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My Agenda
These are the four areas where I can make realistic commitments to take action on behalf of the people of Ward 4.
afe Streets
Ward 4 isn’t getting the community policing that it needs and deserves. This a concern to households from one end of the ward to the other. Towards the south, the Dundas Street corridor struggles against an active sex and drug trade. At the north end, the Kipps Lane area is burdened by youth gangs as well as by the drug trade. Neighbourhoods in between live with the threat of spillover.
The London Police Service says it is committed to community policing, but what’s the reality?
- This is one of the things it says will have to go if City Council doesn’t give it all the money it asks for.
- Only 12 of nearly 600 London police officers walk a beat, and 10 of them are in the downtown core. There are only two for the stretch of Dundas Street in the Old East Village and none at all in the Kipps Lane area. Does this show a real commitment on the part of the London Police Service for effective models of community policing?
Is it any surprise that many people in Ward 4 don’t feel as safe as they should? That the drug dealers work in the open on Dundas Street? That thugs run wild in the Kipps Lane area?
I say that 10 per cent of the force – about 60 officers – must be committed to community policing. Some might be in a “flying squad” that moves from area to area to deal with short-term surges in crime. Most, however, should be on the streets day and night, giving the troublemakers something to worry about and offering instant response when they’re needed.
As a bonus, I’m sure that the officers themselves would welcome the chance to make a real difference for real people – like themselves when they’re out of uniform – in real neighbourhoods – like the ones where they raise their own families.
My commitment is to be a tireless advocate for this kind of policing in London, to be at the table whenever the police service comes looking for cash, and to hold them to account.
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Does anyone not care about rising taxes? City services cost money, of course, but the taxpayer isn’t an ATM and must not be treated as one.
How are our tax dollars being spent? Can we do more with less? What are the core City services that can’t be starved of tax dollars? Are there other services that could be turned over to other agencies or funded, at least in part, by user fees? Are good spending decisions being made? Is everyone paying a fair share?
This is the kind of question I’ll be asking councillors and City staff. I’ll treat every single tax dollar as a scarce resource.
My commitment is to fight any tax increase that doesn’t improve our quality of life, doesn’t create jobs or doesn’t make London more competitive.
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It’s time that East London in general, Ward 4, in particular, stopped being treated like poor relations by City Hall. It’s time that Ward 4’s fair share of the tax dollar started coming back in services and investments that other parts of town take for granted.
As a leader in my own Old East Village neighbourhood, I’ve learned a lot about the needless roadblocks to the City and private investment that can take Ward 4 into the future.
It's also shown me what a lot can be done with persistence, creativity, and the know-how gained from years of experience working in and for a neighbourhood. On my watch, the Village has seen the City put money into redeveloping Queen’s Park and the Boyle Memorial Community Centre. We’re close to having Lorne Avenue Public School designated a next-generation community hub, with programs and services offered side by side with classrooms. We’ve attracted Toronto development money for a twin-tower, 600 unit apartment complex now under construction. We’ve managed to get downtown development incentives extended to our stretch of Dundas Street.
Even still, no neighbourhood should have to work as hard as we have to get what we have. As Ward 4’s voice at City Hall,
My commitment is to insist on a fair share of City services and resources for Ward 4 and all of East London.
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Too many politicians are everywhere during election campaigns and can’t be found anywhere between times. That’s not my style. As a community leader in the Old East Village I have always been easy to find – in fact, weather permitting, I do a lot of my work on my front porch, in plain sight from the street – and I won’t change as a member of City Council.
I’ll continue to be tireless in ‘constituency work,’ stick-handling problems through the maze of regulations and offices at City Hall. The good working relations I’ve built with City staff in all department will serve Ward 4 well.
More than that, I will have regular office hours, in my ward, where people can come to let me know their concerns and get information; I will keep my website up as a useful source of information; and I will hold an open ‘town hall’ meeting at least once a year.
My commitment is to stay in touch with the people of Ward 4, with regular office hours, an open ‘town hall’ every year, and a website.
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