Details

It is noon on Wednesday 14 September and I’ve arranged to meet Peter Geibel in “Books Café and Things” on Main Street South so he can tell me why he deserves to be elected as councillor for Ward 5.  

Outside, on the other side of the street, I see our slightly stooped Mayor in the company of men in suits. The old bank manager is up to something!

But back to Peter Geibel…

I have a list of questions in my head that I want to put to the candidate. But he is on auto-pilot, hardly pausing for breath, as he races through his life history. I interrupt and try a little course correction. What do you bring to the table that the other candidates don’t?

I discover it is his pragmatism. Indeed on Peter’s website he proudly nails his colours to the mast:

“Contrary to some of the candidates running, I have not been groomed in the political arena, but rather have learned to be a self starter, manager, and consummate pragmatist.  My task has always been to establish common ground between all parties and find amicable resolutions to any eventuality.”

Now he turns to the Clock Tower and explains how his pragmatism will get both sides together, producing a beneficial outcome. He says the Town should offer Forrest the tennis court lands down by the Community Centre for his condo and, in return, get the Clock Tower lands from Forrest.

Ah Ha!

I concede it is a novel idea. No cash would change hands. It would be a straight swap.

And how high would this condo be? Seven storeys?

Peter tells me it could be up to nine. The Town would get some public parking. And the owners of the apartments would get terrific views of Fairy Lake. It is, apparently, a win-win.

But why would the Town want to go down this road?

He tells me there is a big pipe sewer under the tennis courts that is in very poor condition and it will have to be dug up at some point and replaced.

And?

Peter tells me the Town probably has to do a deal with Forrest as he (Forrest) holds all the cards.

It’s David and Goliath, he says.

I ask him who David is. The Town or Bob Forrest?

Peter tells me the Town is split on the Clock Tower. I tell him the Mayor is in favour of Forrest’s development but who else? Peter says Dave Kerwin has shifted his position. I press him further. He doesn’t want to name any more names. Fair enough.

So why is Bob the muscular Goliath who can take on the weedy Town and win?

Peter says Bob would go to the OMB if the Town turned down his Clock Tower application. True. But even if the OMB gave approval Bob would still need an agreement from the Town for his underground car park. The Town has a complete choke-hold on Bob if it refuses to make the land available for Bob’s underground car park.

Hmmmm.

Now I am asking Peter about his team, his platform and his campaign launch.

I hear that people he has spoken to have been won over by him. His platform will be released in a week and his campaign launch will be held here, in Books Café and Things, in a fortnight.

Peter concedes that he was “late out of the gate” (he is just back from Ireland) but he is working hard to pull everything together.

Peter’s platform – like his website – is plainly work in progress.

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Details

The Town has just told me that tonight's meeting of the Newmarket Heritage Advisory Committee has been cancelled.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee is 4 October which clashes with the Ward 5 candidates debate.

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Once again I find myself in the Goulash House on Main Street South listening to a Ward 5 hopeful. The last time I was here, Darryl Wolk was strutting his stuff.

Tonight (Monday 12 September) it is the turn of Tom Pearson, a long time anti-poverty campaigner with a track record that got him the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. The crowd is, alas, on the thin side.  

I see some familiar faces. These are the by-election groupies who turn up for campaign launches and the free entertainment they provide. Tom Pearson doesn’t disappoint.

On the stage is the warm up act – a singer creaking out some ancient Beatles songs.

Now Tom grabs the microphone and delivers his stump speech, without notes. It is a confident performance. Two women sitting at a table in the window bay continue talking. Tom clearly finds this distracting (as do the rest of us) and he pivots towards them yelling:

“Ladies! Please!”

Terrific!

Tom is like a coiled up spring. He is very animated. He tells us about his Mom, his life and his Town.

Tom is probably the archetypal WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). He comes across as authentic – an elusive quality in politicians. If elected, he would not be one of those councillors who ride two horses at the same time. He tells us:

“I am not someone who can be bought or manipulated.”

He clearly believes the Council needs a good shake-up. He claims people are not getting all the facts. He says the council needs someone whose heart is in the Town. Then he takes a swipe at those candidates “who have a relationship with real estate”. Clearly, he doesn’t think this is desirable but, for once, he pulls his punches. Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell us why.  

Tom tells us he has the best interests of the Town at heart. He doesn’t like party politics because politicians – if they want to climb the greasy pole – listen to the Party rather than to residents. The Town, he says, is his top priority. 

Yes. But…

Now I must digress. There is one problem with the absence of parties in municipal elections. It is very difficult for voters to distinguish between so-called “independent” candidates. Voters would have to immerse themselves in the campaign and, even then, they might end up voting for a candidate who promises a raft of spending but turns out to be a fiscal conservative who prefers to keep his/her money in the bank. Candidates who talk of “respect for taxpayers” generally fall into this camp.

Political parties, love them or loathe them, telegraph immediately recognisable signals to the voters. If the candidates are wearing red, blue, orange or green rosettes you know broadly where they are coming from. “Independents” – constantly shape-shifting - are much more difficult to pin down.

We know Regional Councillor John Taylor ran for the Liberals in 2003. Christina Bisanz ran for the Liberals in the Provincial Election in 2011. Jane Twinney ran for the PCs in 2014. Former Councillor Maddie Di Muccio, a rolling eyed conservative if there ever was one, tried for the PC nomination in the provincial elections in 2014 but was blocked by Tim Hudak. Darryl Wolk is a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative. Bob Kwapis was, I believe, on the Executive of the local PC association. If I am wrong he will correct me. The list goes on. Do they leave their political preferences at the door when they enter the Council Chamber? No, of course not.

Sometimes it is difficult to discern where candidates are coming from – so skilled are they in sending out mixed messages to the electorate. But everyone on Council or running has a “political” position – even those who stoutly profess to being “non-political”.

We elect them to make choices on our behalf. That’s politics.

End of digression.

You can read Tom Pearson’s platform here. Personally, I think some of it doesn’t quite gel. But there is no doubt Pearson would be his own man.

If elected, he wouldn’t sit in the Council Chamber looking wise and saying nothing like a few of the present incumbents.

He would tell it as he sees it.

Now I see Tom at the microphone again belting out the Beatles song “HELP!”

It is a cat’s chorus.

I tell him afterwards he cannot sing.

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Details

Brad Rogers from Groundswell - the man with a finger in every planning pie in Newmarket - will be briefing members of the Newmarket Heritage Advisory Committee on the proposed development at King George School in Park Avenue.

The old school lies in the heart of Ward 5 where a by-election is to be held on 17 October 2016.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 13 September 2016 in the Mulock Room at the Town's HQ, 395 Mulock Drive.

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Details

I have been reflecting on Wasim Jarrah’s campaign launch yesterday afternoon upstairs at the Hungry Brew Hops in Main Street South. 

In the spirit of the times I want to be upbeat and positive. After all, Wasim is the candidate who believes in “sensible solutions”.

It was a jolly enough affair and everyone was very nice but there was one missing and rather vital ingredient – a platform. 

As I am listening to his speech I hear Wasim wants to cut red tape. There’s too much bureaucracy. The Town must become more business friendly. He wants respect for taxpayers. He acknowledges the Town is a decent enough place to live with good services but, he says, we can always do better. He is painting a picture with very broad brush strokes and very little in the way of detail.

The words “Clock Tower” do not pass his lips.

I hear no clarion call.

Instead, Wasim tells us:

“I don’t want to set out a platform until I have consulted with people.”

Oh dear!

We are getting the dance of the seven veils when everything will presumably be revealed on Tuesday 4 October 2016. This is the day of the candidates’ debate hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

Drip-feeding solutions

He’s gotta come up with the answers by then. He can’t tell the audience at the Newmarket Theatre he is reserving his position on an issue because he hasn’t consulted on it yet.

To be fair, Wasim must have consulted people on traffic and safety problems because he has produced a leaflet setting out his plan of sensible solutions:

Install passive speed deterrents such as painted stone intersection crossings or soft strips.

Install actual speed warning signs

Install digital speed monitors to alert drivers to their speed

Explore radar cameras and reinvest proceeds back into the ward

Investigate bike lanes on arterial routes.

There is rather too much “exploring and investigating” for my taste. But what, if anything, are we going to do about traffic volumes? Should some streets be bus only or bus and auto only? Or, indeed, pedestrian only? How do we keep huge trucks off residential streets?

Is there a sensible solution to the grid-lock that is threatening to throttle our Town?

When Wasim consults on that one, I would like to hear the answer.

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