BWG candidates face public

Bradford Board of Trade event brings hot topics to forefront
By Jay Gutteridge Bradford Topic Oct 07, 2010
Bradford West Gwillimbury’s mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates presented two sets of views at a candidates meeting Tuesday night.

Incumbent Mayor Doug White and Deputy Mayor Dennis Roughley presented one vision, while their respective challengers, Jim Corneau and Rob Keffer, presented another.
The Bradford Board of Trade hosted the meeting at Bradford West Gwillimbury Memorial Community Centre.
Members of the media asked some of the questions and others were submitted by the audience and read by board of trade director Jamie Reaume.
Bob Evans moderated the meeting.
This is a summary of the candidates’ introductory speeches and their thoughts on some key issues.
Introductions
Jim Corneau: – “The new town council must manage the managers.”
“The viable vision for the future should be the collective vision of the entire community.”
Doug White: – Town should be complete community for residents to live, work and play
Employment lands at Hwy. 400 will be developed, allow more people to work here
Recreation facilities being built: recreation centre, library, soccer dome, plus more coming
Rob Keffer: – Construction on six major streets at once shows lack of common sense
Town should not hire more consultants to study issues like public transit
Dennis Roughley: – Current council set out plan at beginning of term, stuck to it
Need to accelerate Bradford bypass road linking highways 400, 404
Public transit
Corneau: – “We need an affordable, innovative plan.”
Co-ordinate with service providers, like Community and Home Assistance to Seniors, to develop strategy
Examine what other communities are doing
White: – Need to get experts’ opinion, hire consultants who have helped other municipalities
Can’t do anything until key questions answered: Who will use it?, How often?, Where will they go?, What will they pay?, How will taxes be affected?
Keffer: – Experts won’t get public excited
Get public on side with public transit, use input of community, councillors
Roughley: – Get facts before do anything major
See if businesses want to provide some service, similar to bus for seniors run by Upper Canada Mall
400-404 link
White: – Would solve all traffic problems
Have Simcoe County, York Region’s support on issue
Not in provincial plans, so council moved employment lands to Hwy. 400
Corneau: – “We should be lobbying every day of the week for this.”
Next year provincial election year, so get communities together to put pressure on provincial government
Roughley: – Important to keep lobbying province
Province spent money elsewhere: health care, education
Keffer: – Council had clout with province, but used it to move employment lands to Hwy. 400
Council wasted opportunity, could have lobbied for link road instead
Downtown revitalization
Corneau: – Need link road between highways 400, 404 to get rid of truck traffic
Need to repair infrastructure like sidewalks
White: – “We need to dream bigger.”
Need higher density housing, new town hall downtown
Need people living, working, shopping there
Keffer: – Look at what nearby towns doing
Possibly form Business Improvement Area to help with revitalization
Roughley: – Intensify residential, following provincial direction
Council made some improvements, added parking near courthouse
Taxes
Corneau: – New council needs goal of lowering taxes
Go through budgets line by line to eliminate unnecessary items
White: – Key is to increase business tax base, lower burden on residential taxes
Keffer: – Use less consultants
Current council added 11 full-time staff to payroll
Roughley: – Because close to city, higher property assessments than other areas of Simcoe County
Need more businesses to ease burden on residential tax base
Agriculture
White: – Even after new subdivisions complete, new business areas develop, town will still have 80 per cent agricultural zoning
Can have urban jobs plus agriculture
Corneau: – If land going to be developed, keep as agriculture until development starts
Make sure we preserve best farm land
Roughley: – Focus growth on urban areas
Don’t rezone agricultural land
Keffer: – Agricultural areas require less infrastructure, lower taxes 
Waste management
Roughley: – Support efforts to divert waste from landfills
Keffer: – Aim for zero waste
Campaign donationsWhite: – Majority of donations from local Bradford businesses
No donations from major developers, just small, Bradford-based builders
“If anybody thinks a $750 donation from anyone is going to change my mind, it’s a joke.”
Corneau: – Some donations from friends, local businesses
“I’m probably one of the last people developers would be lining up to donate to.”
Closing comments
Keffer: – “It’s the taxpayers who are the boss.”
Roughley: – Many years of experience
Served as town councillor, deputy mayor, county councillor and warden of county
Corneau: – Need to restore efficiency, accountability, transparency, customer service
“We don’t have to destroy our past to build our future.”
White: – Stuck to plan laid out four years ago, will do same for next four years