Being AWARE

SIMCOE COUNTY ELECTIONS
By Amy Lazar Novae Res Urbis August 18 2010
A non-partisan citizen group has assembled in Simcoe
County and is making the rounds rustling up residents in
the run up to the 2010 election.
Stemming from the citizen activism around the North
Simcoe Landfill, or Site 41 as it is widely known, some of
the residents involved in fighting the controversial project
have organized to take on a new cause.
“For too long we’ve had a top-down system. We want to
turn it around and move it the other way where there is
more citizen input, more accountability, more transparency
and hopefully get candidates in there that will do some
careful thinking,” Don Morgan, interim chair of Action
Watch Affecting Residents Everywhere (AWARE) told
NRU.
Morgan, who is a resident of the Town of Midland
and ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Midland in
the 1980s, was involved in the recent landfill fight and
believes municipal candidates across Simcoe County need
to prove they will work for environmental protection, as
well as accountability and transparency in government.
In a recent press release by AWARE Simcoe, the group
calls for a “return to the prudent fiscal management that
once was a hallmark of local government in Simcoe
County” and warns that the county’s recently-approved
strategic plan outlines declining revenues and rising debt
over the next five years.
As an organization led by about 20 volunteer directors,
AWARE has held community meetings in the towns of
Bradford West Gwillimbury, Penetanguishene and
Collingwood, as well as the townships of Severn and
Essa. On average, between 50 and 100 residents attend,
Morgan said.
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday in the Town
of Innisfil, where land use planning and environmental
issues have ruled the public agenda recently. Morgan
expects a full house.
At the meetings, AWARE Simcoe directors gather information
about key issues in specific municipalities that can be
formulated into questions for candidates. As well, the directors
help residents organize themselves to form local
AWARE chapters and get behind promising candidates.
“All we want to do through AWARE is clear the air a bit,
let people know what their rights are and educate people
about elections and encourage people to come out and
participate in the process,” Morgan said.
The average voter turnout across Ontario municipalities
during the 2006 municipal election was 38.6 per cent,
according to survey results published by The Association
of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of
Ontario following the election.
In Simcoe, voters go to the polls to elect local mayors and
councillors. Mayors and deputy mayors of the 16 member
municipalities make up Simcoe County council.