Home

Questionnaire

Archives

 

To me politics is not simply about representation, it is also about leadership, having the courage of presenting people with all the facts, not just the bits we want to hear. Politics is regularly about balancing conflicting interests, the way we approach issues is a reflection of our core values. In my grassroots campaign, I am emphasizing that citizens come first. My campaign will focus on a simple philosophy of talking candidly about real issues, real ideas and real solutions, that has been ignored by Vaughan council for far too long.

 

If you're elected, what will be your main priorities?

 

I will be releasing my platform later this summer. Here is a short preview of what to expect. Unlike some others that like to say just what the people want to hear but with no substance to it, in order to gain their support, my platforms contain substance. I have demonstrated this from my platforms during the 2006 election and 2004 by-election.

 

We live in the fastest growing city in the country and we are now starting to face the challenges of a larger city. Increased crime and safety issues, traffic gridlock, public transportation issues, increased property taxes and being the largest city in the country without a hospital are only a few challenges that our community faces.

 

Appointment of an independent Municipal Ombudsman - I have concrete plans to establish this. I have served as Chair of the Ontario Education Ombudsman pilot project. Based on my work attempting to establish an Education Ombudsman for Ontario school boards, in my platform, I will be implementing a similar plan to establishing an independent Municipal Ombudsman.

 

Public Transportation - It is unrealistic to put together a public transportation plan without working with neighbouring municipalities. I am working on establishing a joint public transportation platform for both Toronto and York Region (including Vaughan), which will include a subway into Thornhill. There are some serious issues with the Yonge subway extension to Hwy 7, and this is why Toronto, the TTC and the Province of Ontario can't support this extension as it stands, and have been since it was first proposed. I will be addressing these issues in my platform with ideas to be working closely with the City of Toronto and the TTC in order to correct their issues as well.

 

Will you be accepting corporate donations to your campaign, and if so, will accepting this money affect your candidacy?

 

The best way, I believe, to gather a true sense of authenticity, integrity and credibility from a candidate is to look at his or her past history.

 

In the previous election, I was one of only a few candidates in the city that refused to accept corporate donations. Once the campaign was paid in full, I refused any donations period, unlike the incumbents and a few other potential candidates in this election that carry over the extra surplus funds they raised from the previous election. The majority of these surplus funds are from corporate donations.

 

I will once again be relying on individual, private citizens for donations. For the first time, eligible residents will get a rebate of up 75% back from the city, for a maximum rebate of $150. For example, an eligible resident that donates $200 to the campaign will receive a rebate of $150, with a final, out-of-pocket cost being only $50.

 

I will not be accepting any donations from private citizens or corporations that are attempting to receive contracts from the city or believe that their donation can influence the results of awarding contracts, both on an individual basis or a corporate basis. Should I not be able to raise enough funds through private donations to be competitive with candidates that have corporate surplus funds and are accepting corporate donations, I will have to decide at that time if it would be appropriate to receive corporate donations.

 

What should we do to increase voter turnout from 38%?

 

There were many suggestions made about increasing voter turnout, and personally I find it concerning that the majority of residents do not vote. However I donŐt blame the residents, I think it is more the candidates to blame by not being approachable and disconnecting themselves from the residents. As a candidate myself, I try to reach out to as many people as possible, providing information, listening to their concerns, answering questions, suggesting ideas and solutions to the issues. I think if people are informed and know that there is candidate worthy of their vote, this will increase voter turnout.

 

Do you believe that Thornhill's historic image as a village will remain as development intensifies?

 

I think it is very important to preserve the historical image of Thornhill. It is important to keep traditions going, such as the Thornhill Village Festival, which I attend every year.

 

For more information, you can visit the candidate's website by clicking here.