Regional Council Election Discussion

[YKF]

^ It would be awesome to see that picture of the Woodstock Jay Fencing building on the front page of The Record!

[Spokes]

Or it will be the "official" home office but the bulk of the operations will still be out of Waterloo.

Wouldn't that still be a conflict of interest given that his business has space on the LRT line?

[mpd618]

I have no doubt that Ken Seiling will win.  It will be interesting to see by what margin this time.

Given the amount of money and the kinds of dirty politics being played by Aissa, you should have some doubt about the outcome of this race.

On a related note, and while we're speculating on the actions of others, does the fact that a significant portion of the Regional Councillors are retiring speak at all to how they felt they might fare at the ballot box now that their stance on the LRT is clear? On one hand, retirement leaves the room for fresh politicians and removes some of the "career politician" stigma.  On the other, it seems slightly cowardly to leave before the chickens (good or bad), come home to roost.

Let's see. Of the councillors and mayors retiring, we have Carl Zehr (in favour), Brenda Halloran (opposed), Les Armstrong (in favour), Ross Kelterborn (in favour), Rob Deutschmann (conflict of interest), Claudette Millar (opposed), Jim Wideman (in favour), Jean Haalboom (opposed to the final contract), and Jane Brewer (in favour, though her medical state gives her the clearest rationale for stepping down).

Of the 11 councillors who supported the final LRT plan, six seven are running for re-election (7 8 if you include Jane Brewer's initial plans). Of the four councillors who were opposed, only one is running for re-election (Doug Craig). I don't see that there's an LRT conclusion to be drawn here.

[mboos]

Les Armstrong isn't retiring - he's running again.

[DHLawrence]

Or it will be the "official" home office but the bulk of the operations will still be out of Waterloo.

Wouldn't that still be a conflict of interest given that his business has space on the LRT line?

Does he have any relatives he can transfer it to?

Should one of us be contacting The Record to let them know of this development? Does anyone on staff follow WRC?

[ookpik]

This just in: Waterloo Region chair candidate Aissa selling property to avoid LRT conflict

Regional chair candidate Jay Aissa says he is selling his business property at 29 Northfield Dr. so he won't have a conflict of interest on light rail transit...

Aissa said he will purchase a new property in Waterloo Region, despite rumours he will move the business to Woodstock.

Jay Fencing has property throughout Ontario and takes jobs as far away as the Manitoba border, he said.

"We'll stay with the region, I do believe in the region," Aissa said.

[Spokes]

I think that answers the question do any Record Staff read WRC.

[Viewfromthe42]

Municipal elections tend towards <30% voting, anywhere from 20-40%. Longstanding incumbents like Seiling see the least interest, whereas rabblerousing gets the most interest. By just convincing 10 of the 70 per cent who don't vote to get out, Aissa could easily win. This is by no means a decided election, and only by talking about it in person with your friends, family, and volunteering with candidates can you ensure that you aren't stuck with a bad government for four years, and a bad region from here on out.

[mpd618]

I think that answers the question do any Record Staff read WRC.

They might, but they definitely read Twitter, and the same discussion was happening there as well.

[panamaniac]

Even if Aissa were to be elected, the Record has made the point that the votes are not there to cancel the LRT.  D'Amato has a column in today's Record that repeats the message that only 6 of the 53 candidate for regional or mayoral office oppose LRT and goes on to highlight so of a number of social and other issues facing the Region that should be the focus of this campaign.

http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/4...-election/

[Spokes]

I think he's banking on the fact that a lot of voters are uneducated to the fact that he alone as Regional Chair can't cancel this project.

[neonjoe]

Maybe he thinks he can pull a Rob Ford and unilaterally cancel Transit City.
He actually seems to be the Rob Ford of Candidates focusing on what he can stop rather than what he can do to improve the region.

[Spokes]

That's a good point. What are his other ideas for the Region? hah

[ookpik]

Maybe he thinks he can pull a Rob Ford and unilaterally cancel Transit City.
He actually seems to be the Rob Ford of Candidates focusing on what he can stop rather than what he can do to improve the region.

That's my concern. Whether he can kill the LRT seems moot. But he can certainly stir up a lot unproductive controversy about the LRT and other issues that impede or even paralyze the work of council.

In effect, Ford Lite. "Just as disruptive but far less entertaining."

[mpd618]

Rob Ford has lots of bad ideas. I've yet to see any ideas from Jay Aissa.