The London Free Press, Postmedia’s London paper, sent every council and mayoral candidate this fall the same survey: six questions, each capped at roughly 100 words, alongside a short bio and a photo. I’m a third-generation farmer, IT specialist, and software developer who lives and works at 7334 Longwoods Road in Ward 9, and that occupation is exactly why I answered the first question the way I did.
Each question is quoted in full below, exactly as it was asked, followed by my full answer. Each one has its own link, so if there’s one you want to share, it’s easy to do.
All six questions, and my answers
The base salary for councillors elected in October will be boosted to more than $94,000, with a recommendation that council should be treated as a full-time job as a result. Will council be your sole occupation?
No. I’m not giving up the family farm to become a full-time politician, and I’m opposed to pinning council salary to more than what 70% of full-time working Londoners earn. That’s why I drafted the Pay Accountable to City Taxpayers (PACT) bylaw. Making council a career discourages the kind of people this job actually needs: those who understand what it’s like to run a business, meet a payroll, or work a trade, because they’re still doing it. Staff already do the day-to-day work of the City. Council’s job is to set direction and represent the will of their constituents.
What are your top three priorities, if elected?
1) Making sure every single tax dollar extracted from hard-working Londoners is treated with the respect it deserves. 2) Getting traffic flowing efficiently through the city and planning for construction intelligently. 3) Rein in the ever-expanding government tentacles and redirect that energy into the core functions that Londoners really care about.
Which city politician, past or present, do you best identify with?
None, really. That’s the reason I’m running. I’m not here to become part of the status quo. I’m here because we need something different at City Hall.
What is your vision for London?
My ideal London spends every dollar in the budget like it belongs to a taxpayer, because it does. It’s a city where crossing town doesn’t mean fighting red lights and rerouting around construction on every alternate route. Families don’t have to worry about strangers prowling their neighbourhoods for vehicles and yards to loot. City Hall does its core job well, and then it gets out of the way and lets residents prosper, along with the entire city.
What is the biggest challenge facing London right now?
Getting City Hall to listen to what Londoners actually want instead of trying to coerce Londoners into what City Hall thinks we should want.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
I’ve lived on the same Ward 9 property my whole life, as a family farmer and tech professional.
Specific to this election, I’ve actually drafted a bylaw that I intend to introduce if elected. The PACT bylaw is on GitHub for anyone to read, version by version, before they decide whether to support it. I also built a public tracker at ward9.online asking every council and mayoral candidate in London, not just Ward 9, to put their position on PACT on the record.
That is every question, in the order they were asked. If you can help me sharpen my positions, please get in touch!