Remember when Christina Bisanz talked about laying down in front of bulldozers to stop the Glenway development?
Well it better not come that, because one of the newly appointed members of the York Regional Police Services Board is Brad Rogers of Groundswell Urban Planners Inc. His company is behind such controversial Town of Newmarket developments as Glenway and Slessor Square. His influence within the York Regional Police could spell trouble for any potential protests against his upcoming projects from local residents.
And while these appointees are officially "provincial appointments" there can be no doubt to residents how close Brad Rogers is with the municipal level politicians at York Region Council. As Groundswell Urban Planners Inc is primarily focused on Newmarket and Georgina, it's safe to say that Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen and Regional Councillor John Taylor were both consulted and signed off on his appointment.
With Brad Rogers' new appointment, the curtain has been pulled back to reveal how tight the Mayor and Regional Councillor are with developers - especially those associated with the Glenway and Slessor Square mega projects.
Noticing that Ward 7 Councillor Christina Bisanz is in every photo-op with Mayor Van Bynen these days. it is hard to imagine that she didn't know about this controversial appointment beforehand too. This certainly wouldn't be the first time that she betrayed her election promises to Glenway residents in favour of developer interests.
The second newly appointed member, Khalid Usman, is probably best known for being the Treasurer of the the Frank Scarpitti Foundation. Seeing as Frank Scarpitti is the Chair of the York Regional Police Services Board, it isn't hard to see who influenced Mr. Usman's "provincial appointment."
Overseeing the York Regional Police annual budget makes the Police Services Board one of the most influential groups in local politics. The other citizen members of the Board include long term member and former Town of Newmarket Fire Chief John Molyneaux and failed Liberal candidate Bang-Gu Jiang of Markham. The politicians on the Board include Chair Frank Scarpitti, Deputy Chair Virginia Hackson, and York Regional Chair Wayne Emerson.
Most notably absent from the list is Steve Hinder, who our sources say campaigned quite openly for the appointment but was rejected. Hinder is known locally as being the bagman for Frank and Belinda Stronach, directing campaign donations to certain municipal council incumbents. He would be seen as someone who politicians might owe favours to, but he failed to get the support when it counted.
Note that Steve Hinder delivered fat campaign donations from the Stronachs and/or Magna to only four Newmarket politicians, including Van Bynen, Taylor, and Bisanz. The fact that these three politicians refused to back Hinder must really sting his ego.
Reasons as to why Mr. Hinder was denied an appointed are not made public but I'd like to think that this blog may have had some influence: (Click here)
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