Four years ago, it was my honour to be elected Mayor of Carleton Place with a clear mandate from the residents. On May 1st, I registered to run for re-election early to show my commitment to the town, and on October 22, I hope that you will support me once again so we can keep working together to enhance our highly valued town and county services while keeping our growth affordable.
Over this last term I have had the privilege of serving the residents of Carleton Place and we have seen our town grow at a very manageable and progressive rate.
My re-election campaign will be focused on the work that we have done together so far, while outlining what we can continue to accomplish as we move forward ensuring that governance processes lead to healthy public policy, effective public administration and the desired outcomes that most benefit our community.
With past success in dealing with county council members, cabinet ministers and senior public officials in providing rational arguments, good business plans, well thought out proposals and serious discussions, our municipality will continue to seek support at all levels of government in dealing with the serious infrastructure challenges our community now faces over the next four years.
It is with confidence that all of us can expect our local Health Care infrastructure and new emergency room to be built now that we have secured $8.75 million dollars in provincial funding. The bigger challenges ahead will be the estimated $12 million dollars required for the main bridge and the upgrades to the arena, plus a number of other projects that have only been specked out and will require additional tax dollars and provincial and federal grant monies in order to shore up and secure our municipal infrastructure over the coming years.
Getting back to basics, which at times over the last four years was lost through a series of attacks and coordinated disruptions intended to confuse the planning department, by-law enforcement, and the administration of our municipality, will be the main focus of my mandate if re-elected on October 22, 2018.
It has always been important to me that I am open and accessible to anyone and everyone in our community, including councillors and members of the public regarding any issue or concern. I have worked in partnership with many community members and many business owners over the last four years, and it is my plan if re-elected, to continue to be open and accessible to everyone in our community.
In the past four years leading council, the following was accomplished;
- Tax increases have been held to under 2% for four years.
- $100 million in new economic development and investment transpired.
- $8.75 million in hospital funding for a new emergency room was secured.
- 50 plus new businesses started up within our municipality.
- And over 2000 new homes are currently on the books with many new builds already underway or completed.
We as a community have to embrace growth. But we need to grow in such a way that we do not destroy the small town feel and charm that makes Carleton Place one of the top communities in Ontario to live in.
I want Carleton Place to continue to be a vibrant, safe, and healthy community. I am proud of the accomplishments of council, in spite of our differences, and I pledge to continue in a professional manner for a second term in order to bring my knowledge and experience to the task of building a more prosperous and sustainable future for our community.
Over the next several months, I look forward to engaging residents face-to-face in conversations or through social media and email to discuss community concerns and what matters most to the residents of Carleton Place over the next four years and beyond. I will work hard to earn your vote and lay out a vision worthy of your support. I will present a full election platform that will be released over the course of the campaign, and I look forward to receiving your feedback and support.
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