Newmarket's Next Municipal Election

Someone in my twitter feed reminded me that Jerry Springer was once the Mayor of Cincinnati. 

If that image doesn't inspire taxpayers to get out and vote, I'm not sure if anything would.

Just a year away, 2014 will be a pivotal election for the Town of Newmarket. 

Due to the consequences of the Places to Grow Act, Newmarket has no option but to welcome intensification.  Do we have the men and women in Council that we can trust with this transition?

If you are like me, someone who grew up in this town, then I expect that 10-15 years from now you'll wonder, "what ever happened to the Newmarket of my youth?". 

Where once there was farmland, you will see high rises.  That is a fact of life.

But the Places to Grow Act can't be used as an excuse to sell the Town of Newmarket out to the highest bidding developer.  We need to recognize that there are properties that should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. 

While I have heard various members of this council give lip service to preserving green spaces in Newmarket, like many others, I question their sincerity. 

Glenway Golf and Country Club is such a property. 

Members of council have been very outspoken about the fact that this property should remain unspoiled.  Yet why is it we can't trust them at their word?

There are some lingering questions:

1) Why didn't the Town of Newmarket bid to purchase it as parkland when it came for sale?  I position this question against the $2.8 million given to the NSC, the $8.4 million assigned to purchasing LED lighting, and the $5 million cost over runs on the Old Town Hall.  What if residents were allowed to vote for these three items vs. investing similarly into a Glenway park in a referendum? 

2) These same council members who were once rallying to fight at the OMB are now quietly admitting that this route is a fool's errand.  Yet council members orchestrated the events that gave the developer the right to make the OMB appeal by delaying their decision on the Marrianeville plan to November 25, 2013 months after the deadline had passed.  Why?

3) And why, just a few weeks after voting in favour of establishing a heritage district are members of Council so eager to ignore their designation by approving a high rise that replaces Main Street's historic clock tower?  Despite the fact that Main St already has limited traffic flow and even more limited parking, last week's Council meeting left no doubt that various council members are salivating over the idea of this project.  It makes no sense. 

4) And if we can't trust their word on Glenway or the clock tower, how can we trust them on their "Secondary" plan which designates certain areas as green spaces?  If Glenway and the clock tower can be developed, then rest assured, all properties in Newmarket are at risk of the the developer's bulldozers. 

There is a very simple solution. 

We need to toss out of office anyone who hasn't earned the public trust.  Any politician that has said one thing publicly but voted oppositely has to go.  So too are those politicians who continually block attempts to keep government open and transparent. 

My hope for Newmarket in 2014 is to have the most open, transparent, and accountable government in the Province of Ontario. 

I am looking to elect people who meet these criteria:

1) People who have no established alliances with special interests; including friends or family of current/ past councillors, no members of current town related committees or the chamber of commerce, and certainly no one affiliated with any of the Yonge/ Davis car dealerships (who are keenly interested in selling their lands to high rise developers).  The reason why political parties are discouraged at the municipal level is to encourage members to reach across the table to compromise.  We've seen this term the brutal effects "bloc voting" can have.

2) Candidates that have a plan to make government more accessible.  I am not sure what form that will take but if smart men and women run for office, let's hear them out about what it will take to make your government accountable to you. 

In just over 10 weeks, the first few candidates will be submitting their nomination papers.  We owe it to future generations of Newmarket residents to make sure we scrutinize them before we elect them.