Mayor - I voted for Sandy Shantz once. She bitterly disappointed (see lots of posts here about her dishonesty regarding CPAC in 2015 as well as her gamesmanship with MECAC and the courts). Patrick Merlihan is not perfect (who is?) but overall I believe he is a far better choice for Mayor.
Ward 1 - Easy! Dr. Dan Holt is by far the most experienced and knowledgeable on many fronts. He is also honest which carries a lot of weight. Furthermore he is keen and has run before and should have been appointed to Council in 2018 (as the next runner-up) rather than Woolwich Council privately conspiring to appoint Julie-Ann Herteis. What a ridiculous game Council played on that occasion. The other three candidates I do not know and while all three may be decent folks I have a small bias against youth and inexperience running this Township.
Ward 2 - Not so easy. Eric Schwindt is keen and has run before. He is an experienced businessman and I've heard nothing bad about him. Fred Redekop is an anomoly for me. He is a longtime pastor (Floradale Mennonite?) and currently a pastor (Bethel Mennonite?). I have heard good things about him over the years. The problem is I believe that his pastoral duties interfere with his councillor duties and besides missing meetings he was very quiet on Council. Too quiet. I'm leaning toward Mr. Schwindt to see what kind of job he can do versus Mr. Redekop. Sorry Fred.
Ward 3- This is easy. Bonnie Bryant was an excellent councillor from 2010-2014. She set aside politics for a while as she had serious family duties front and centre. Also what is easy is who not to vote for and that is Murray Martin. I wouldn't vote for him if he were the only candidate and that is due to his behaviour over the last fifteen years long before his latest snafu regarding rainbow crosswalks. I do not know the other candidates which at the minimum means they likely haven't done anything awful or public and in fact might be very good folks indeed.
Being a township councillor isn't all fame and fortune or fun and games. The job isn't great for most. Best wishes to all who get elected although humility should be considered as the majority of voters really aren't up for the job either as they vote on gender, last name, appearance and rarely on intelligence, honesty and sincere desire to promote the public interest. The joy of so called democracy.
Hi Al, I went looking for a way to contact you! I just watched the short film, Ticking Time Bomb. I wanted to thank you for providing such a poignant picture of the issue. I am also running for Ward 1 along with Dan Holt. A key pillar is increase usable greenspace. More importantly than looks though, is a clean and safe environment. That must start with our water. I teach undergrads in the community and criminal justice program. The program focusses on crime, but also social harms. I am new to the community, so I am largely unaware of some of the big ticket issues. But I can listen and learn and take action. I hope I can also earn your support, because I think I can impact positive change for the community. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteNathan
Well I will say that watching "Toxic Time Bomb" is an excellent way to start the environmental journey. Well done . I will send you a private e-mail in a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about ward 3. Everyone should be casting one of their two votes for Bonnie Bryant. She has shown transparency, accountability, and dedication, which is more than we have seen from ward 3 over the past two terms.
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