Kitchener City Council Election Discussion

[Rainrider22]

Agreed !!!

[Chris]

You do not have to live in the ward where you are running, the only residency requirement is:

"live in Kitchener or are the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of someone who owns or rents there;"

Yes, I realize you don't have to live in the ward you want to represent.  It's just that Howe promotes himself as a neighbourhood kind of guy and for him to represent a ward he doesn't live is smacks of opportunism.

James lost to Sarah Marsh last time out in Ward 10 and Sarah is running again in this year. I find it strange that he would try a different Ward.

[clasher]

You do not have to live in the ward where you are running, the only residency requirement is:

"live in Kitchener or are the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of someone who owns or rents there;"

Yes, I realize you don't have to live in the ward you want to represent.  It's just that Howe promotes himself as a neighbourhood kind of guy and for him to represent a ward he doesn't live is smacks of opportunism.

Or maybe he just wants to give people a choice, not much of a democracy with only one choice on the ballot.

[Pheidippides]

Similar questions by CBC to the Kitchener Mayor candidates.

[creative]

Ward 1 incumbent Scott Davey came to my door today. He currently heads the finance committee. I asked him about sidewalk clearing. He indicated that he has talked to people in London and Guelph and they indicated that sidewalk clearing by the city is not that great. Sidewalks can’t be cleared until the road has been cleared to avoid piles of snow left at crosswalks. He also indicated that implementing sidewalk clearing would add 3% to a household tax bill. That would add over $100 to a current $3500 tax bill not to mention the usual 3-5% usual tax increase. He did vote against the $80,000 feasibility study and will be receiving my vote.

[danbrotherston]

Ward 1 incumbent Scott Davey came to my door today. He currently heads the finance committee. I asked him about sidewalk clearing. He indicated that he has talked to people in London and Guelph and they indicated that sidewalk clearing by the city is not that great. Sidewalks can’t be cleared until the road has been cleared to avoid piles of snow left at crosswalks. He also indicated that implementing sidewalk clearing would add 3% to a household tax bill. That would add over $100 to a current $3500 tax bill not to mention the usual 3-5% usual tax increase. He did vote against the $80,000 feasibility study and will be receiving my vote.

So he voted against the study, which would have told him the things he's claiming above, none of which are remotely supported by any evidence so far.

If I were you, I'd support candidates who care more about evidence and good governance than keeping your taxes low...but that's just my opinion.

Did he happen to mention how much the city pays in lawsuits for slips and falls on sidewalks by any chance? Or how many people might choose to buy a car because they can't get around in the winter? It sure is easy to justify something when you ignore the costs.

[darts]

Ward 1 incumbent Scott Davey came to my door today. He currently heads the finance committee. I asked him about sidewalk clearing. He indicated that he has talked to people in London and Guelph and they indicated that sidewalk clearing by the city is not that great. Sidewalks can’t be cleared until the road has been cleared to avoid piles of snow left at crosswalks. He also indicated that implementing sidewalk clearing would add 3% to a household tax bill. That would add over $100 to a current $3500 tax bill not to mention the usual 3-5% usual tax increase. He did vote against the $80,000 feasibility study and will be receiving my vote.

Great information sounds like other cities regretted their decisions

[danbrotherston]

Ward 1 incumbent Scott Davey came to my door today. He currently heads the finance committee. I asked him about sidewalk clearing. He indicated that he has talked to people in London and Guelph and they indicated that sidewalk clearing by the city is not that great. Sidewalks can’t be cleared until the road has been cleared to avoid piles of snow left at crosswalks. He also indicated that implementing sidewalk clearing would add 3% to a household tax bill. That would add over $100 to a current $3500 tax bill not to mention the usual 3-5% usual tax increase. He did vote against the $80,000 feasibility study and will be receiving my vote.

Great information sounds like other cities regretted their decisions

Have other cities compared their sidewalks with ours?

We have people complain about the plowing of our roads.  Maybe plowing our roads is a mistake.

[darts]

Great information sounds like other cities regretted their decisions

Have other cities compared their sidewalks with ours?

We have people complain about the plowing of our roads.  Maybe plowing our roads is a mistake.

Maybe building sidewalks is a mistake, you make a good case for why they should be removed.

[creative]

Well you are not me! I am able to make my own decisions based on whatever criteria that I seem fitting. Don’t prejudge someone based on limited facts. I never said that I was voting for him because he will keep my taxes low. I’m voting for him based on my research backed by my one on one conversation with him.

[tomh009]

Have other cities compared their sidewalks with ours?

We have people complain about the plowing of our roads.  Maybe plowing our roads is a mistake.

Maybe building sidewalks is a mistake, you make a good case for why they should be removed.

Maybe we should remove both the roads and the sidewalks. That way neither one will need to be plowed, and no one will complain about the lack of snow removal.

[danbrotherston]

Have other cities compared their sidewalks with ours?

We have people complain about the plowing of our roads.  Maybe plowing our roads is a mistake.

Maybe building sidewalks is a mistake, you make a good case for why they should be removed.

I believe you're the one making the case...I'm just extrapolating it.

Speaking of which, tomh009's point is great, your argument still extrapolates to roads.

[Pheidippides]

He indicated that he has talked to people in London and Guelph and they indicated that sidewalk clearing by the city is not that great. 

Well perhaps they can send their crews here to practice then; I promise not to complain.

People complain about every government service no matter how well it is implemented.

It is a biased sample. If something is done well no one complains; you only ever here about the bad experiences.

[danbrotherston]

Well you are not me! I am able to make my own decisions based on whatever criteria that I seem fitting. Don’t prejudge someone based on limited facts. I never said that I was voting for him because he will keep my taxes low. I’m voting for him based on my research backed by my one on one conversation with him.

No, I'm not you, and of course you can make your own decisions based on your own criteria.  But you've chosen to express it here, and it's perfectly reasonable for me to respond to what you said.

On this issue, if someone is against sidewalk plowing because they believe it is a bad idea and that other solutions are better, they should have supported the pilot, as that would have demonstrated they are correct.

Opposing a pilot suggests that they either arrogantly believe they are right and don't need evidence to back up their opinions, or that they fear evidence will prove them wrong, and would rather not be proven wrong.  Either way, it's an anti-evidence based person, not someone I would ever agree with.

While I support sidewalk clearing, I understood and accepted that a pilot would be a great way to show that I am either correct, or incorrect...which is why I supported it.

So when you comment that Davey made specific claims as to the cost and effectiveness of sidewalk clearing that he has no evidence for then voted against gathering such evidence and thus has your support, it's not prejudice, it's simply judging...based on the evidence you've given.  Feel free to give me more to go on.

[darts]

Maybe building sidewalks is a mistake, you make a good case for why they should be removed.

Maybe we should remove both the roads and the sidewalks. That way neither one will need to be plowed, and no one will complain about the lack of snow removal.

I can support that