Editorial: The Next Council
By John Swartz
Monday we vote our choices to sit on council and who will be the next mayor. This campaign has been relatively smooth with few complaints about election shenanigans, and those being the run of the mill like signs being where they aren’t supposed to be and an issue with Whitney Smith’s address on her nomination papers (we have current sitting members of council who do not live in the city and the driver’s license thing while should have been caught by the clerk it is really a provincial issue).
The real trouble has been online with three council candidates (two incumbents) being harassed, threatened, and lied about to no end. It’s not surprising those are the same people who bash prime minister Carney in the most crude way and have no trouble throwing around the word Libtard without any sense of shame or understanding of the political spectrum. If this writer had any tie to the party they support I would be embarrassed to be associated with such cretins. And, death threats are not acceptable in civilized society regardless of party affiliation.
But at least we aren’t Sarnia where one mayoral candidate is wearing his bigotry and uncouth manner and language like it’s his Sunday finest. Councillor (yes he is a sitting councillor) Bill Dennis is so far off the farm he was banned 22 months ago from attending council meetings in person and barred from City Hall, such was his abuse of everyone he came in contact with and continues to be – that’s what kind of politician he is and we are lucky to not have that here. And we don’t have a Lisa Robinson, the Pickering councillor and mayoral candidate who thinks misconduct is part of the job, as well as spouting the most absurd conspiracy and far right social demonizations is business as usual.
The responses and online commentary by our candidates, along with their performance at the candidates night at St. Paul’s Centre a couple weeks ago reveals this might be the strongest field of candidates since this writer started calling Orillia home in 1989. This also makes it difficult to weigh in on who the candidates we think should be elected.
To begin with, it is our position 6 of the 7 incumbents should be re-elected. Some of those have served multiple terms and of the last four years they have done the work expected and not stepped in any piles of refuse.
That means David Campbell in Ward One, Ralph Cipolla in Ward Two, Jeff Czetwerzuk and Jay Fallis in Ward Three, and Janet-Lynne Durnford and Tim Lauer in Ward Four should be returned to office in our opinion.
All are knee deep on the homelessness issue and the hospital and should be allowed to continue, which would save a lot of time newcomers will need to get up to speed.
Luke Leatherdale running again in Ward Two has been the most silent of the councilors the last four years, and has been absent from the campaign, so it’s difficult to recommend his candidacy when there is nothing to base an opinion on.
The open seat in Ward One should go to Krystal Brooks. She has revealed herself to be a quick study of the areas of municipal business she was previously unacquainted with. She is a thorough researcher and a thoughtful and eloquent communicator of what she believes are ideas to solve some of the issues facing the community. It is rare these days to see someone pause and think about what they are going to say first, instead of speaking to fill the air while organizing their thoughts. Her knowledge of the homelessness file is superior to all the other candidates (incumbents too) and since that topic has emerged as the number one issue during this campaign she would serve us and fellow councillors well with her lived experience and insight.
That said, Joe Bat would likely be no slouch as a councillor. He is affable and approachable and interested in the job not the title.
Michael Shortt and Ellen Wolper have good qualifications to be councillors and in the absence of the two mentioned above would not be disappointing choices, but it does not seem their knowledge of all the issues beyond their interests is broad enough.
Ward Two has some tough choices for voters to fill the second seat. Two former councillors, Mason Ainsworth and Rob Kloostra are running. Mason has matured in our opinion and he has spent his time away from the council chamber serving on several provincial committees and boards with an economic focus. Kloostra hasn’t been idle in the community either and his experience would be an asset on council.
The other two candidates picked a year to run with some obstacles in front of them, experience and community recognition. Any other time Shandell Conboy and Duncan McDonald could make a strong, if not winning showing.
In Ward Three the strongest contender should one not wish to vote for either Fallis or Czetwerzuk is Alasoba Kelsy-Braide. She has wasted no time becoming involved in community affairs since she came to Orillia 15 years ago. Her leadership in the Black community is outstanding and it is likely she would be a great servant of Ward Three voters and of the community as a whole.
In Ward Four, should one not be inclined to choose the incumbents, Paula Stewart would be an excellent choice. Maggie Ostler Best would be as well. Stewart has loads of finance and small business experience and Best has a great ability to see things others miss, plus she has been active in the community, but not in the limelight.
As to all the candidates not mentioned, with the homelessness topic appearing to be the elephant in the room and likely to be the focus of the next council’s attention for some time I’m not so sure they have the scope of understanding the root causes and solutions to be effective. This topic will take a lot of time and personal investigation, sympathy and understanding to be able to guide this City through the hopeless maze of taking any kind of action.
Lastly, the mayor’s job. The clear choice is Steve Clarke, he accomplished more in his two terms than any other mayor in the last 40 years and has stated he is focused on the big projects facing the City. His experience leading us through the good times and the horrible with grace and a bottle of glue to assemble a critical mass of support has served us well and will likely do so tomorrow and the day after.
Clarke is great at listening to those who disagree with him, and is not afraid to borrow some of their perspective when it can fit his vision and goals. He is also willing to concede a point or two if the bigger idea can still be put into action effectively.
That is not saying Whitney Smith wouldn’t be a competent mayor. She likely could be. She certainly wouldn’t be a disaster. But a mayor needs to be able to see two or three years, or terms out from today’s decisions and she seems to be more inclined to focus on immediate problems to solve now rather than setting in motion longer-term visions.
If you haven’t already, you can click any of the links below to find out more about candidates in your ward.
Election Day is tomorrow, October 26 and polling stations are open from 10 a..m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Ward 1 at the Gill Street community Complex
Ward 2 at the Orillia Recreation Centre
Ward 3 at the West Orillia sports Complex
Ward 4 Simcoe County Community Hub, 250 West Street North
Mayoral Candidate Steve Clarke
Mayoral Candidate Whitney Smith
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia)
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