Over a year ago, before it became trendy to talk about it, I raised the alarm about the plight of small businesses on Davis Drive. You can read my July 24, 2013 blog here: http://www.nwkttownhall.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-businesses-on-davis-drive-in.html
I read with a raised eyebrow that the owner of Tim Hortons is promoting some type of government compensation for lost business revenue due to the bus lane construction along Davis Drive. To wit. Jim Alexander writes (via Twitter) "Since the start the Region and VIVA included a process to claim for documented business loss. I am working thru it now."
As a Davis Drive business owner, I have never been contacted by anyone related to the loss revenue sustained by my business which resulted in lay offs to offset business losses.
Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio, has this to say about possible compensation: http://maddiedimuccio.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42555522-government-compensation-for-davis-drive-businesses-fact-or-fiction-
Now, I have no reason to doubt that Tim Hortons Newmarket (even though this owner has multiple locations in Newmarket and significant corporate advertising budgets to bolster his business) is receiving some taxpayer funds.
But I do doubt that there will be money for the rest of us. It simply won't happen.
If there is a going to funds made available, it will be done on the "Friends of Tony" basis. Long term businesses noted with some chagrin that Tim Hortons on Davis Drive received priority response to construction issues while the rest of us had large vehicles and pylons blocking drive ways. That's because he is a close friend and ally of Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen.
So when you promote your 5 for the Drive tweets, perhaps you should give the big conglomerates a pass and help out the smaller businesses. It will give Jim Alexander more time to work with the Region for compensation while the rest of us just hang on.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Friday, 18 July 2014
Ward 6 Candidate Kelly Broome Plumley? You have some explaining to do ...
Editor's Note: The following blog post is not written by Nwkt Town Hall Watch. It is attributed to the John4Newmarket Tumblr page and John Blommesteyn (originally published on June 23, 2014). It is being reprinted here in the public interest as Kelly Broome Plumley is a candidate for Newmarket Town Counci:
John4Newmarket
Elect John Blommesteyn Newmarket Town Council
One of the most important prerequisites for elected office are our values. When circumstances call for tough decisions, the community must have faith that the moral fibre of our elected representatives remains strong. This faith in our elected officials is the foundation of our democracy.
It goes without saying that plagiarism is bad. But if a candidate for Town Council plagiarizes in a section of her website entitled “My Values”, can she be trusted? Taking another author’s work word-for-word and claiming them as her own is simply wrong.
The top photo comes from Newmarket Ward 6 candidate Kelly Broome Plumley’s web page. The bottom photo comes from the Go Daddy template that I purchased to set up my own page. Clearly, Ms. Broome Plumley has some explaining to do about the section entitled, ”My Values” on her web page
.
I am proud to say that I don’t need to take my list of values from another author. And Newmarket residents can rest easy knowing that you can rely on my value set to lead us to a prosperous future.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Christina Bisanz: Giving voters the opportunity that Chris Emanuel denied them
I know that I am not in the minority when I admit that I was disappointed when Chris Emanuel decided not to seek re-election because he denied the voters here the opportunity to vote him out of office.
And so today I am happy to see Christina Bisanz (former President of the Glenway Preservation Association) put her name forward as a municipal candidate.
This is the moment that Newmarket voters have been waiting for.
Newnarket taxpayers are disgusted when they learn that the Town of Newmarket wasted approximately $1,000,000 to fight -- and lose -- the Marianneville development project at the OMB. The Town's refusal to negotiate with the developer cost Glenway residents dearly and Christina Bisanz is one of the most visible "masterminds" behind that doomed strategy.
And let's be clear that $1,000,000 is not an insignificant sum of money to waste in the town of Newmarket. It could have been put to better use building splash pads in every corner of the town, for example. It is a lot of money to waste on lawyers and consultants without any actual return benefiting the people of Newmarket.
With Christina Bisanz in the race, voters can now put a face to the $1,000,000 Glenway/OMB fiasco and cast their vote in favour of the wasting this money or against it.
(With the final property tax bills coming due, it isn't hard to imagine your own portion of that $1,000,000 tab).
So thank you, Christina Bisanz, for giving Newmarket voters the opportunity that Chris Emanuel denied them. I am certain that with her in the race, voter turnout is going to near 100% as voters vent their anger at the ballot box.
And so today I am happy to see Christina Bisanz (former President of the Glenway Preservation Association) put her name forward as a municipal candidate.
This is the moment that Newmarket voters have been waiting for.
Newnarket taxpayers are disgusted when they learn that the Town of Newmarket wasted approximately $1,000,000 to fight -- and lose -- the Marianneville development project at the OMB. The Town's refusal to negotiate with the developer cost Glenway residents dearly and Christina Bisanz is one of the most visible "masterminds" behind that doomed strategy.
And let's be clear that $1,000,000 is not an insignificant sum of money to waste in the town of Newmarket. It could have been put to better use building splash pads in every corner of the town, for example. It is a lot of money to waste on lawyers and consultants without any actual return benefiting the people of Newmarket.
With Christina Bisanz in the race, voters can now put a face to the $1,000,000 Glenway/OMB fiasco and cast their vote in favour of the wasting this money or against it.
(With the final property tax bills coming due, it isn't hard to imagine your own portion of that $1,000,000 tab).
So thank you, Christina Bisanz, for giving Newmarket voters the opportunity that Chris Emanuel denied them. I am certain that with her in the race, voter turnout is going to near 100% as voters vent their anger at the ballot box.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
What to do if you are a Newmarket-Aurora PC member?
Picture someone turning on the kitchen lights in a run down house and watching the cockroaches scurry for dark corners. This analogy cannot be one that the local Ontario PC'ers want connected to them.
Yet, is there a more apt way of describing this?: http://m.yorkregion.com/news-story/4611941-mpp-pressured-somerville-out-of-newmarket-aurora-pc-race-document/
Councillor Maddie Di Muccio has every right to be furious. She has been falsely accused of criminal activity. I hope that she channels her anger to making some real changes in the local political scene.
The grass roots members of the local PC Party should be even more furious. This so-far-unnamed-MPP who is hiding in the dark corners, has schemed and plotted to ensure that local democracy was subverted/ hijacked.
If the unnamed-MPP responsible for pressuring Mr. Somerville continues to sit within caucus (which I personally doubt), he/she needs to be exposed for their undemocratic behaviour and unceremoniously dumped from caucus. There is no way for the PC Party to escape its dirty Tim Hudak past if new leader Jim Wilson and party president Richard Ciano leave this matter uninvestigated and festering like an open wound.
Mr. Somerville has been exposed as a snake. He issued a press release saying that his family was threatened but if you read today's article, Mr. Somerville did not repeat that claim. Now he says he dropped out of the race, "to minimize the harm caused to his family, reputation and career", says the article's author.
A threat is a criminal act punishable with jail time. Public embarrassment caused as a result of being a terribly flawed candidate for public office, is not a matter for either the police or the courts. Mr. Somerville would be wise to remember this truth.
The eventual acclaimed candidate, and subsequent loser, isn't named in the article but her presence behind the scenes can be clearly felt. Nobody believed that Jane Twinney would prevail over either Somerville or Di Muccio in a fair and open vote. Twinney's only chance of winning the nomination was through stabbing her competitors in the back, and that is exactly what she set out to do. The fact that she lost this long-held, never-voted-any-way-other-than-PC seat is a testament to the wisdom of the voting public which simply didn't accept Twinney as an authentic conservative.
And for anyone who believes that the outcome of the Newmarket-Aurora went Liberal in the last election had anything to do with this undemocratic candidate selection, I say, you are wrong. The PC'ers lost because they ran a bad campaign with a really bad candidate. Jane Twinney could not sell Tim Hudak's platform because she isn't actually a conservative.
Jane Twinney's voting record on Newmarket Council is to the left of the political spectrum. She never passed up a chance to tax and spend and abuse her position to block transparency. When she tried to do a 180, voters simply never bought her act.
My advice to the local PC'ers is simple: the PC'ers need to distance themselves from the charlatans associated with Frank Klees and his gang of dunder-heads. Recognize that Klees's jealousy caused the party to back the wrong candidate and lose the Newmarket-Aurora seat to the Liberals.
The local PC'ers need to move beyond Frank Klees and make peace with the Newmarket Councillor who should have been the party's candidate. The riding needs to rebuild. If you don't take my advice, it won't be too long for the Newmarket-Aurora riding to become a Liberal-stronghold just like the rest of York Region.
Yet, is there a more apt way of describing this?: http://m.yorkregion.com/news-story/4611941-mpp-pressured-somerville-out-of-newmarket-aurora-pc-race-document/
Councillor Maddie Di Muccio has every right to be furious. She has been falsely accused of criminal activity. I hope that she channels her anger to making some real changes in the local political scene.
The grass roots members of the local PC Party should be even more furious. This so-far-unnamed-MPP who is hiding in the dark corners, has schemed and plotted to ensure that local democracy was subverted/ hijacked.
If the unnamed-MPP responsible for pressuring Mr. Somerville continues to sit within caucus (which I personally doubt), he/she needs to be exposed for their undemocratic behaviour and unceremoniously dumped from caucus. There is no way for the PC Party to escape its dirty Tim Hudak past if new leader Jim Wilson and party president Richard Ciano leave this matter uninvestigated and festering like an open wound.
Mr. Somerville has been exposed as a snake. He issued a press release saying that his family was threatened but if you read today's article, Mr. Somerville did not repeat that claim. Now he says he dropped out of the race, "to minimize the harm caused to his family, reputation and career", says the article's author.
A threat is a criminal act punishable with jail time. Public embarrassment caused as a result of being a terribly flawed candidate for public office, is not a matter for either the police or the courts. Mr. Somerville would be wise to remember this truth.
The eventual acclaimed candidate, and subsequent loser, isn't named in the article but her presence behind the scenes can be clearly felt. Nobody believed that Jane Twinney would prevail over either Somerville or Di Muccio in a fair and open vote. Twinney's only chance of winning the nomination was through stabbing her competitors in the back, and that is exactly what she set out to do. The fact that she lost this long-held, never-voted-any-way-other-than-PC seat is a testament to the wisdom of the voting public which simply didn't accept Twinney as an authentic conservative.
And for anyone who believes that the outcome of the Newmarket-Aurora went Liberal in the last election had anything to do with this undemocratic candidate selection, I say, you are wrong. The PC'ers lost because they ran a bad campaign with a really bad candidate. Jane Twinney could not sell Tim Hudak's platform because she isn't actually a conservative.
Jane Twinney's voting record on Newmarket Council is to the left of the political spectrum. She never passed up a chance to tax and spend and abuse her position to block transparency. When she tried to do a 180, voters simply never bought her act.
My advice to the local PC'ers is simple: the PC'ers need to distance themselves from the charlatans associated with Frank Klees and his gang of dunder-heads. Recognize that Klees's jealousy caused the party to back the wrong candidate and lose the Newmarket-Aurora seat to the Liberals.
The local PC'ers need to move beyond Frank Klees and make peace with the Newmarket Councillor who should have been the party's candidate. The riding needs to rebuild. If you don't take my advice, it won't be too long for the Newmarket-Aurora riding to become a Liberal-stronghold just like the rest of York Region.
Friday, 27 June 2014
Don't Fund Raise for Leash Free Dog Park
There is lots of talk about fund raising for this proposed leash free dog park. My question is, Why?
Why isn't our Town Council charging user fees like they do else where? Why are they treating dog owners like a special, user-fee exempted class of citizen?
We charge money to individual residents using the public pools or to go public skating. It seems obvious to me that to raise the $100,000 needed for dog the dog park, then the Town only need to increase its' dog license fees appropriately. (To prevent free riders, anyone who shows up at the dog park without a Town of Newmarket licensed dog should receive a punitive fine).
The Town of Newmarket shouldn't be in the fundraiser business. We have a lot of charities and not for profit organizations that depend on donations. The Town of Newmarket shouldn't be competing with those worthy causes for people's generosity.
Instead, the province has given the Town of Newmarket the authority to charge appropriate licensing fees. If the demand for a dog park is so high, then the new park should only be financed with dog licensing. Bottom line is that dog owners need to put their money where the mouth is and pay for the leash free park with higher dog license fees.
Why isn't our Town Council charging user fees like they do else where? Why are they treating dog owners like a special, user-fee exempted class of citizen?
We charge money to individual residents using the public pools or to go public skating. It seems obvious to me that to raise the $100,000 needed for dog the dog park, then the Town only need to increase its' dog license fees appropriately. (To prevent free riders, anyone who shows up at the dog park without a Town of Newmarket licensed dog should receive a punitive fine).
The Town of Newmarket shouldn't be in the fundraiser business. We have a lot of charities and not for profit organizations that depend on donations. The Town of Newmarket shouldn't be competing with those worthy causes for people's generosity.
Instead, the province has given the Town of Newmarket the authority to charge appropriate licensing fees. If the demand for a dog park is so high, then the new park should only be financed with dog licensing. Bottom line is that dog owners need to put their money where the mouth is and pay for the leash free park with higher dog license fees.
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Fix Graffiti Problem Before Spending on Public Art and Signs
Graffiti is a blight on Newmarket that is costing taxpayers tens of thousands each year to clean up. Not one mail box, hydro pole or private fence has been spared the spay painted tags. Even the asphalt on the trails has been defaced.
In a town that outlawed pesticides prior to the Province of Ontario enacting the similar legislation, I wonder why nobody on Council had the idea of restricting the sale of spray paint. At the very least, they could require retailers to collect a graffiti clean up levy of a $2 on each can of paint sold in Newmarket stores.
Or how about setting up a program where local retailers agree not to sell spray paint without recording the ID of the purchaser. Such a move would make a would-be tagger think twice before buying paint.
The reason we need to get tougher with the taggers is because the Town of Newmarket is about to spend $300,000 on welcome signs and maybe more on public art. How long will it take for some one to deface these expensive items if we don't crack down on graffiti?
Before any money is allocated to these beautification projects, I would like to know what Council and York Regional Police intend to do about public graffiti. Otherwise, we are just wasting public money.
In a town that outlawed pesticides prior to the Province of Ontario enacting the similar legislation, I wonder why nobody on Council had the idea of restricting the sale of spray paint. At the very least, they could require retailers to collect a graffiti clean up levy of a $2 on each can of paint sold in Newmarket stores.
Or how about setting up a program where local retailers agree not to sell spray paint without recording the ID of the purchaser. Such a move would make a would-be tagger think twice before buying paint.
The reason we need to get tougher with the taggers is because the Town of Newmarket is about to spend $300,000 on welcome signs and maybe more on public art. How long will it take for some one to deface these expensive items if we don't crack down on graffiti?
Before any money is allocated to these beautification projects, I would like to know what Council and York Regional Police intend to do about public graffiti. Otherwise, we are just wasting public money.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Shock Wave Within the Gruesome Twosome Bloc
Over the last few weeks, we learnt how significantly municipal voting records matter. Failed PC candidate and current Ward 3 Councillor Jane Twinney couldn't hide from all her tax hikes and broken promises. She was ignominiously defeated on June 12th as Newmarket Aurora voted Liberal for the first time ever.
This result has sent a shock wave through the Gruesome-Twosome bloc on Newmarket Council.
News has since surfaced that Jane Twinney lost the polls located in her own ward. Her unpopularity in Ward 3 at the provincial level casts serious doubt whether she could win if she decides to re-up municipally. I predict that we will see a new Ward 3 councillor come October.
Since the election, Ward 7 Councillor Chris Emanuel, announced he would not seek re-election which will definitely impact the bloc's position on Council. There is a lot of distrust and anger simmering towards both Van Bynen and Taylor over the Glenway debacle. Glenway residents rightfully feel that they were double-crossed. I have no doubt that the Gruesome Twosome will have their candidate running in Ward 7, but I have serious doubts if that candidate can win.
So if the Gruesome Twosome bloc that currently consists of Van Bynen, Taylor, Twinney, Emanuel, and Hempen, gets reduced to three members, then what does that mean for the next term of Council?
Monday night's meeting gave a glimpse of how worried the Gruesome Twosome bloc really is. Whether it was John Taylor speaking at a mile a minute to defend his pro-development stance, or Jane Twinney inexplicably dredging up Frank Klees' private member's bill (apropos of nothing); clearly they are worried that they are losing.
Only Ward 1 Councillor Tom Vegh and Ward 6 Councillor Maddie Di Muccio have yet to declare their intentions for October. In particular, Di Muccio's tactics make things very difficult for both Taylor and Van Bynen. Effectively, they are both running against Di Muccio as the rumours that she will opt for one of their seats continue to swirl.
What scares Van Bynen and Taylor the most is that they must run on their own track record, as Jane Twinney was forced to do during the provincial race, and potentially face the same results that Twinney received.
This result has sent a shock wave through the Gruesome-Twosome bloc on Newmarket Council.
News has since surfaced that Jane Twinney lost the polls located in her own ward. Her unpopularity in Ward 3 at the provincial level casts serious doubt whether she could win if she decides to re-up municipally. I predict that we will see a new Ward 3 councillor come October.
Since the election, Ward 7 Councillor Chris Emanuel, announced he would not seek re-election which will definitely impact the bloc's position on Council. There is a lot of distrust and anger simmering towards both Van Bynen and Taylor over the Glenway debacle. Glenway residents rightfully feel that they were double-crossed. I have no doubt that the Gruesome Twosome will have their candidate running in Ward 7, but I have serious doubts if that candidate can win.
So if the Gruesome Twosome bloc that currently consists of Van Bynen, Taylor, Twinney, Emanuel, and Hempen, gets reduced to three members, then what does that mean for the next term of Council?
Monday night's meeting gave a glimpse of how worried the Gruesome Twosome bloc really is. Whether it was John Taylor speaking at a mile a minute to defend his pro-development stance, or Jane Twinney inexplicably dredging up Frank Klees' private member's bill (apropos of nothing); clearly they are worried that they are losing.
Only Ward 1 Councillor Tom Vegh and Ward 6 Councillor Maddie Di Muccio have yet to declare their intentions for October. In particular, Di Muccio's tactics make things very difficult for both Taylor and Van Bynen. Effectively, they are both running against Di Muccio as the rumours that she will opt for one of their seats continue to swirl.
What scares Van Bynen and Taylor the most is that they must run on their own track record, as Jane Twinney was forced to do during the provincial race, and potentially face the same results that Twinney received.
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