for a position?

I'd say the Uptown Ward is very vulnerable to a well-organized challenge. Supposedly, Ian Mclean has not been attending a lot of the committee meeting he is supposed so he could be weakened by that.

Someone with a pro-Uptown viewpoint could likely win it.

[Spokes]

I'd say the Uptown Ward is very vulnerable to a well-organized challenge. Supposedly, Ian Mclean has not been attending a lot of the committee meeting he is supposed so he could be weakened by that.

Someone with a pro-Uptown viewpoint could likely win it.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing someone with a big vision for uptown come in and shake things up a bit. Even if they don't win, to get some issues out there and into the public debate

[J.D. McGuire]

I will likely be running in Central-Columbia Ward 6 in Waterloo. Right now, my platform includes a hard look at the University housing situations (Northdale specifically) and finding municipal government efficiencies. For clarity's sake, "efficiencies" are not to be taken as a want to cut staff or programs; it's simply a policy against ridiculous wasting of time and money (ex. asking city staff to prepare a report on asking the provincial government if they can ask the citizens of Waterloo if it's alright for Council to ask Kitchener to discuss whether or not we should ask the citizens if we should ask the provicial government to merge our two cities). You would not believe how many times I had to re-read that for accuracy. :)

J.D. McGuire

[Spokes]

Great news! Looking forward to hearing more about your ideas and the process of it all.

[Brenden]

So which one of our Wonderful Waterloo members is going to be running?

[UrbanWaterloo]

Well is anyone on here named Dan? Just think of all the money we'd save on marketing! :p

[Spokes]

Ya you'd think it'd inspire someone to run for office.

Fine if I must, I will! haha.

[ElmiraGuy]

I have a question that I am almost embarrassed to ask, but here it goes.

While certainly not new to the region, I have never lived in K-W at the time of an election, and so am unfamiliar with the wards, candidates, and their platforms.

I live in the Weber & Erb area. What ward is this?

Also, I am a very avid supporter of the LRT, and increased densification. Are there any candidates that I might vote for who best reflect these approaches? Are there any I should avoid?

Thanks very much for any guidance you can provide.

Cheers!

[IEFBR14]

Welcome to WW, ElmiraGuy.

Here's a page with ward maps that shows their boundaries: Ward Information (http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=541). I can understand your confusion, if not your embarrassment. The latter belongs to the City of Waterloo and/or your local councilor for not automatically sending you and all new residents a "welcome package" that answers these sorts of questions.

As for pro-LRT and pro-pedestrian/cycling candidates I too am waiting with bated breath to hear the sales pitches. I'd imagine that as in the past, there will be all-candidates meetings in each ward.

[Spokes]

Yup it's a bit too soon to decide who's going to argue what. What I've got in mind though is come election time, a thread with all candidates and their positions on various policies as a reference tool.

[taylortbb]

TriTAG will be issuing questionnaires to all candidates, and doing some sort of response aggregation to help people compare. We'll make sure to cover everything transit/cycling/pedestrian. TriTAG will not be endorsing specific candidates, so I'm not going to say anything about any specific person that's pro-LRT.

[UrbanWaterloo]

I live in the Weber & Erb area. What ward is this?

Either Ward 5 (http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/CS_CLERKS_Minutes/Ward5.pdf) or Ward 7 (http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/CS_CLERKS_Minutes/Ward7.pdf)


Also, I am a very avid supporter of the LRT, and increased densification. Are there any candidates that I might vote for who best reflect these approaches? Are there any I should avoid?

Technically the election race has begun, but in practical terms it only starts to heat up after the Labour Day weekend. For now I'm just keeping a list of candidates and their websites on the first post of this thread. As we approach September, we'll come up with a scorecard ranking candidates on various issues. I also want to do some daily rolling average local polling starting in September, so if there's any interested volunteers who'd like to call a few random citizens a day let me know. This is something we'll start to discuss at the May Meet.

[ElmiraGuy]

Welcome to WW, ElmiraGuy.

Here's a page with ward maps that shows their boundaries: Ward Information (http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=541). I can understand your confusion, if not your embarrassment. The latter belongs to the City of Waterloo and/or your local councilor for not automatically sending you and all new residents a "welcome package" that answers these sorts of questions.

As for pro-LRT and pro-pedestrian/cycling candidates I too am waiting with bated breath to hear the sales pitches. I'd imagine that as in the past, there will be all-candidates meetings in each ward.

Thanks very much for the website.

I moved back to the area three years ago after a mind-numbing hiatus in very far northern Ontario. Before that it was England, and before that Kingston. Prior to that I lived on Laurel Street in Waterloo (man has it gone downhill) but was still voting for the Woolwich council. Now, finally, I have been enumerated to vote in Waterloo.

Spokes: That's a great idea to put up a dedicated thread as election time draws closer.

taylortbb: Also a great idea to give the candidates a questionaire to draw out (hopefully) their position on the LRT.

And thanks to UrbanWaterloo for the links. Ward 5 it is! Right on the border!

[Spokes]

Third candidate enters Waterloo mayoral race
May 16, 2010 | Jeff Outhit, Record Staff

WATERLOO — Gord Hague is running for mayor of Waterloo in the Oct. 25 municipal election, bringing the declared number of candidates to three.

Hague, an entrepreneur, has no city council experience. But he says he has been a business leader and problem-solver for 20 years and he believes his skills suit the top council job.

Rivals for the post to date include incumbent Brenda Halloran, elected in 2006 without council experience, and veteran councillor Jan d’Ailly.

Hague, 49, opposes merging with Kitchener and will vote “no” in the election referendum that seeks to authorize merger talks. He says not enough information has been provided to justify such a step.

“From what I’ve understood from other amalgamations they haven’t been successful,” he said. “The people aren’t happy that it’s gone on and it hasn’t resulted in cost savings.”

Hague also contends council owes the public an explanation, after the Waterloo library board sparked outcry by dismissing chief librarian Cathy Matyas without cause. “We needed some accountability from the city,” he said, pointing out that the city provides most library funding.

Hague graduated from high school in Waterloo and earned a business administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. Most recently, he has worked to provide project management as an independent contractor. His election website is at www.gordhagueformayor.com

He lives in the Beechwood suburb, has been married 24 years, and has three children.

[paul]

Hello!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am writing on everything and anything city of Waterloo election related at www.paulstickney.com.

Sorry Kitchener, you don't get much air time unless it relates to the discussion question. Got to stick with what I know :).

Cheers,
Paul

[Spokes]

Welcome to Wonderful Waterloo Paul. It'll be great to hear your thoughts on the election. Will you be posting them here on WW as well?

Hopefully we hear your thoughts on everything, not just the election (in waterloo)

[paul]

Thanks! I'd be glad to post the entries here as well thank you for the opportunity!

[Spokes]

Excellent. There's lots to sift through but Im sure you'll find a lot of the discussion on here really interesting (both election related and not). It'll take you a while to make it through, but we've had some awesome discussion about Northdale (http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/showthread.php/26-Northdale-Neighborhood). It'd be great to hear your thoughts eventually.

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Woolstencroft running in uptown
Former mayor’s husband will take stab at Ward 7 seat

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/1599/pwool.jpg
Image from Peter Woolstencroft's Information Page (http://politicalscience.uwaterloo.ca/profiles/prof-woolstencroft.htm) on UW's Department of Political Science

By Greg MacDonald | WATERLOO CHRONICLE (http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/) | Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Another contender has emerged in the race for the uptown ward. Peter Woolstencroft, husband of former Waterloo Mayor Lynne Woolstencroft, declared Monday his intentions to run.

Woolstencroft joins Duncan McLean, brother of current ward councillor Ian McLean, former educational administrator Edwin Laryea and newcomer Erin Epp as candidates for Ward 7.

Woolstencroft isn’t sure what to expect given his last name.

“(Lynne) was the mayor two mayors ago, I’m not sure anyone even remembers,” he said.

“But she’s her own person and I’m my own person with my own thoughts.”

Woolstencroft decided to run after he became concerned about a number of issues facing the city, mainly the firing of Waterloo Public Library chief librarian Cathy Matyas.

“I was unhappy with the way that situation was handled,” he said.

“I’m also concerned about amalgamation and I’m concerned about development in the uptown ward.”

Woolstencroft believes while growth is important, it has to be healthy. The increased densities in the core have been a concern to many residents and he feels that citizens could be better consulted.

The uptown ward is set to be one of the hottest races in the upcoming election.

It joins Ward 6, which is home to the troubled Northdale neighbourhood, as the only race with four declared candidates.

The mayoral race is the only other race with multiple candidates — all the other wards are currently one-horse shows.

Incumbent mayor Brenda Halloran, current Ward 6 councillor Jan d’Ailly and newcomer Gord Hague will vie for the top job.

Candidates have until Sept. 10 to declare for the election, which will be held on Oct. 25.

http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/215435 (http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/215435)

[UrbanAndUrbane]

On behalf of the Waterloo Voter Support Committee, I'm putting together a questionnaire for all candidates running in the City of Waterloo. Answers to the 20 topical questions from all the candidates will then be posted in a side-by-side comparison for all voters to see. (The URL for the web site will be announced at the end of the summer.)

What 5 questions relating to urban landscape, uptown/downtown development, intermodal transportation, zoning, and land use would you like to have asked? For each of you, I'm sure that it will be a different set of five questions.

[mpd618]

What 5 questions relating to urban landscape, uptown/downtown development, intermodal transportation, zoning, and land use would you like to have asked? For each of you, I'm sure that it will be a different set of five questions.

Welcome to WW! Here's the first five I thought of:

1. What is your position on dividing street space between cars, buses, bicycles, and pedestrians? Do you support segregated cycling tracks on major streets?

2. Do you believe that developments should be required to provide off-street parking?

3. Would you support development that is separated from the street by parking lots?

4. Do you believe intensification should take place only along major nodes and corridors?

5. Will you work to return Erb and Bridgeport streets to two-way operation?

[Spokes]

Welcome to Wonderful Waterloo!

Will you be doing this just for Waterloo candidates? (questions to follow when I have more time)

[UrbanAndUrbane]

Welcome to Wonderful Waterloo!

Will you be doing this just for Waterloo candidates? (questions to follow when I have more time)

Yes, as residents of the city of Waterloo, our focus is just on Waterloo. However, we encourage community-minded voters in Kitchener, Cambridge, and the townships to organize voter education activities for their own cities or townships. Some issues of urban development transcend our boundaries but specific approaches, including what, where, how, and with what monies, differ. If WW would like to develop specific sets of questions independently tailored for Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge and the rural areas, it would be a service to informed voters. We can help by incorporating the gist of some of your questions into our own more comprehensive questionnaire, which could touch on issues of governance, processes at City Hall, transparency, budget, social issues, etc.

[Green Heritage]

What 5 questions relating to urban landscape, uptown/downtown development, intermodal transportation, zoning, and land use would you like to have asked? For each of you, I'm sure that it will be a different set of five questions.

My five questions focus on heritage preservation -- but I think they cover a lot of the areas you suggest:

• What do you see as the value to the community of preservation of heritage properties? What have you done to save built heritage in Waterloo?

• How will you balance development pressures against the need to preserve archeological and heritage structures and neighbourhoods?

• Would you encourage the adaptive reuse of Waterloo's built heritage when its traditional uses are no longer feasible?

• Do you agree that a municipal council should act if necessary to designate heritage property even where the owner disagrees?

• Will you support financial assistance and advice to those who seek to conserve and restore their heritage properties?

Question : Are you interested in working together to organize a public meeting / election forum on Livability ?

[Spokes]

1. What vision do you have for the city of Waterloo in both the next 4 years and the next 10?
2. What do you want to see done in Northdale?
3. Do you believe that land uses should be separate or mixed?

4 and 5 to come later on.

[smably]

Great questions, Green Heritage, particularly this one:


• Do you agree that a municipal council should act if necessary to designate heritage property even where the owner disagrees?


I also really like these:

2. Do you believe that developments should be required to provide off-street parking?

4. Do you believe intensification should take place only along major nodes and corridors?

To those, I would add:

Will you work toward making King Street a complete street with slower traffic, cycling facilities, wider sidewalks, and attractive streetscaping?
Would you support the creation of an urban design panel (http://www.canadianarchitect.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000193950) to ensure architectural excellence in new developments?

[Spokes]

Mayoral candidate decries ‘unhealthy’ city finances

August 04, 2010
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff

WATERLOO — Dale Ross is upset about city spending and is running for mayor of Waterloo to correct its “unhealthy” finances.

“There really is a need for a change in leadership,” he said.

“We have to get fiscal responsibility back into council,” Ross, a retired business executive, said.

Ross, 57, lives in the Beechwood subdivision. He’s a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University and is retired from a business career in supply chain issues, which is the movement of goods and services.

He’s unhappy about rising spending, high city debt, and tax increases that greatly exceed inflation. He opposes council’s policy of tying tax increases to a special rate of municipal inflation.

This is a model where costs always rise, without incentives for productivity gains and economies of scale, he contends. “It’s a flawed strategy and not something that is sustainable,” Ross said. “You have to live within your means.”

He is currently the third mayoral candidate in the Oct. 25 municipal election, challenging Coun. Jan d’Ailly and Mayor Brenda Halloran. Entrepreneur Gord Hague withdrew from the race in July.

Ross has never run for elected office. He’s taking aim at the top job because he figures he can be more effective as mayor and would also sit on regional council. “In terms of my corporate experience, this is not a big step for me,” he said.

He has been married 38 years to Susan Ross. The couple has a grown daughter and two grandchildren.

jouthit@therecord.com

[Spokes]

Still a three-horse race
Gord Hague drops out of mayoral contest while Dale Ross declares

By Charlotte Prong Parkhill, Chronicle Staff
Aug 04, 2010

There’s been a shuffle in the three-way race for the city’s top job.

Two days after mayoral candidate Gord Hague told the Chronicle he is taking his name off the ballot, former business executive Dale Ross added his.

“Over the past several months, I have been researching both historical and current municipal issues. At this point in time, I do not feel I have the necessary municipal background to properly represent the citizens of Waterloo,” Hague said.

He initially put his name forward in the spring, emotionally charged and angered by two events: the firing of chief librarian Cathy Matyas, and the merger question that is appearing on October’s ballot.

Hague said the issue is not whether the firing was correct or incorrect, but about the lack of background given to city residents about the termination “in a role that was perceived to be completed very well.”

With the city providing the vast majority of the library’s funding, Hague wanted more answers.

“If feels like some accountability was missing,” he said.

Matyas herself considered a run for mayor, but instead took a job as the CEO at Brampton Public Library.

New candidate Ross feels the merger question is an important one facing the city, but he’s decided to run for another reason.

“The most pressing issue in the city is the financial situation,” he said. “It’s extremely unhealthy.”

Agreeing to spend $22 million on the new YMCA proves city council has learned nothing from the RIM Park financing fiasco, he said.

Ross has a degree in economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and was one of the university’s first MBA grads.

Now that he’s retired from his career as an executive, he teaches in the program part-time.

He combed through 10 years of the city’s financial records, and was upset by what he saw. Relying on the Municipal Price Index as a business model isn’t a good idea, he said.

“It’s flawed, it’s not a valid index, and it’s increasing our taxes at double the rate of inflation.”

He also doesn’t think the time is right for amalgamation between Waterloo and Kitchener.

“The people aren’t ready for it. If you look at the financials, there’s no financial benefit,” he said.

“We don’t have the leadership today to implement it properly.”

With a long history of experience at senior levels of large organizations, Ross has already been through some mergers of the business variety and said they don’t have to be expensive.

“You don’t have to incur those expenses, if you have the right leadership to do it,” he said.

“There’s too much infighting between politicians.”

But he said he would consider merging more services between the two cities, such as the fire department.

He’s kicking off his candidacy Friday with the launch of a website, www.dalerossformayor.com , where he’ll post the details of his financial concerns.

Ross joins Mayor Brenda Halloran and city councillor Jan d’Ailly vying for the top spot.

Nominations for city council are being accepted until Sept. 10.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Franklin Ramsoomair has entered the mayor's race.

Henrik Noesgaard has jumped into the Southwest Ward 1 race.

David Sangster has entered the Southeast Ward 5 race.

[DKsan]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread to ask this question but:

A student may vote in the municipality where he or she is temporarily residing while attending school as well as at his or her permanent home in a different municipality, provided that he or she does not intend to change his or her permanent home.
Does this mean, as a student, I'm entitled to vote both here at my temporary residence (Waterloo) and my permanent residence (back home in Brampton)?
Does this apply to the region as well?

[GGHTransit]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread to ask this question but:

Does this mean, as a student, I'm entitled to vote both here at my temporary residence (Waterloo) and my permanent residence (back home in Brampton)?
Does this apply to the region as well?

So says the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website, so I guess so :RpS_blink: . IIRC typically the Regional and Local Municipal candidates are all on the same ballot along with the School Board Trustees, there's lots and lots of boxes to check off.

http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page7044.aspx

[Spokes]

Wow, didn't know you could vote in both. Is that new? I never did when I was living in Ottawa, wish I'd have known.

[DKsan]

I found it on the city of Waterloo website. I find it bizarre, though I'm know I'm not going to be amused by the ward I'll be living in September (Ward 5).

[Spokes]

Former professor in race for Waterloo mayor’s chair
August 19, 2010
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff

WATERLOO — Former professor Franklin Ramsoomair is running for mayor of Waterloo to bring about changes at city hall.

“I’m disappointed by what the current administration promised and what they actually delivered,” he said. “I have the background in order to carry out the office effectively.”

Ramsoomair, 59, taught business for 20 years at Wilfrid Laurier University and now works as a consultant and businessperson. He has no political experience but says the top job is the best place from which to bring about change.

He wants to make Waterloo a household name as a technology centre and is dismayed that Google is relocating its Waterloo offices to Kitchener.

“I think we should have been way ahead of that situation and done everything in our power to keep the high-tech firm here,” he said.

He proposes that the city seek to provide laptops, funded by corporate donations, to students at need who are entering high school. He wants students to be able to earn credits at local universities for undertaking community service.

In the upcoming referendums, he intends to vote against water fluoridation and against merger talks with Kitchener. He does not believe the community needs rail transit now.

Ramsoomair wants a public website for residents to judge his performance, and also to assess city staff. He vows to make his results public but says staff assessments would be confidential unless employees want them made public.

He’s married to Anne Graham-Ramsoomair. They have three grown children.

Candidates have until Sept. 10 to declare for the Oct. 25 municipal election. Challengers for the mayoral post in Waterloo include incumbent Brenda Halloran, Coun. Jan d’Ailly, and Dale Ross.

Three candidates for mayor of Kitchener include incumbent Carl Zehr, Don Pinnell and Frank Kulcsar. Three candidates for mayor of Cambridge include incumbent Doug Craig, Coun. Linda Whetham, and Andrew Johnson.

jouthit@therecord.com

[Spokes]

Who's there?
570 News Aug 25, 2010 03:32:22 AM
http://www.570news.com/radio/570news/article/93219--who-s-there

An analysis of events attended by municipal politicians shows some startling differences in the number of times each elected official turned up at a community event. It's no surprise that the mayors of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo attend the most events on council but the number of events attended by different councillors can vary widely. The difference was most stark in Kitchener, where Councillor Berry Vrbanovic attended 114 community events last year, compared to just 6 attended by Councillor John Smola. Smola announced on Monday that he would be seeking a seat on regional council in the fall.

In Cambridge, Councillor Linda Whetham shows the most 2009 dates booked on her calendar with 132, while Councillor Rick Cowsill recorded 45 events attended but says the actual number was much higher.

In Waterloo, Councillor Jan d'Ailly attended 60 events in 2009 while Councillor Ian McLean attended 16.

Both Whetham and d'Ailly, who attended the most events as councillors in their respective cities, have entered the mayoral race in October.

Event attendance is not tracked for regional councillors although records show that Chair Ken Seiling attended more than 500 community events in 2009.

In providing the information, each municipality noted that tracking attendance is an inexact science that does not take into account events councillors attend without recording it in their calendars. There are also the issues of neighbourhood meetings and attendance at formal commitments such as boards that do not get captured in the data. And attendance can also be influenced by a councillor's role as deputy mayor or by personal circumstances that prevent them from attending scheduled events.

These theories are supported by Robert Williams, Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo, and an expert in municipal affairs. "The dilemma becomes who's keeping track of it and what counts for it. (For example) does merely turning up for five minutes amount to the same thing as being there for a couple of hours? There are also different types of meetings that might be counted," Williams explains.

Still, Williams believes the record does show a certain level of engagement, no matter how rudimentary. And he thinks that accounting can provide information for voters preparing to mark a ballot this October. "Is this someone who has made the time and effort to go hear what's going on, to participate in what may be happening in a particular ward or a particular community centre or whatever it might be."

For people seeking office, possibly for the first time, Williams says this type of information can also serve as an indicator of what comes with the office. "Yes there are committees, yes there are liaison roles. But this is the other part of it, essentially being out there, interacting with the community."

Events attended by members of council in 2009 were as follows:
...
WATERLOO
Mayor Brenda Halloran - 220
Councillor Jan d'Ailly - 60
Councillor Diane Freeman - 53
Councillor Mark Whaley - 49
Councillor Scott Witmer - 46
Councillor Angela Vieth - 41
Councillor Karen Scian - 25
Councillor Ian McLean - 16

[Waterlooer]

Mark Whaley is doing a lovely job in ward 5.

[ElmiraGuy]

Interesting as I live in Ward 5 and will be voting for the first time in this locale.

Do we know his position on LRT?

[Waterlooer]

Interesting as I live in Ward 5 and will be voting for the first time in this locale.

Do we know his position on LRT?
Yes I know his position, he is in favor of LRT.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Gary Kieswetter is now a candidate in Ward 5.

Melissa Durrell & Noel V. Butler are now running in Uptown. With six candidates, Ward 7 is the most crowded contest in the City of Waterloo.

[Ktown4ever]

Looks like Angela Vieth has a challenger. City of Waterloo website lists a Mike Gagnon on the site now.

http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=2528

[UrbanWaterloo]

There's still a few possible acclamations with only 19 hours to go. :RpS_thumbdn:

[UrbanWaterloo]

Blaine Gray is running in Ward 4.

Zdravko Gunjevic has withdrawn from Ward 5.

Karen Scian will be acclaimed in Ward 2. For the complete candidates list, check out Post 1 (http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/showthread.php/37-Waterloo-(City)-Election-Talk?p=172#post172).

[Adrian]

I want to vote Dan for Mayor. :RpS_biggrin:

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

I was just thinking about election issues in Waterloo, and one that hasn't gotten much press is the unexplained firing of Chief Librarian Cathy Matyas back in the winter. I'm kind of surprised by this and why it hasn't come up more. I know candidate Peter Woolstencroft has made this a campaign issue, which is good.

We should be asking all candidates in Waterloo (especially incumbents) to explain why it is in the public's interest to keep the reason why she was fired from them, otherwise lobby the next council for better public accountability for similar situations in the future. As taxpayers, we need answers to questions here.

[IEFBR14]

This letter to the editor published in yesterday's Record is also very damning:
September 17, 2010
Re: Fired librarian wants her performance reviews — Sept. 3

Waterloo was designated the most intelligent community, yet they can’t find anyone to replace Cathy Matyas as chief librarian. She has now become chief librarian in Brampton.

Waterloo’s search since January has now been extended to the United States. Have all the “intelligent” people moved out of Waterloo (and Canada) or is it that any possible candidates are too intelligent to apply for a position where “secret” firings occur?

Helen Heron
Kitchener

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Jan d’Ailly Releases Platform in Waterloo Town Square
Monday, September 20, 2010

http://dailly.ca/images/Platfrom-Release-Box.png (http://dailly.ca/documents/Jan%20d%27Ailly%20Platform%20-%20Leadership%20for%20Waterloo.pdf)

WATERLOO – Jan d'Ailly, candidate for Waterloo mayor, released his policy platform at a Waterloo Town Square news conference this morning. Jan addressed reporters and members of the community as he unveiled his platform entitled Leadership for Waterloo which details his plan for the future and provides the vision needed to bring leadership back to the Mayor's Office.

At 17 pages the document is a comprehensive policy paper setting out a vision and a plan for Waterloo. Having been developed over a series of policy development meetings and conversations with community members throughout Waterloo Region, Leadership for Waterloo addresses the issues that matter to the people who call Waterloo home.

Jan's passion for his community, that has driven him to public service during his 20 years in Waterloo and seven years on council, came though this morning as he spoke passionately about Waterloo's future potential stating, "We deserve a Mayor's Office that has a vision for the future, and a set of priorities to move the our community forward, laying the foundation for ongoing success."

That passion will go to work on day one in the Mayor's Office as Jan implements his plan for Waterloo and passes the items on the 180 day action plan, contained in Leadership for Waterloo, through council..

Not only will Leadership for Waterloo be a guide to bringing leadership back to the Mayor's Office it will, as Jan stated today, "be a document that can be used to hold me accountable".

http://dailly.ca/news.asp (http://dailly.ca/news.asp)

[Trogdor]

I don't really see any leadership on the transit front from Mr. d'Ailly (which is what I am currently looking at most for candidates). All he does is pose questions and he offers no position on whether he will support LRT, BRT etc. How can he have not read the results of the huge study already commissioned by the Region and not come to a decision on this? He's basically just going in circles to avoid the issue which frustrates me a great deal!

[Waterlooer]

Jan d'Ally is definably doing some great work. I would vote for him if I could... Brenda Halloran seemed like a good mayor at first, but I have changed my mind about her as time went on. Brenda Halloran should be on the look out for Mr. d'Ally.

[Spokes]

Jan d'Ally is definably doing some great work. I would vote for him if I could... Brenda Halloran seemed like a good mayor at first, but I have changed my mind about her as time went on. Brenda Halloran should be on the look out for Mr. d'Ally.

Ya Im not so sure about him, I feel like he doesn't provide a lot of concrete solutions to problems, just says he'll look into them. What about Halloran dont you like?

[kwaterloo]

I was just thinking about election issues in Waterloo, and one that hasn't gotten much press is the unexplained firing of Chief Librarian Cathy Matyas back in the winter. I'm kind of surprised by this and why it hasn't come up more. I know candidate Peter Woolstencroft has made this a campaign issue, which is good.

We should be asking all candidates in Waterloo (especially incumbents) to explain why it is in the public's interest to keep the reason why she was fired from them, otherwise lobby the next council for better public accountability for similar situations in the future. As taxpayers, we need answers to questions here.


I completely disagree - would you want your employer to publicize the reasons that you were fired? Seriously ... it's highly possible that she deserved to be fired. I actually think - as do most of the people I know -that the way she has behaved since she was fired is a pretty good indication of why she probably GOT fired in the first place. Ever thought of having an open-mind to that?

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

I completely disagree - would you want your employer to publicize the reasons that you were fired? Seriously ... it's highly possible that she deserved to be fired. I actually think - as do most of the people I know -that the way she has behaved since she was fired is a pretty good indication of why she probably GOT fired in the first place. Ever thought of having an open-mind to that?

Maybe not. But consider this - when the City "let go" former CAO Tom Stockie (http://news.therecord.com/article/777875), they publicized the reason. When they hired Stockie's replacement Bob Robertson and found out he was involved in a similar financing scandal to RIM Park in a town in British Columbia and didn't disclose this to then mayor Herb Epp - this was also publicized (http://www.waterloo.ca/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=1&mid=449&def=News%20Article%20View&ItemId=69). When top city bureaucrats are dismissed or are forced to resign over a scandal, I think it's only fair to the taxpayers that fund their six figure salaries to know why they were dismissed. Private companies and non-senior managerial City staff are a totally different thing, and this doesn't necessarily have to be disclosed.

[IEFBR14]

There's also the manner in which disclosure is made, e.g. fired for insubordination, fired because of personality conflict, fired because of failure to meet performance goals, etc. are general enough so that it's not necessary to air individual dirty linen. As taxpayers we deserve to know at least that since we're the ones who are footing bills for severance, legal fees, etc. We're also the ones who get to affirm (or not) our confidence in city counselors' and the mayor's ability to do their jobs.

From their silence on the matter so far, I have little such confidence in them.

In addition I believe that Matyas has stated in public that she assents to making the details of her firing public but that the library board has nevertheless refused to do so. (She may be constrained from telling her side of the story under terms of the severance agreement.) That raises the legitimate question of what does the city have to hide?

And finally, as a letter writer to The Record pointed out a week or so ago, why can't Waterloo find a qualified replacement after months of trying? And why did the candidate to who was offered the job turn it down at the last minute? Could it be that when candidate librarians discover the real reason Matyas was let go (presumably through their librarian grapevine) they decide they want to avoid a similar fate if they have a disagreement with a future board?

Perhaps there's a valid (where "valid" doesn't mean "covering our asses") reason why the library board and city council won't reveal general information about the nature of the firing and subsequent dispute. If so they should explain what that reason is before the upcoming election so that the public can decide if they agree with the explanation.

[kwaterloo]

There's also the manner in which disclosure is made, e.g. fired for insubordination, fired because of personality conflict, fired because of failure to meet performance goals, etc. are general enough so that it's not necessary to air individual dirty linen. As taxpayers we deserve to know at least that since we're the ones who are footing bills for severance, legal fees, etc. We're also the ones who get to affirm (or not) our confidence in city counselors' and the mayor's ability to do their jobs.

From their silence on the matter so far, I have little such confidence in them.

In addition I believe that Matyas has stated in public that she assents to making the details of her firing public but that the library board has nevertheless refused to do so. (She may be constrained from telling her side of the story under terms of the severance agreement.) That raises the legitimate question of what does the city have to hide?

And finally, as a letter writer to The Record pointed out a week or so ago, why can't Waterloo find a qualified replacement after months of trying? And why did the candidate to who was offered the job turn it down at the last minute? Could it be that when candidate librarians discover the real reason Matyas was let go (presumably through their librarian grapevine) they decide they want to avoid a similar fate if they have a disagreement with a future board?

Perhaps there's a valid (where "valid" doesn't mean "covering our asses") reason why the library board and city council won't reveal general information about the nature of the firing and subsequent dispute. If so they should explain what that reason is before the upcoming election so that the public can decide if they agree with the explanation.


Wow, lots of assumptions there ... nice to know that this is such an open-minded forum. :RpS_thumbdn:

[Osiris]

There's also the manner in which disclosure is made, e.g. fired for insubordination, fired because of personality conflict, fired because of failure to meet performance goals, etc. are general enough so that it's not necessary to air individual dirty linen. As taxpayers we deserve to know at least that since we're the ones who are footing bills for severance, legal fees, etc. We're also the ones who get to affirm (or not) our confidence in city counselors' and the mayor's ability to do their jobs.

From their silence on the matter so far, I have little such confidence in them.

In addition I believe that Matyas has stated in public that she assents to making the details of her firing public but that the library board has nevertheless refused to do so. (She may be constrained from telling her side of the story under terms of the severance agreement.) That raises the legitimate question of what does the city have to hide?

And finally, as a letter writer to The Record pointed out a week or so ago, why can't Waterloo find a qualified replacement after months of trying? And why did the candidate to who was offered the job turn it down at the last minute? Could it be that when candidate librarians discover the real reason Matyas was let go (presumably through their librarian grapevine) they decide they want to avoid a similar fate if they have a disagreement with a future board?

Perhaps there's a valid (where "valid" doesn't mean "covering our asses") reason why the library board and city council won't reveal general information about the nature of the firing and subsequent dispute. If so they should explain what that reason is before the upcoming election so that the public can decide if they agree with the explanation.

This one can be (and has been in the Chronicle, I think...)answered - The intended candidate was offered (and took) a similar position at a larger Library.

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Wow, lots of assumptions there ... nice to know that this is such an open-minded forum. :RpS_thumbdn:

This is the municipal election sub-forum, and it is important to consider and debate the many and diverse views of voters. Since it is an open forum to anyone, there will be multiple opinions expressed (or assumptions if you want to refer to them as that). As such, expect to disagree with some of the posts. As long as posts are consistent with the forum rules, administrators cannot conceal posts of one opinion over the other.

[IEFBR14]

Wow, lots of assumptions there ... nice to know that this is such an open-minded forum.
When our elected officials refuse to share fundamental information with the public then they invite us to speculate and make assumptions, not only about that information but also about why they're withholding it.

We know for example why Tom Stockie (of RIM Park infamy) was fired: rank incompetence. We know that despite that cause, he was awarded an extremely generous severance package in order to avoid a lengthy court battle in which details of his -- and others'! e.g. elected officials -- involvement in this fiasco would have come out. That stonewalling led in part to the defeat of Herb Epp by Brenda Halloran in the last election. Halloran (like a certain PM) ran on a platform of openness and accountability. So far I've seen little of either from her and the rest of council.

We still haven't any clue as to why Cathy Matyas was let go nor do we have any idea of the financial aspects of her separation. Do these officials have no obligation to tell us, at least in general terms, why senior staff are let go and whether they are being paid severance? And if they're being paid severance, do we not have the right to know how much and where that money is coming from, especially since it's not likely been budgeted?

Or is your position that we should all blindly accept what our officials tell us without question or critical analysis? In that case why bother to hold elections in the first place?

[kwaterloo]

This is the municipal election sub-forum, and it is important to consider and debate the many and diverse views of voters. Since it is an open forum to anyone, there will be multiple opinions expressed (or assumptions if you want to refer to them as that). As such, expect to disagree with some of the posts. As long as posts are consistent with the forum rules, administrators cannot conceal posts of one opinion over the other.


For the sake of argument, I would contend that an opinion is a statement based on analysis of various facts, while assumptions are things that someone thinks are the truth, based on hear-say, imagination and preconceived ideas. Educated opinions are wonderful things that open eyes and create dialogue. Assumptions breed bias and create conflict, often unnecessarily.

I try to keep an open mind.

[Ian Davis]

The days when Northdale could reasonably be labelled a "residential" neighbourhood are long gone. Instead of viewing Northdale as an insoluable problem it should instead be view as an unexplored opportunity.

The area between the two universities is prime land, ripe for urbanisation. Re-zoning this area for more urban use, and for greater population densities makes eminent sense. Students want to live close to the university, high tech employees want to live close to their places of work, and we need to reduce the number of cars on the road. The city wants to solve a current problem of Northdale. The community as a whole would like an area between the universities that the city could be justly proud off. Right now suggest that an academic conference be held at UofW, and you'll be told that the university isn't a very appealing place to visit. For those who don't think that Northdale is a problem, check out http://www.wrps.on.ca/community-safety/crime-in-your-neighbourhood.htm. If you zoom the maps to 400% or 800% you'll start to see where the problems are in Waterloo.

Living one street north of Columbia (on High Street) having seen what city planners did to Columbia Street, I have some real concerns as to whether the city planners are capable of get Northdale right. I can only hope that city planners have learned from Columbia Street. Zoning must ensure that a diversity of accomodation is built in Northdale to suit all needs. This can be achieved by getting the right requirements imposed on those who wish to profit by developing Northdale. Done right, it gives students (who make up 25% of the voting population of Ward 6) desirable accomodation close to school, which takes pressures off other neighbourhoods in Ward 6 who are reluctant to see their neighbourhoods "taken over" by students. It gives those who live and work in the ward a place where they can socialise at night, enjoying access to commerce, coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores etc. right where they live. An urban environment has many more eyes on the street, and many more feet on the street, and such a neighbourhood is much more capable of policing itself, when the few decide to inconvenience the many. Urbanising Northdale would also allow those who want out of the neighbourhood the opportunity to finally be able to sell their properties and sell them for a profit.

It is inevitable given the attractiveness of Waterloo that it will continue to grow. We have reached our city limits in terms of growing outwards. Growing upwards in high density areas is preferrable to intensifying the density of all neighbourhoods in this Ward. This election is an opportunity for those who agree with this position to encourage its implementation.

Ian Davis .. campaigning for my wife Anne Crowe (http://annecrowe2010.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/sign.jpg) who is running to be your councillor in Ward 6, and who would much appreciate your vote.

[Ian Davis]

Most students we have been canvassing don't know that they have the right to vote both here in Waterloo where they go to school, and also where their permanent home is. If they got to school here, are at least 18, and hold canadian citizenship (and suitable id on election day) they have the right to vote here in Waterloo. There is no requirement that the be a permanent resident. In ward 6 approximately 25% of eligible voters are students, and in the last municipal election only something like 2% of students voted. My first reaction was one of great disappointment imagining the students as just being too apathetic to vote. My second was that students were crazy because being 25% of the population in ward 6, they have the power to speak with a voice that would certainly not be ignored. But I now grasp far more clearly, having spoken to many students, that they simply have not been told that they have every right to vote. This is actually as much a failure of the democratic process, caused by a failure to educate a substantial minority of those living in Waterloo of their right to vote.

Ian Davis -- husband of Anne Crowe (http://www.annecrowe.ca) who is running to be councillor for Ward 6

[IEFBR14]

hold canadian citizenship (and suitable id on election day) they have the right to vote here in Waterloo
Point of clarification: They no longer have to be able to provide proof of Canadian [it's capitalized!] citizenship. They still have to be citizens, but unlike in the last election they no longer have to be able to prove it at the poll. An Ontario driver's license or photo health card will do. See NEW! ID requirements for voting in 2010 (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=2536).

This should go a long way to make it easier for people to prove their right to vote.

[Waterlooer]

Just to let all you know Brenda Halloran is against LRT. From 570 News: http://www.570news.com/news/local/article/111490--halloran-wants-to-look-at-lrt-alternatives

[Robert]

BTW - When I have been knocking on doors for one of the City of Waterloo candidates, the issues that ordinary people want to talk about are:

1. LRT; and
2. Flouridation

Amalgamation doesn't seem to have much traction with ordinary folks. The Record's attempt to make taxes an issue also seems to have failed.

[Ktown4ever]

Just to let all you know Brenda Halloran is against LRT. From 570 News: http://www.570news.com/news/local/article/111490--halloran-wants-to-look-at-lrt-alternatives

That's pretty consistent with what she said in the TriTag survey:

"Since provincial funding for the LRT has come in much lower than requested, proceeding with the LRT could raise local taxes substantially. I am not in favour of raising taxes for the provincial funding shortfall. I am in favour of reviewing the entire transit system and explore all options including rapid buses and other new technology in an improved transit plan.

I think it is important to develop a comprehensive growth strategy that includes a transit strategy. A light rail transit system is an option that deserves consideration however current funding will not support immediate implementation. As Mayor of Waterloo, I will work with regional, provincial and federal alliances to look at additional funding opportunities"

[taylortbb]

A light rail transit system is an option that deserves consideration however current funding will not support immediate implementation. As Mayor of Waterloo, I will work with regional, provincial and federal alliances to look at additional funding opportunities"

Read it carefully. She likes light rail, but sees it as potentially causing an excessive tax hike. If the rapid transit team comes back with lower cost light rail options, or the region succeeds in pursuing its modification to the development charges act, or they use tax increment financing, or the reallocate money from elsewhere in the budget, or any number of other things, she would support light rail. This is a different position from those who think light rail isn't suitable for the community, given it's almost certain that not all of the local share will come from property taxes, or if it does it won't be a full $235 million. I'm not endorsing Halloran, but there's a lot of people that are significantly stronger opponents.

[Ktown4ever]

Read it carefully. She likes light rail, but sees it as potentially causing an excessive tax hike. If the rapid transit team comes back with lower cost light rail options, or the region succeeds in pursuing its modification to the development charges act, or they use tax increment financing, or the reallocate money from elsewhere in the budget, or any number of other things, she would support light rail. This is a different position from those who think light rail isn't suitable for the community, given it's almost certain that not all of the local share will come from property taxes, or if it does it won't be a full $235 million. I'm not endorsing Halloran, but there's a lot of people that are significantly stronger opponents.

I agree. All I was trying to illustrate was that what she said yesterday, isn't really that different from what she was saying in the TriTag poll. 570 reported this like it was news.

[UrbanWaterloo]

I'm pleased to announce I'll be moderating a Waterloo Mayoral Internet Debate on Sunday October 17, 2010. More details in the days ahead...

[WatDot]

BTW - When I have been knocking on doors for one of the City of Waterloo candidates, the issues that ordinary people want to talk about are:

1. LRT; and
2. Flouridation

Amalgamation doesn't seem to have much traction with ordinary folks. The Record's attempt to make taxes an issue also seems to have failed.

"If Waterloo discontinues fluoridation bringing it together with other cities in the Region, we can transfer the money saved to the LRT reducing the fear of increased taxes."

One sentence response addressing all issues, big and small. Feel free to use it. :RpS_tongue:

[Wloon]

Ya Im not so sure about him, I feel like he doesn't provide a lot of concrete solutions to problems, just says he'll look into them. What about Halloran dont you like?

Jan blames Brenda for tax increases, but he was chair of the finance committee. D'uh.
He also supports tax levy's for special projects.
I was told taxes went up more during his years as chair of the finance committee during the prior term than they have under Brenda.
Someone would have to corroborate that - I'm not sure how to.

He doesn't care what promises were made to residents while he was on council in 2004 (annual monitoring to see whether the area was stable, proactive zero tolerance enforcement to stabilize the neighbourhood, and a traffic study of Albert between Columbia and University - none of these were done).
Talked about expropriation of Northdale at meeting after meeting but refused to explain what he meant when asked - this scared some residents out of the neighbourhood.
He actually said at a council meeting that driving down property values would somehow help Northdale attract owner-occupants.

He blamed council for not making money available for the promises made to the residents when he didn't request the money be made available.
He adamantly told us over and over that we would never get the traffic study or annual monitoring promised in 2004 SAS - a report he signed off on as councillor.
He promised us meetings with staff that never took place.
He promised us a task force into the failures in the neighbourhood - never took place.
He sat on the Town and Gown committee when a "warnings-only" policy was in place - yes, students weren't being charged for breaking the law - this was when people who loved Northdale bailed out in droves.
He talked about a policy of "soft enforcement" in Northdale so students wouldn't have to "pee on our roses" - in other words they could go on the street without being afraid of being charged.
He asked us how we would feel about being annexed to WLU at one meeting, in spite of the fact that we were shown very clearly in 2004 that the city had given WLU very specific boundaries in which to expand and it wasn't into Northdale.:RpS_angry:
He also said that low-income seniors on Albert had donated houses to WLU when we knew darn well they could not have afforded to donate them and had actually sold them.
He even denied that WLU wanted to buy houses in here while they were buying them.
He refused to allow residents to persent a powerpoint at a meeting on Northdale, but UW got to run a slideshow throughout the meeting of the beauty of their campus.
He said his goal was to return Northdale to a 50:50 balance of owner-occupants and rentals. Now he's changed his tune completely on that.
He says (on his website) that he championed the land use study - but in reality he was its most vocal opponent in 2008 and dragged it out by 4 years from when it was first presented.
He said he would solve the problem in NOrthdale in 1 year from when he was elected in the newly redrawn ward - so, 2008 - and here we are, still hanging.
We asked for equity for the very remaining home owners - please discuss the area being designated a special policy area in the land use study - he refused to include it even as a talking point.
Now people think he supports rezoning in Northdale but he doesn't: he only supports it on the already zoned Nodes and Corridors.
He says Albert Street isn't a corridor - the Region traffic count in 2005 had over 12,000 cars/day on Albert.
The city study done in May showed 9,000 - why? Guess - no students in town.
He doesn't care if council makes decisions based on flawed data.
Albert has emergency vehicles racing up and down it multiple times/day.
It links Uptown node and another node.
It links two regional roads - University and Weber.
It is a major collector road, yet he was the most vocal opponent to the traffic study being done.
Remember, promised to the residents in the SAS discussions in 2004.
When we told him the staff report to council in 2008 was so flawed as to be useless his reponse was "it doesn't matter" and he did nothing to correct it.
When a resident finally got the microphone to ask a question at one of his meetings on the neighbourhood he decided to call an end to the meeting.
I kid you not - oops, meeting's over, good night.
Seriously - nobody should vote for this man to represent Waterloo.
And of course, he was charged by police after slapping his wife in the face, and had to comply with a peace bond to have the charge withdrawn.
Any of the other candidates are a better option to Jan.

[Wloon]

Oh yes, and let's not forget the council meeting where a long-term resident of Northdale was speaking, stated something true about a comment Jan had made, and he demanded that it be struck from the record. Say what? Shouldn't the chair have asked the speaker if they wanted to let it stand? Since when does Waterloo City Council censor residents' statements without their consent? Holy Moly - I was appalled on so many levels.

[IEFBR14]

So who's left?

The other two new entrants have no political experience. They're anti-LRT on the basis that it would increase taxes. They have no vision apart from cutting budgets.

Halloran? The least undesirable of an otherwise unremarkable slate?

[smably]

By the process of elimination, I would hold my nose and support Halloran. (Fortunately for me, my city has Carl Zehr.)

[WatDot]

By the process of elimination, I would hold my nose and support Halloran. (Fortunately for me, my city has Carl Zehr.)

Haha.. but realistically ONLY Carl Zehr as a choice.

[IEFBR14]

By the process of elimination, I would hold my nose and support Halloran.
Too bad "None of the above" isn't on the ballot :(

[plam]

Too bad "None of the above" isn't on the ballot :(

It kind of is in the sense that you don't have to vote in the mayoral race. Unfortunately, NotA will not support LRT either.

[Greg Moore]

Too bad "None of the above" isn't on the ballot :(

A spoiled ballot says little but it would allow you to justifiably rant. :D

[IEFBR14]

It kind of is in the sense that you don't have to vote in the mayoral race.
There's a big difference. Not voting delivers the message that you're apathetic to your civic duty. NotA delivers the message that you looked at the slate and found no one worth voting for.


Unfortunately, NotA will not support LRT either.
And sadly, neither would a referendum on LRT. The public, never mind our "leaders", is too short-sighted.

[plam]

There's a big difference. Not voting delivers the message that you're apathetic to your civic duty. NotA delivers the message that you looked at the slate and found no one worth voting for.

I meant that you could just not vote in that race while voting in the other ones. It does deliver that message, but not very loudly.


And sadly, neither would a referendum on LRT. The public, never mind our "leaders", is too short-sighted.

I think that we haven't been effective at getting the word out on the benefits of LRT. In general it's hard to do things without voter support, at least in the long run.

[plam]

There's a big difference. Not voting delivers the message that you're apathetic to your civic duty. NotA delivers the message that you looked at the slate and found no one worth voting for.

I forgot to mention that Nevada has an explicit "None of the Above" option on ballots.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Waterloo Mayoral Debate - October 12, 2010
Albert McCormick Community Centre

It was a packed house tonight: 'Standing Room Only'

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayoral%20Debate%20-%20October%2012%2C%202010%20-%201a%20Resized.jpghttp://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayoral%20Debate%20-%20October%2012%2C%202010%20-%202b%20Resized.jpg
http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayoral%20Debate%20-%20October%2012%2C%202010%20-%203b%20Resized.jpghttp://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayoral%20Debate%20-%20October%2012%2C%202010%20-%203d%20Resized.jpg

[Robert]

Anybody else watch the mayor's debate last night? This was the first time I had heard Franklin and Dale speak. Overall, I thought Dale and Brenda probably came across the best.

Brenda - She is the listening consensus builder, and she played up to that image in the debate. I wish she showed a bit more leadership at times, but that's not her style, and at least she doesn't pretend to be someone that she isn't.
Jan - It seemed to me whenever Jan spoke, things came out all convoluted and confusing. I think he has good ideas some times, but he seems to have difficulty concisely articulating them, and that's not good for a politician. Particularly one who is campaigning on better leadership. I can't follow him politically if I can't understand what he's saying.
Franklin - It seemed like Franklin was going for shock value with his angry comments about taxes, particularly his opening remarks. Outrage is not what I'm looking for in a mayor, but to each their own.
Dale - Came across as a reasonable candidate. But other than the LRT, every topic he was asked about he was supportative of, e.g., more bike lanes, more walking trails, more services for students, more services for seniors, etc. Wait a minute. This is the guy who started his campaign complaining about high taxes. You can't promise us lower taxes, and then say "yes" to everbody who asks for more services!

What did other people think?

[Urbanomicon]

Will affluent Waterloo turf another one-term mayor?

October 12, 2010
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/792642

WATERLOO — Brenda Halloran hopes to break the curse of the one-term mayor.

For various reasons, no Waterloo mayor has served more than one term since 1997.
Halloran, elected in 2006 as a political rookie, now faces three challengers who believe she is vulnerable.

They include veteran Coun. Jan d’Ailly, retired executive Dale Ross, and former business professor Franklin Ramsoomair.

Waterloo is the region’s smallest city, with 121,700 residents. It has the highest incomes and its residents are by far the best educated, according to census data.

The city is home to Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, a Conestoga College campus, and several insurance and technology firms. About one in five residents attends university or college.

City hall provides far fewer services than regional government. It carries a high debt and remains embroiled in lawsuits over the bungled financing of the RIM Park recreation complex, opened in 2001.

Leading campaign issues include leadership, city finances, student housing and a rail transit system proposed by regional council. Environmental concerns are not the hot topic they were in 2006.

During its term, council hiked city taxes 12.5 per cent, about double the inflation rate, in part to pay for a soaring municipal payroll. Council hiked wages and benefits per city employee by 29 per cent over its term, almost five times the inflation rate. Water rates increased 54 per cent.

Regional council hiked its taxes 11.5 per cent during its term, while increasing wages and benefits per regional employee by 17 per cent.

By referendum, residents will be asked if they want to launch merger talks with
Kitchener, and if they want to continue adding fluoride to tap water as a public health measure to prevent tooth decay.

Coun. Karen Scian is acclaimed. Three other councillors will carry the significant advantage of being an incumbent into the election. But the next Waterloo council will feature at least two different faces, as there are no incumbents in wards six and seven.

“The two really competitive races are where there is no incumbent,” said Robert Williams, a retired political science professor who has helped organize all-candidate debates.

Waterloo experienced the strongest voter turnout among local cities in the 2006 municipal election, at 29 per cent compared to 27 per cent regionwide.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Unfortunately tomorrow's Waterloo Mayoral Internet Debate has been cancelled since some of the candidates changed their mind and decided not to participate. It's too bad because this really could have been a neat event. Imagine each candidate at a local restaurant/pub surrounded by their supporters cheering them on.

You know for Canada's tech capital we use way too little of technology ourselves (ie. how hard would it be for a simple webcast of council meetings?).

[IEFBR14]

You know for Canada's tech capital we use way too little of technology ourselves (ie. how hard would it be for a simple webcast of council meetings?).
Instead they seriously considered building a huge 9 metre obelisk to commemorate Waterloo's designation as "World's Top Intelligent Community 2007" (and coincidentally also to pay homage to their leadership at public expense.) Three years later and it seems neither the current "leaders" nor the aspirants "get it."

[Wloon]

FYI - council meetings are recorded and you can go to the clerk's office a day or two afterwards and get them loaded onto a jump drive.

Not the same as real time, but a great way to hear who supported what and what exactly was said - you sure don't get that info from the minutes.

[IEFBR14]

loaded onto a jump drive... Not the same as real time
The "World's Top Intelligent Community 2007" still hasn't figured out how to post MP3s on their website? :RpS_ohmy: :shocked:

[mpd618]

FYI - council meetings are recorded and you can go to the clerk's office a day or two afterwards and get them loaded onto a jump drive.

Not the same as real time, but a great way to hear who supported what and what exactly was said - you sure don't get that info from the minutes.

Whoa, whoa. Why have I never heard about this?!

[UrbanWaterloo]

I never heard of the recordings either. At the very least the city should let people know this service is available on their Council Meeting Information (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=184) page. It really is shocking they don't have another folder "Recording" with the Agendas & Minutes (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=445).

[taylortbb]

Every meeting agenda has at the top:


THIS MEETING MAY BE TELECAST ON PUBLIC TELEVISION OR
WEBCAST ON THE CITY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE

So webcasting them is obviously something they've thought of. Maybe they tried but they had bandwidth issues so they switched to recordings available in person?

[Shawn]

So webcasting them is obviously something they've thought of. Maybe they tried but they had bandwidth issues so they switched to recordings available in person?

In 2010 bandwidth should not be a problem, nor should it be so expensive they couldn't afford it. For less than $300 /month you can get a dedicated server, hosted in Canada with unlimited bandwidth and pushing data out at 100Mbps! With that configuration you could easily support approx. 450 concurrent users viewing streaming video. I also know you can find an overseas provider for less money!

If they didn't want to go to the expense of purchasing a dedicated server or even a shared hosting account, there's a video sharing site called MegaVideo (http://www.megavideo.com/?c=premium) where they could post the council meetings and only archive the actual files later since the number of views would drop off significantly after a couple weeks have passed.

[IEFBR14]

Maybe they tried but they had bandwidth issues so they switched to recordings available in person?
One word: YouTube ;)

[taylortbb]

While both of you have valid points, experience tells me that getting approval from corporate IT departments to host content off-site is extremely difficult. I also wasn't so much thinking about replays, but live streaming. It's easy to host it from a server in their datacenter, but getting the video to the server with guaranteed bandwidth (often required in the era of 10Mb/s networks) can be difficult. I agree it shouldn't be an issue today, I was more thinking historical, and they've never tried it again.

[soulful]

Go franklin go!

[benjaminbach]

I think Brenda has the vision and leadership to lead us for another four years.

[Random Pylon]

Do not put up with Holloran's shananigans for another term. Despite all of the tax hikes, what does our city have to show? Some stupid bell in the Town Square? I'm certain she's a nice lady, but she's not a leader. She would be a great mayor of a little town. Not of a city of 100K+ people in an advanced-technological city. We need a decision maker, a leader, and influencer.

Do not settle. Consider Ramsoomair if you want positive change.

[huggybear]

I never heard of the recordings either. At the very least the city should let people know this service is available on their Council Meeting Information (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=184) page. It really is shocking they don't have another folder "Recording" with the Agendas & Minutes (http://www.waterloo.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=445).

I think that's a decent idea - will you use the contact feature on the web page to suggest it?

[Robert]

Do not put up with Holloran's shananigans for another term. Despite all of the tax hikes, what does our city have to show? Some stupid bell in the Town Square? I'm certain she's a nice lady, but she's not a leader. She would be a great mayor of a little town. Not of a city of 100K+ people in an advanced-technological city. We need a decision maker, a leader, and influencer.

Do not settle. Consider Ramsoomair if you want positive change.

Wow. This is pretty ugly messaging.

I'm not totally sold on Brenda either, but what do we have to show for the past 4 years? Let's see....The Town Square is great. Balsille School of International Governance is under construction. Perimeter Institute plans to expand. Stephan Hawking and the Queen came to visit. A strike by city staff was averted (people would certainly be complaining now if city staff HAD gone on strike). Actually, it was a pretty good 4 years in my opinion. I want to live in a great city, not a cheap city.

[I <3 Waterloo]

A thank you from Franklin Ramsoomair – free BBQ @ Waterloo Park Picnic Shelter, Sunday, October 24 • 2:00pm - 5:00pm
(With free-will offering proceeds going to Canadian Paraplegics Association and Nutrition for Learning Program)

[UrbanWaterloo]

It's busy tonight at the Waterloo Mayoral Debate, at least 250 in the crowd.

[Robert]

Councillor Karen Scian on her blog has provided an insider's view of working with Jan and Brenda for the last 4 years:

http://kscian.wordpress.com/

I received a mailed brochure from Jan's campaign yesterday. It is certainly appropriate for candidates to play up their strengths, but Jan tries to toot his own horn about topics that he actually messed up. The new brochure talks about coming up with a plan for student neighbourhoods, but we already heard earlier in this thread how he ignored his own constituents on that topic. Then the brochure talks about his involvement in the Clair Lake task force, when the truth is that the other members of the task force asked for Jan to be kicked out and replaced by Councillor Dianne Freeman due to his absenteeism, and lack of technical grasp of the issue.

At last night's debate, both Dale and Franklin "clarified" that if elected, they will NOT reduce taxes! They don't like how quickly taxes have increased, and Dale disagrees with Waterloo comparing its tax rate increases to the Municipal Price Index(MPI). But it seems now that no candidates for mayor are campaigning on tax cuts. Not surprisingly, this imporant "clarification" was missing from today's coverage in The Record, who seem to quite like Dale Ross.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Waterloo Voter Support Committee - Mayoral Debate #2
Hauser Haus, Waterloo Recreation Complex

October 21, 2010

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election 2010/Waterloo%20Voter%20Support%20Committee%20-%20Mayoral%20Debate%20%232%20-%20October%2021%2c%202010%20-%201c%20Resized.JPG

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election 2010/Waterloo%20Voter%20Support%20Committee%20-%20Mayoral%20Debate%20%232%20-%20October%2021%2c%202010%20-%202%20Resized.jpg

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election 2010/Waterloo%20Voter%20Support%20Committee%20-%20Mayoral%20Debate%20%232%20-%20October%2021%2c%202010%20-%204d%20Resized.jpg

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election 2010/Waterloo%20Voter%20Support%20Committee%20-%20Mayoral%20Debate%20%232%20-%20October%2021%2c%202010%20-%204a%20Resized.jpg http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election 2010/Waterloo%20Voter%20Support%20Committee%20-%20Mayoral%20Debate%20%232%20-%20October%2021%2c%202010%20-%204c%20Resized.jpg

[DKsan]

Imprint's Coverage:
Northdale (http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/2010/oct/22/Waterloovotes/council-candidates-seek-order-northdale/)
Mayor's Debate at UW (http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/2010/oct/22/cover/mayors-debate-student-issues/)

Feds:
October 20th Mayoral Debate at UW (Recording) (http://radio.feds.ca/archives/2010-10-20%20-%20Municipal%20Election%20Mayoral%20Candidates%20D ebate.mp3)

[UrbanWaterloo]

Someone else asked the 2nd Favourite City question last night, and although I liked some of the responses, they just don't add up to the rest of their platform. Jan d’Ailly mentioned Sydney (Australia), Brenda Halloran mentioned Vancouver. Well both Sydney (http://www.metrolightrail.com.au/index.php) & Vancouver (http://www.skytrain.info/) have RAIL systems, so why aren't they supporting LRT here? :RpS_confused:

I had submitted two questions, but neither got asked. One was on the ugly wooden hydro polls in Uptown Waterloo and what strategy they had to bury them. The other was regarding sports, namely the Ontario Summer Games (http://www.sportalliance.com/Content/Ontario%20Games/Index.asp). Kitchener-Waterloo held the competition in 1977, 1990 & 2002. It's our time again in 2014, so what leadership would they provide to make this happen.

[isUsername]

Do not put up with Holloran's shananigans for another term. Despite all of the tax hikes, what does our city have to show? Some stupid bell in the Town Square? I'm certain she's a nice lady, but she's not a leader. She would be a great mayor of a little town. Not of a city of 100K+ people in an advanced-technological city. We need a decision maker, a leader, and influencer.

Do not settle. Consider Ramsoomair if you want positive change.

Umm... mods? I know we all have our preferences, but is blatant campaign spam allowed?

[IEFBR14]

both Sydney (http://www.metrolightrail.com.au/index.php) & Vancouver (http://www.skytrain.info/) have RAIL systems, so why aren't they supporting LRT here?
As does Calgary. Moreover their new mayor, Naheed Nenshi, has made LRT extension one of his top four priorities (http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=3694810&tab=PHOT&sponsor=).

[Spokes]

Umm... mods? I know we all have our preferences, but is blatant campaign spam allowed?

Sorry it wasn't taken care of sooner.

[FancyNancy]

Excited about getting out and Voting today! We need a change!:RpS_smile:

[KLM]

I wonder why election date is set for Monday? Why not Sunday? Maybe thats the reason why people dont go out there and vote.

[Waterlooer]

I wonder why election date is set for Monday? Why not Sunday? Maybe thats the reason why people dont go out there and vote.

I agree with you, Sunday would be a great day because way more people would show up.


We need a change!:RpS_smile:

Right on! I hope Franklin wins, if not him then Jan.

[DKsan]

I wonder why election date is set for Monday? Why not Sunday? Maybe thats the reason why people dont go out there and vote.
When I was attempting to vote in my home municipality of Brampton at the advance polls (I didn't because there was a clusterfuck involved with their computer database), there was a long line (like 1.5 hours) to vote on a Saturday.

[ElmiraGuy]

What time do polling stations open today?

[Daev]

What time do polling stations open today?

I believe they are open 10am-8pm.

[IEFBR14]

I wonder why election date is set for Monday? Why not Sunday? Maybe thats the reason why people dont go out there and vote.
Traditionally in puritanical Ontario, Sunday was the Christian day of rest. (Remember when almost all stores were closed on Sundays?) Holding elections on that day would have been a non-starter, if for no other reason that election workers would have had to work on a Sunday.

Today Ontario is far less puritanical. But we also try to accommodate other religions, so Saturdays are probably no better than Sundays. While municipal elections are held in October, federal and provincial elections can be held at any time of the year (fixed-date legislation notwithstanding), in the summer time a weekend election would probably result in lower turnout than on weekdays. I'd imagine also that for federal and provincial elections, where legislation requires employers to give their people four hours of paid time off to vote, some unions would object to weekend elections because most of their members wouldn't be able to score some free time off.

That said, many other countries, especially in Europe, hold elections on Sundays. In general it's a good idea.

[KLM]

Traditionally in puritanical Ontario, Sunday was the Christian day of rest. (Remember when almost all stores were closed on Sundays?) Holding elections on that day would have been a non-starter, if for no other reason that election workers would have had to work on a Sunday.

Today Ontario is far less puritanical. But we also try to accommodate other religions, so Saturdays are probably no better than Sundays. While municipal elections are held in October, federal and provincial elections can be held at any time of the year (fixed-date legislation notwithstanding), in the summer time a weekend election would probably result in lower turnout than on weekdays. I'd imagine also that for federal and provincial elections, where legislation requires employers to give their people four hours of paid time off to vote, some unions would object to weekend elections because most of their members wouldn't be able to score some free time off.

That said, many other countries, especially in Europe, hold elections on Sundays. In general it's a good idea.

yes , in Europe usually elections are held on Sundays ,and if by some case is Mon-Fri probably voter turnout be very low.

I wonder in this age of technology how come there is not any apps for cell phone ( Apple or Blackberry ) for people to vote? Especially for young population that would be great.
Or even via computer.

just my 2 cents ,I will vote tonight and see what happens.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Mayor
Brenda Halloran: 464
Jan d’Ailly: 302
Dale Ross: 222
Franklin Ramsoomair: 75
Total Votes: 1089
6/58

[Spokes]

Halloran is out to an early lead. Very early though.

Halloran 554
d'Ailly 382
Ross 270
Ramsoomair 81

[UrbanWaterloo]

Southwest Ward 1
Scott Witmer: 94
Henrik Noesgaard: 74

Lakeshore Ward 3
Angela Vieth: 102
Mike Gagnon: 32

Northeast Ward 4
Diane Freeman: 1065
Blaine Gray: 512

Southeast Ward 5
Mark Whaley: 659
David Sangster: 403
Gary Kieswetter: 225

Central-Columbia Ward 6
Jeff Henry: 62
Mike Connolly: 56
Ed Korschewitz: 54
Anne R. Crowe: 51

Uptown Ward 7
Melissa Durrell: 100
Peter Woolstencroft: 67
Duncan McLean: 63
Erin Epp: 37
Edwin Laryea: 6
Noel V. Butler: 5

[UrbanWaterloo]

Mayor
Brenda Halloran: 4930
Jan d’Ailly: 3067
Dale Ross: 2394
Franklin Ramsoomair: 892
Total Votes: 11503
28/58

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Mayor
Brenda Halloran: 9971
Jan d’Ailly: 5888
Dale Ross: 4595
Franklin Ramsoomair: 1658
Total Votes: 22490
50/58

[Spokes]

First time in a long time Waterloo sees a 2 term mayor.

[UrbanWaterloo]

58/58 | Total Votes: 27253

Mayor
Brenda Halloran: 12247
Jan d’Ailly: 7092
Dale Ross: 5466
Franklin Ramsoomair: 1987

Southwest Ward 1
Scott Witmer: 2228
Henrik Noesgaard: 1715

Lakeshore Ward 3
Angela Vieth: 2874
Mike Gagnon: 895

Northeast Ward 4
Diane Freeman: 2546
Blaine Gray: 1063

Southeast Ward 5
Mark Whaley: 2270
David Sangster: 1597
Gary Kieswetter: 624

Central-Columbia Ward 6
Jeff Henry: 1061
Ed Korschewitz: 826
Mike Connolly: 802
Anne R. Crowe: 787

Uptown Ward 7
Melissa Durrell: 1653
Peter Woolstencroft: 987
Erin Epp: 819
Duncan McLean: 616
Edwin Laryea: 177
Noel V. Butler: 112

[Duke-of-Waterloo]

Just watching CKCO, and they have a political science professor from Laurier on. He was surprised that results in Waterloo weren't closer - especially between Halloran and d'Ailly.

Also, glad to see that voter turnout in Waterloo is way, up. More than 10%! Was it the two plebiscites that brought more people out?

[Spokes]

Just watching CKCO, and they have a political science professor from Laurier on. He was surprised that results in Waterloo weren't closer - especially between Halloran and d'Ailly.

Also, glad to see that voter turnout in Waterloo is way, up. More than 10%! Was it the two plebiscites that brought more people out?

That's my thinking.

[Sameer]

Today i met a councilor who got reelected, her name is angela veith. She was really friendly and she had nice things to say about LRT. So i am glad she got reelected.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran's Election Night Party @ Encore

October 25, 2010

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%201%20Resized.jpg http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%202%20Resized.jpg

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%203%20Resized.jpg http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%204%20Resized.jpg

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%205%20Resized.jpg http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%206%20Resized.jpg

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/wdrive/Politics/Election%202010/Waterloo%20Mayor%20Brenda%20Halloran%20Election%20 Night%20Party%20At%20Encore%20-%20October%2025,%202010%20-%207%20Resized.jpg

[Waterlooer]

Just watching CKCO, and they have a political science professor from Laurier on. He was surprised that results in Waterloo weren't closer - especially between Halloran and d'Ailly.

Also, glad to see that voter turnout in Waterloo is way, up. More than 10%! Was it the two plebiscites that brought more people out?

I thought that too. I was shocked that she even got reelected because most people I have talked to were either voting for Jan or Franklin. I'm not sure about other parts of Waterloo but in this area I have heard nothing about Dale Ross during the campaign.

[uptownfoodcritic]

Just watching CKCO, and they have a political science professor from Laurier on. He was surprised that results in Waterloo weren't closer - especially between Halloran and d'Ailly.

Also, glad to see that voter turnout in Waterloo is way, up. More than 10%! Was it the two plebiscites that brought more people out?

I think a lot of people were scared that we'd be taken over by Kitchener. Waterloo wants to be Waterloo.

[Waterlooer]

I think a lot of people were scared that we'd be taken over by Kitchener. Waterloo wants to be Waterloo.

I agree. The older people generally want there city to stay there city. We need to hear what the younger generation of voters have to say because they are the future of our region.

[Greg Moore]

Well, there is no doubt in my mind that what was once "The Worlds Most Intelligent City" is no longer, if it ever was. On the topic of flouridation at least, a 50/50 means half the people aren't intelligent about the subject.

One thing that pisses me off is the mayor having her election night party in a venue completely inaccessible to wheelchairs. I repeatedly pointed this out and was assured it was being addressed. Nothing. Clearly, being able to drink in a trendy bar close to city hall is more important than the outrageous request that people can get in. Four more years of bullshit promises of things "being looked in to".

Yes, I bash the mayor for her promises. No, I don't know the others would be better.

Looks like Melissa Durrell and many of us should get to know each other. Now we'll be seeing her on TV from the other side. Anyone know if she lives in the Uptown ward?

In four years, you may see my name. Hopefully I haven't annoyed the hell out of you guys too much by then. :)

[mpd618]

Looks like Melissa Durrell and many of us should get to know each other. Now we'll be seeing her on TV from the other side. Anyone know if she lives in the Uptown ward?

She does - near Belmont Village.

[IEFBR14]

Well, there is no doubt in my mind that what was once "The Worlds Most Intelligent City" is no longer, if it ever was. On the topic of flouridation at least, a 50/50 means half the people aren't intelligent about the subject. :RpS_thumbup:


One thing that pisses me off is the mayor having her election night party in a venue completely inaccessible to wheelchairs. I repeatedly pointed this out and was assured it was being addressed. Nothing. Clearly, being able to drink in a trendy bar close to city hall is more important than the outrageous request that people can get in. Four more years of bullshit promises of things "being looked in to".Worse this comes from a mayor who prides herself in engendering an Age Friendly Community (http://www.brendaformayor.com/?cms_action=view&cms_id=242)


Yes, I bash the mayor for her promises. No, I don't know the others would be better.Sadly I have to agree. D'Ailly would have been an even worse disaster. The other two candidates have no political experience. They should have first earned some street cred in council.

[Waterlooer]

On the topic of flouridation at least, a 50/50 means half the people aren't intelligent about the subject.


What 50% are you saying aren't intelligent?

[Greg Moore]

What 50% are you saying aren't intelligent?
I'm not. ;)