Waterloo (Region) Election Talk

[Spokes]

More candidates declare for election
Feb 3, 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?

[Brenden]

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

[Spokes]

Cambridge candidates paint picture of city under siege

August 04, 2010
By Jeff Outhit, Record staff

CAMBRIDGE — Candidates for two regional council seats say Cambridge is treated badly by other governments and agencies.

“Cambridge has been shortchanged, by the region and historically,” challenger Atinuke Bankole says.

“We are a victim of government cutbacks,” says incumbent Jane Brewer, seeking re-election.

“We are not recognized as the vibrant city that we are, the economical and industrial engine of the region,” incumbent Claudette Millar, seeking re-election, wrote in a letter to the editor.

Candidates cite concerns that Cambridge will get buses while Kitchener and Waterloo get electric trains in a controversial rapid transit proposal.

Other concerns include: The relocation of Cambridge courts to a central site in Kitchener and the loss of a cancer support centre that’s relocating to Waterloo.

In her letter, Millar lists up to nine affronts committed against Cambridge by provincial and regional governments since 1973.

Their complaints have some legitimacy, says Robert Williams, a retired political science professor from the University of Waterloo.

But he also points out Cambridge is not the only place to lose government offices, as Ontario centralizes some public services and moves others online.

As well, candidates likely gain an advantage by portraying Cambridge as disadvantaged, Williams figures. It plays to a popular perception that residents are a permanent minority within a larger region.

“It’s a mindset that’s always been there,” he said.

Williams attributes the mindset in part to hard feelings after the forced merger of Preston, Hespeler and Galt that created the city in 1973. It’s not unlike how some Quebecers see themselves as a permanent minority in Canada.

“There is a tradition of that in many societies,” he said. “Some groups always see themselves as on the short end.”

The evidence that Cambridge is ill-served is not as clear as the perception.

A 2003 study of government spending found that residents in both Cambridge and Kitchener get more out of regional government than they put in. This is unlike Waterloo, whose residents use regional services far less often.

The denial of electric trains irks some today, but regional government plans to provide Cambridge with almost twice its share of road expansions over 10 years, costing an estimated $153 million.

Former regional candidate Bob McMullen chafes to hear candidates portray Cambridge as shortchanged. “It’s a good card to play,” he said. “Why bother with the facts? Let’s go with other realities, or perceptions …

“We are known in city halls north of the 401 as the whiners.”

The reality he sees is that other governments had to put money into Cambridge to bring its faltering infrastructure up to par after the 1973 merger. Since then, the city has added new industries and flourished.

McMullen, a retired teacher and community volunteer, also prefers to put the onus on Cambridge politicians for failing to resolve community challenges such as traffic headaches. “That’s my perception of reality,” he said.

But this was never a winning platform for him. Brewer and Millar trounced him in elections in 2006 and 2003.

Bankole is taking a different approach in her attempt to unseat an incumbent. She asks of her election rivals: Why did they allow Cambridge to be so shortchanged on their watch?

Brewer disagrees that Cambridge is ill-served by regional government. She points to regional offices on Main Street, pending road expansions and other regional services provided in the city.

However, she agrees that Cambridge residents generally feel their city doesn’t get a fair deal. “I want to come from the positive and say yes that’s true, but at the same time these are the positive things that are happening,” Brewer said.

Millar could not be reached for comment.

Candidates have until Sept. 10 to register for the Oct. 25 municipal election.

jouthit@therecord.com

[jay]

“We are not recognized as the vibrant city that we are, the economical and industrial engine of the region,” incumbent Claudette Millar, seeking re-election, wrote in a letter to the editor


Not sure about that comment.. Cambridge is a Auto/Industrial city with a LOT of empty buildings now. That is reality that people do not want to admit. Even if they move to a tech industry all the buildings that are currently empty will cost millions to convert/demolish. There is little "historic" buildings in Cambridge around these days. Maybe they could be changed to warehouses, but then you have 10millions dollars worth of cranes that are useless, plus the environmental concerns would require the site to be cleaned.

Cambridge should blame China and cheap labour, not the Region for the majority of their problems.

[Spokes]

I think I would agree that they're the industrial engine of the region, but the economical, not so much.

[jay]

The problem with being the industrial leader is when all the industrial places shut down and move, then what?

[garthdanlor]

The problem with being the industrial leader is when all the industrial places shut down and move, then what?

Galt was once known as the "Manchester of Canada". Using Manchester as an example of how to transform a once heavily industrialized city might be a good starting point. Of course Cambridge isn't Manchester so everything to scale...

Closer to home, they just have to look at the former industrial heart of the region, Kitchener, and learn from its successes and failures as it attempts to recover from deindustrialization. There are plenty of other examples of what and what not to do when the factories close.

Saying that, I think Cambridge will be OK. It has good bones...a nice inventory of old buildings, a potentially picturesque setting on two rivers, and a favourable position on the 401. They do however have to quit feeling sorry for themselves and fix their traffic problems ASAP, and this includes helping the Region to secure rapid transit.

[Spokes]

Saying that, I think Cambridge will be OK. It has good bones...a nice inventory of old buildings, a potentially picturesque setting on two rivers, and a favourable position on the 401. They do however have to quit feeling sorry for themselves and fix their traffic problems ASAP, and this includes helping the Region to secure rapid transit.

It certainly does. The potential there is quite high. There won't ever be three major cores, but three minor vibrant cores is definitely possible. But Hespeler Rd will always be the commercial core.

[Spokes]

I have a feeling a huge election issue for Regional council (other than LRT) will be the issue of the public paying for parking. Candidates are already talking about it, and I cant see the public supporting someone who wants to keep the public paying for parking.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Robert Ross is now a candidate for one of the Cambridge seats.

There's a race happening now for the Kitchener seats. We're up to 7 candidates with the entry of Jean Haalboom, Kristen Porritt & John D. Smola.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Tom Galloway has entered the race in Kitchener.

[Waterlooer]

I really hope the people who get elected are pro-LRT... the regions transit future will be in there hands.

[Spokes]

I really hope the people who get elected are pro-LRT... the regions transit future will be in there hands.

Ya, I agree. Candidates are really going to have to make positions very clear in this election not just on LRT, but for municipal candidates, on amalgamation as well.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Jason Hammond is running for one of the Kitchener seats. That brings us up to 9 candidates in that race, with one more day left for registrations.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Robert F. Milligan is challenging Ken Seiling to be Chair of Waterloo Region.

Glen Whetham is running for one of the Cambridge seats.

Leszek Jankowski & Derek Satnik are candidates in Kitchener, while John D. Smola has withdrawn.

Jack Hone is running for a Waterloo seat.

There's no uncontested positions at the regional level. For a full list of candidates, check out Post 1.

[smably]

Robert F. Milligan is challenging Ken Seiling to be Chair of Waterloo Region.

Yeah, good luck with that!

[Spokes]

Yeah, good luck with that!

Ya to chair a regional council you're gonna need a boatload of experience. Seiling takes this one.

[AnitaN]

How do I find out which candidates for Regional Council are for and against light rail transit? Only one of them has a website. Thanks for helping a newbie here!