EDITOR’S NOTE: Seaway News has reached out to all the candidates running for city councillor in Cornwall to answer questions concerning the future of our city. We are running their answers, verbatim, throughout the campaign in this online series, ‘Ask the candidate’.
1. What do you feel is the top issue a new city council must tackle in the next four years, and how would you go about addressing that issue?
To pinpoint one single issue is near impossible not to mention most candidates will likely use the same platform rhetoric that politicians always use. Jobs, economic growth, etc. I have only 200 words to write so I will simply say this instead – City Council, as a whole, needs to be more progressive thinking and ambitious with the policies it enacts. I believe our current council collectively has become stale and irresponsive to the citizens that have elected them. Our ideas are dated, our policies are prehistoric and we need our new council to be much more aggressive in bringing Cornwall out of its’ stagnant slump.
I often compare Cornwall to Brockville and Belleville as they are similar in terms of demographics and topography. It is no secret that Cornwall lags behind in terms of waterfront development, culture, tourism and growth. But why is that? Why can’t our current Council simply look at our neighbours and realize that what we have been doing for decades is not what we need to do right now?
On October 27th, Cornwall has an important decision to make. We either elect the individuals who can actually bring this change to fruition or we remain with the status quo. Either way, this will be a turning point for our great City, one way or another.
2) What do you offer, as a city council candidate, that your opponents do not?
For those who know me on a business level, or perhaps even personally, I am sure you know that I am someone who thinks big and well outside of the box. We need to have this attitude with our next City Council. People are dying for change and it’s clear our current council has not been successful in bringing substantial growth to our city.
I am a leader. I always have been and always will be. I am not afraid to take risks or to step up to the plate when help is needed. From saving Winterfest a mere hours before its’ cancellation to rescuing the Cornwall River Kings when I do not even play hockey myself – this is what a leader does and this is what I will bring to the council table.
I am aggressive, ambitious and working hard comes natural to me. I am a full-time Realtor, manage 17 of my own rental properties, campaign full time and run an entire hockey organization as sole owner. I was born to be busy and know what it takes to delegate and multi-task.
This type of leadership not only separates me from the other candidates but will translate into my success as a Councillor.
3) What needs to change, or remain the same, at city hall to make Cornwall an even more prosperous community?
Transparency and Accountability. This is becoming an increasingly “popular” subject at City Hall. From closed-door sessions to law suits to mysterious resignations, our next city council has to lead by example and be much more transparent with its’ actions.
For this reason, I have introduced two platform ideas to deal with this issue. The first is the creation of the Cornwall City Council Code of Conduct (CCCCC). The Municipal Act, 2001 actually specifies that municipalities have the right to create such a code if they choose to do so. Past councils have simply dropped the ball on this. Why haven’t we created a code of conduct that makes our Councillors accountable to the public that elects them? This seems very simple to me and I cannot begin to comprehend why this hasn’t been done as of yet.
The second is the creation of the office of Integrity Commissioner. This office would be an independent, unbiased individual whose sole mandate is to field complaints and inquiries from the public on behalf of conduct done by Councillors. Again, the Municipal Act, 2001 authorizes municipalities to create such an office.
Apparently, past city councils have not taken transparency or accountability too seriously. I think it’s time we did.
