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Deputy mayor / councillor ward 2 Clearview

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In Clearview
Oct 9th, 2010
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Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin October8 2010
Alicia Savage is seeking a second term as Deputy Mayor of Clearview Township in the coming election.
Born and raised in Collingwood where her family still resides, Savage returned to the area in 1993 settling in Stayner and assumed a role with her family’s publishing company. During this time she became actively involved in her community through volunteer commitments with the Stayner Chamber of Commerce, The Great Stayner Pumpkin Festival, The Journey of Love and the Clearview Economic Development Committee as well as holding various positions within her church. She is also a member of the Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant Review Team for Simcoe-York.
In addition to current involve-m e nt in municipal politics, Savage brings to table extensive professional background experience including: Administrative Assistant, The Caldwell Partners International, an executive recruiting firm; Special Assistant, Office of the Premier, Queen’s Park; Managing Editor, SCHALSUN Publishing Inc. including The Stayner Sun and The Wasaga Sun.
In her role as Deputy Mayor Savage served as Councillor for the County of Simcoe and hopes to continue to apply her experience and skills in serving Clearview.
“I have been retired since fall 2003 and has the time and energy to commit to this demanding position,” said Savage.
“I have invested four years working with my peers locally and at the County to position Clearview so that we can take advantage of future opportunity. There are a number of initiatives well under way or nearly complete which need to continue and I believe this is a time for stability. Mayor Ferguson and I present a team-approach which has been productive and effective offering strong leadership and a vision for Clearview.”
Through her role as part of Simcoe County Council, Savage says she has developed strong working relationships which have, and will continue to assist the municipality in meeting the challenges of tomorrow and seeking seamless solutions for Clearview residents.
“My number one priority is the Stayner wastewater servicing partnership with Wasaga Beach. This is critical to Clearview’s future. We continue to seek provincial and federal funding as well as working with our development partners and a full financial analysis will be required to determine when and how we begin construction,” said Savage.
“As the urban growth centre for the municipality, Stayner must capitalize on the proposed development and we intend to ensure capacity for commercial and industrial servicing is part of the package.”
Savage also believes it is time to work with downtown Stayner on a revitalization plan to improve the commercial.
“An in-depth policy discussion should take place around Clearview’s approach to economic development. Specifically, this should occur as part of our review of the Development Charges Bylaw so that we can determine whether facilitating new business and business expansion is more important for the short-term than full cost-recovery,” said Savage.
“We have a chance to incent and encourage commercial and some types of industrial investment and I believe we need be active participants.”
Savage is proud to have been part of a Council which she says has positioned Clearview to embrace the future and now is a time for stability.
“Much has been accomplished and more is under way but we have to stay the course. It’s critical that we focus on the things we can do and the issues which are within our control. Our resources are limited and Clearview requires strong leadership for the efficient delivery of services,” she said.
“Having worked as Council’s representative on the Clearview Public Library Board and its various committees, I know how much work has been done to address the critical space issues at the main branch in Stayner. A business plan has been completed in preparation for future funding opportunities and we now need to consider next steps which I hope will include a new facility within the next term.”
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COUNCILLOR — CLEARVIEW WARD 2
Orville Brown Age: ??
Occupation: Farming Previous Political Experience: Councillor for Ward 2 for 13 years
Three key issues that I believe should be addressed by council over the next four years:
1)Windmills, and new technology
2) Development: managing the growth that is expected for Clearview
3) Maintaining the excellent teamwork that we have had over the past term with neighbouring communities, staff, and ratepayers.
A life-long resident of the Duntroon area, I was born on the family farm just east of the village and attended Collingwood high school before joining the General Tire Company in 1957.
I and my wife Mary Lou have lived together on the family farm since 1961.We have three sons, John, Greg, and Kevin.
We know we have tough decisions ahead of us and we must all work together as a whole to help solve them. There are times when unpopular projects are in play. Unfortunately, not everyone will agree, but this is a fact of life. Constituents generally are on your side when all the ins and outs are dealt with. But that said, we do live in a democracy where the majority rules. In these circumstances, I would always exercise my support in a positive way.
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COUNCILLOR -CLEARVIEW WARD 2
John Millar Age: 34
Occupation: Executive director, Tin Roof Global
Previous Political Experience: None
Throughout my professional life, I’ve built partnerships with many departments and levels of government, from Simcoe County to the Ontario Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health Promotion, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. I have been a key contributor to the creation of three community organizations based in Clearview (Elephant Thoughts, Tin Roof Global, and the Duntroon Community Association) all of which are making positive contributions to the local community. I have a Masters degree in Politics, specializing in how citizens work with governments to create good government policy. Through my work in rural development overseas, I have led dozens of projects which require working with local stakeholders to properly implement local development projects.
I am running to strengthen Ward 2’s voice on council, to rein in spending, and to ensure that all tax payers in Ward 2 are represented, not a select few. I have a track record for in-depth community consultations on all sides of the issues in order to find balanced solutions to pressing concerns. Community consultation and rural community development is a big part of what I do for a living. What I know to be standard professional practice is not happening at all in Ward 2 and I’ve been watching it happen (or not happen) for years. Voters and valid stakeholders feel kept out of the loop, not consulted on matters that significantly impact them, or worse: ignored. I firmly believe that Clearview’s solutions rest with its people and if elected I will give Ward 2 a clear voice on Council, from and by its tax payers.
Three key issues which should be addressed by council over the next four years are: 1) Reining in spending of tax-payers’ dollars. Spending in the Clearview 2010 budget is up by 51% over 2009. With over a decade spent in leadership roles at a variety of non-profits, often with 7-figure budgets, I am expert at making every dollar count and I look forward to applying these skills to the use of tax-payers’ dollars. 2) Renewable energy installations, including wind and solar. Renewable energy is desirable and necessary in this day and age. Clearview needs to play a role and be a part of the solution. I recognize that there are some valid criticisms however, and I think that stakeholders need to work together to further study the issue and to find balanced solutions to get renewable energy right in Clearview. 3) The Duntroon Quarry. There are many reasons to be critical of Council on this issue. Citizens have deep concerns over the giving away of a public road, closed door decision-making, the mining company payin Clearview’s bills to fight the NEC, 1000 trucks a day coming and going through the small village of Duntroon, and the large scale blasting of a protected World Biosphere Reserve. The matter is in front of the OMB and if the quarry is approved, Council’s future role must be to negotiate a strong road improvement deal with the mining company which ensures the community of Duntroon receives every means available to make its roads safer for residents.

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