What happens if i win…

During the next four years you will see:

A focus on supporting our businesses in Town Ward.

When our businesses thrive, everything around them does too. The goal shouldn't be to just survive. In any business, when times get tough, sponsorships and charitable donations are the first things to go. When local businesses are healthy and giving back to social programs, the burden comes off the taxpayer.

I will work with our local businesses, not against them.

Every time I turn around, I hear about another situation where council and the City have made it harder for business owners to operate, and less appealing for anyone thinking of opening downtown. Parking problems, parade issues, rising levies, garbage, inconsistent beautification: there's a real disconnect between the City, the DBIA, and the businesses themselves. I will work to bring all of these groups into alignment so we're pulling in the same direction. Our businesses are the heart and soul of this town, and without them, downtown won't survive.

Understanding What Is and Isn't Working

Peterborough allocates one of the largest shares of its budget to social programs of any municipality in the country. I want to take a hard look at what's delivering results and what isn't. Where programs are producing strong outcomes, we keep them. Where we aren't seeing progress, it's time to try something different.

Improving Safety, and How Downtown Feels

We need to improve both the reality and the perception of safety in Town Ward. As our police have pointed out, downtown doesn't have the highest reported crime rate in the city, and that's true. But many business owners deal with four or five interactions a day with people in a mental health crisis. For regular downtown visitors, that may have become normal. For people who don't live here or rarely come downtown, it shapes how they see the whole city.

That can't be our standard. This isn't purely a police matter, but I would put strong support behind expanding the joint police and mental health worker teams. When someone is in crisis downtown, we can't simply wait for it to pass. We need to step in and help get them to the care they need.

Keeping the Petes in Peterborough

There's a very real chance the Petes could be gone within the next 6 to 12 months. With our Town Ward councillors wavering on the downtown Multi-Use Sports and Entertainment Complex (MUSEC), the OHL may decide Peterborough is a city it can't work with. Other locations are already being considered, and if the team leaves, we will likely never see a franchise like the Petes here again. And with a mayoral candidate threatening to block the MUSEC, the Petes won't be the only ones looking to leave.

The MUSEC is not simply debt, as the incumbents keep describing it. It's an investment that will generate significant tax revenue for the City. If we don't commit to it, losing the Petes could be the catalyst that starts a serious decline in our downtown core. I've seen the proposed plans, and the public-private partnership model keeps the City's risk low while offering real upside.

Procurement Reform

Peterborough should lead the way on municipal procurement. We currently follow standard practices, but we need to look at how to keep more taxpayer dollars in our own community. When a local company that employs local people wins a major contract, that money keeps circulating here. When a general contractor from Mississauga does the job and leaves, the dollars leave with them. Economic impact should be part of how we evaluate bids.

Density in the Core

We need more people living downtown. Current councillors are talking about 1,500 affordable units that are "shovel ready." They aren't. As president of the local construction association, with six years in land development in Peterborough, I have a clear picture of what's being built in this city. The units they're likely referring to are planned north of the core, near Trent. That's not a bad thing, but a councillor representing downtown should be focused on getting units built downtown.

Density drives revenue for our businesses. A single employer like the Ministry of Natural Resources can make or break a café's month depending on how many staff are away. Imagine what would be possible with more people actually living in the core.

Other Issues You've Raised With Me

ALTO High Frequency Rail

If it's coming, we can't stop it. So we need to make sure Peterborough gets a stop on the line, with the infrastructure in place to get people from the station to downtown quickly.

Support of the Arts

I'm a drummer, painter, woodworker, and all-around lover of the arts. I will support arts initiatives because I've seen what they can do for a downtown. Detroit's revival was sparked in part by subsidizing artists to move into the area, and it worked.

Social programs.

I support social programs that work. I have a family member currently being supported by a local program, and that organization has done incredible work keeping life stable for them and their kids. Together they built a plan, they're working that plan, and my family member hopes to transition out of the service soon. That's what success looks like.

But the reality is, we've been funding many programs that aren't producing results. Trinity Church is one example. The incumbents will tell you about the good work happening there, and I believe the people involved are genuinely trying, but they need help. Nearby businesses and residents deal with theft and garbage daily, and there's no real safety and security plan for the program or the facility. It needs full reform and a new location better suited to the people it serves and the neighbourhood around it.