I was unable to attend the Open Forum discussion that was put on this evening by Mr. Magwood, but here are my answers to the questions that were being asked; 1. How will you bring tourism to the Belleville area? With current groups such as Bay of Quinte Tourism investing so much valuable time and money into escalating the tourism within this region to a whole new level, would our smartest choice not be to jump on that wagon and assist? Afterall, we are greater in numbers.. A projected $24 Million will be added into our economy through tourism over the next four years through various events such as The World Sledge Hockey Championships, The Can-Am Police Fire Games, Broomball Canada National Championships, and various Swim Canada meets. Local tourism is a vital key to our economy, and essential to the growth of Bellevilles’ name and culture. 2. I would like to know how the candidates feel about the Neighborhood Voice initiative Ive proposed as the first thing theyd be asked to do if I am the mayor... Empathy is a big part of my personal ethics, I feel we cannot judge or relate to someone unless we have been directly in their situations. With that being said, I feel that Mrs. Raycrofts Neighborhood Voice initiative would be a key asset to our new group of council members. Initiating key contacts per voting area would ensure a much smoother process when it comes to contacting members of council. There would be less questions of transparency across council as each member would be delegated a specific group of residents. The only area that I see being a downfall, would be if a member of council has disregard for their polling area, the area as a whole would suffer. All in all, transparency is a big question and either way, it needs to be addressed. 3. Are you prepared to respect the Mayor and other councilors by always speaking and acting in a respectful manner regardless of whether the vote goes your way? Regardless of whether the vote goes in my favor or not, I will continue to strive to ensure the residents of Belleville receive exactly what they are paying their tax dollars for. I will continue to be involved within the community, I will ensure my opinion and the opinion of others’ is heard… in a respectful manner of course. I have been brought up around great ethics... Regard and concern for the feelings and well-being of others’ has always been a strong suite of mine. I have spent the last 25 years without a seat on council without showing signs of disrespect, and I don’t plan to start now. 4. As Councilor going forward, what new strategies and initiatives ideas do you have to engage our Youth, long and short term. Please be specific! With the youth being our future, and also with myself still fitting into this group, I feel there isn’t a better candidate to reach out these individuals. By pushing topics such as volunteerism and increasing the number of recreational activities that are offered, we are finding a happy median within the community between our age generations. Though we continue to grow as a retirement region due to the rising age median in the area, our youth deserve a strong focus and engagement, we can do so by; focusing on local arts and talents, and ensuring venues are geared towards all age groups to establish enjoyment for all. 5. What are your top 3 priorities contained within the Build Belleville Project? In one sentence, why is each important to you? Of all the Build Belleville Projects, my top 3 priorities would be; • City Centre Revitalization – Our Downtown should be of extreme importance to all candidates, after all; a beautiful Belleville will stem from a beautiful core. • Police Services Facility – A safer, crime reduced city could be obtainable by simply having our officers relocated to a modernized facility in a more centralized location! • Herchimer Avenue – I am completely on board for recreational use lanes, but first we need to add sidewalks to ensure a safe connection to the Bay Shore Trail! 6. What is your position on the multiple environmental issues here in Belleville, and who should be responsible for their clean up? I will keep this very plain and simple; Belleville for far too long has had the responsibility of contaminated lands fall into their hands. There has been little to no regard or assistance from the corporations and property owners that are directly responsible for these issues. I am strong standing that our lands are a major boon to our community, and anyone guilty of destroying or contaminating these lands, should be bound by law to their cleanup and restoration. Examples of the areas that I speak of include; the old Morch Marine property, Waterfront by the Pier, and the Bakelite property. We will long be reaping in the worsening conditions unless something is done. 7. What steps will you take to ensure or improve constituents’ access to you and that they have as much information as possible about what you and council are doing? We have to face the obvious facts, times are changing, and new technologies are leading way. I have based a huge portion of my campaign off a strong social media presence. I plan to continue growing my online following and ensuring that we are grasping and taking advantage of new technologies as much as we can. Whether it be used to keep citizens in the loop with upcoming community events, or contacting members of council, we need to keep up. I intend to execute social media in the most beneficial ways… as an alternate source of contact and a means of spreading the word to the public. Transparency is huge and I intend to maintain it in all bearings.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 02:53:52 +0000
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