Waterloo Region Council Election Discussion

[tomh009]

And Karen Redman is not the only one running.

There's lots of potential vote splitting.

On the flip side, there is no guarantee that Aissa will get his 23.68% this time. He got all the anti-LRT votes last time; this time, the LRT is a done deal and he will have to use other issues to convince voters (and get the vote out).

But if you don't want to see Aissa elected, this is your opportunity to support another candidate, whether by volunteering, donating, or convincing other voters. I certainly plan to do so.

[ijmorlan]

And Karen Redman is not the only one running.

There's lots of potential vote splitting.

On the flip side, there is no guarantee that Aissa will get his 23.68% this time. He got all the anti-LRT votes last time; this time, the LRT is a done deal and he will have to use other issues to convince voters (and get the vote out).

But if you don't want to see Aissa elected, this is your opportunity to support another candidate, whether by volunteering, donating, or convincing other voters. I certainly plan to do so.

There is something to what you are saying. I’m also happy to hear the statistic from somebody else that Karen Redman’s Kitchener-only votes in the last election exceeded Aissa’s Region-wide votes. However, when it comes to issues, keep in mind that Aissa, like Doug Ford, is a Trumpist (in the general sense, not in the more specific sense of supporting the current president of the USA). He isn’t selling any particular platform, as such; he’s selling “those bad people are ruining your life and I will fix it”, even though he very clearly has no ability to fix anything, no desire to actually do so, and no sense of honesty to keep his ideas moored to reality. So he definitely will use the LRT as an example, and his target audience won’t care that it is a done deal at this point.

I should add on that not all politicians with whom I disagree are Trumpists. When I make this accusation I’m making a fairly specific accusation, and it is to the shame of the Ontario PC party here and the Republican Party in the USA that they didn’t stop their respective Trumpists much earlier. I want to actually have to think about whether I should consider voting for my local PC candidate, and to be able to have respect for the choice of those who did so.

[danbrotherston]

And Karen Redman is not the only one running.

There's lots of potential vote splitting.

On the flip side, there is no guarantee that Aissa will get his 23.68% this time. He got all the anti-LRT votes last time; this time, the LRT is a done deal and he will have to use other issues to convince voters (and get the vote out).

But if you don't want to see Aissa elected, this is your opportunity to support another candidate, whether by volunteering, donating, or convincing other voters. I certainly plan to do so.

Yes, but because we don't have a ranked ballot, and because most of the other candidates seem fairly similar, if I pick the wrong candidate to back, my advocacy could in fact increase the chances of Aissa winning.

[Viewfromthe42]

There is a strong anti-LRT motivated base: those opposed to phase 2. Many in South Kitchener and plenty in Cambridge, especially those in Preston and Galt, are angry and scared. And they far-more-legitimately believe that it can be stopped. It would be foolish to underestimate this.

[Rainrider22]

There is a strong anti-LRT motivated base: those opposed to phase 2. Many in South Kitchener and plenty in Cambridge, especially those in Preston and Galt, are angry and scared. And they far-more-legitimately believe that it can be stopped. It would be foolish to underestimate this.

Accept that they have to actually go out and vote...

From The Record for 2014 voter turnout

"Across the seven municipalities, an average of 32 per cent of residents cast ballots, roughly the same turnout in 2010.
Turnout in Waterloo was down five per cent from 2010, to 36 per cent from 41 per cent, while it was up slightly in Kitchener, from 28 per cent in 2010 to 30 per cent on Monday.
In Cambridge, where the city held advance online and telephone voting for the first time, voter turnout was only one per cent above 2010."

[danbrotherston]

I want to gather information on the regional candidates. 

So far, all Jay has is a Facebook page with a few pictures. The most troubling of which is attached.

This attitude of hate of politicians is disturbingly pervasive, and in my opinion, undeserved at a city or even a regional level.

As Viewfromthe42 says, it's not to be underestimated.  Just because they didn't come out last time, doesn't mean they won't be here this time.

Edited for clarity.

[Viewfromthe42]

If ever there were a Regional Chair Doug Ford would love to support to say "look, elected chairs are great in some places, just not the ones my opponents were running for", Aissa would be his dream, letting him can another LRT to boot.

[trainspotter139]

If ever there were a Regional Chair Doug Ford would love to support to say "look, elected chairs are great in some places, just not the ones my opponents were running for", Aissa would be his dream, letting him can another LRT to boot.

Except our LRT is already built and is being tested. We have more than 50% of the vehicles here and 3 of them started getting their signalling equipment installed here and another 2 are getting it installed in Kingston. It's too far to scrap without paying out liquidated damages to the Project Co. Further to that the Region could also be subject to a much larger amount of punitive damages for breech of contract. Imagine the RIM Park scandal but on a larger scale more akin to the Gas Plant Scandal. Let's not forget: as long as Jay Aissa has his business on Northfield, he can't so much as suggest anything about the LRT, including Phase 2 due to his conflict of interest.

[danbrotherston]

I don't think he has a conflict of interest with Phase 2?

Phase 2 can easily be cancelled still.

As for Phase 1 there is plenty that could be done to sabotage it.

[jgsz]

If ever there were a Regional Chair Doug Ford would love to support to say "look, elected chairs are great in some places, just not the ones my opponents were running for", Aissa would be his dream, letting him can another LRT to boot.

Except our LRT is already built and is being tested. We have more than 50% of the vehicles here and 3 of them started getting their signalling equipment installed here and another 2 are getting it installed in Kingston. It's too far to scrap without paying out liquidated damages to the Project Co. Further to that the Region could also be subject to a much larger amount of punitive damages for breech of contract. Imagine the RIM Park scandal but on a larger scale more akin to the Gas Plant Scandal. Let's not forget: as long as Jay Aissa has his business on Northfield, he can't so much as suggest anything about the LRT, including Phase 2 due to his conflict of interest.

I thought that as a candidate he can say anything he wants.  Only if he is elected would conflict of interest become an issue.

[danbrotherston]

Except our LRT is already built and is being tested. We have more than 50% of the vehicles here and 3 of them started getting their signalling equipment installed here and another 2 are getting it installed in Kingston. It's too far to scrap without paying out liquidated damages to the Project Co. Further to that the Region could also be subject to a much larger amount of punitive damages for breech of contract. Imagine the RIM Park scandal but on a larger scale more akin to the Gas Plant Scandal. Let's not forget: as long as Jay Aissa has his business on Northfield, he can't so much as suggest anything about the LRT, including Phase 2 due to his conflict of interest.

I thought that as a candidate he can say anything he wants.  Only if he is elected would conflict of interest become an issue.

Lol, you're right about that.

I guess we're giving voters the benefit of the doubt in understanding that a conflict of interest may prevent him from doing things.

[panamaniac]

I thought that as a candidate he can say anything he wants.  Only if he is elected would conflict of interest become an issue.

Lol, you're right about that.

I guess we're giving voters the benefit of the doubt in understanding that a conflict of interest may prevent him from doing things.

Is it a given that having an interest near Phase I would necessarily translate into a conflict of interest issue wrt Phase II?  I know they must try to avoid even the appearance of conflict, but that seems a stretch to me.  In the case of Aissa, if he opposes Phase II, how does that translate into a conflict?

[ijmorlan]

Lol, you're right about that.

I guess we're giving voters the benefit of the doubt in understanding that a conflict of interest may prevent him from doing things.

Is it a given that having an interest near Phase I would necessarily translate into a conflict of interest issue wrt Phase II?  I know they must try to avoid even the appearance of conflict, but that seems a stretch to me.  In the case of Aissa, if he opposes Phase II, how does that translate into a conflict?

Not an expert here, but I don’t think he has a conflict re: Phase 2. It’s so remote from any interest of his of which I am aware that I can’t see it as an issue, and I certainly would not encourage people to speak against him on that basis. Everybody should be treated fairly, even if they are the kind of person I wouldn’t expect to recuse themselves when they actually should.

In Phase 1 I recall some councillors initially recused themselves on very remote grounds — they had family who owned houses “near” the route, where I believe “near” meant within several blocks. Eventually, goes my recollection, they returned to the debate after receiving advice that their interest was sufficiently remote that it didn’t matter. It’s not like voting on the LRT and transit terminal while owning the Sixo site or something like that.

[ijmorlan]

The chairman only has one vote on Regional council. He has to persuade others on council to follow his lead if he wants to accomplish anything.

In actual fact, election of Aissa to Chair would probably result in a very ineffective and unhappy Chair, and not much else different. The rest of Council would do the actual work and he would rail against perceived enemies for four years. With any luck the rest of Council would work hard to get a ranked ballot in place for the next election and he would be booted decisively.

I think being Premier, or especially President is much more fun for a demagogue. It needs to be an inherently prestigious and powerful position. The Chair is important, and a good one like Seiling can use it to lead the Council to important achievements, but I don’t think it really lends itself to the sort of grandstanding we’ve seen elsewhere.

[Viewfromthe42]

If the Chair said we shouldn't do LRT, I expect Dougie would listen to the Chair, favouring strong-mayor councils as he does.