What an Election!!

This is shaping up to be quite the election  40 candidates have registered for 8 ward seats, 2 regional council seats, and Mayor's chair.  And I find myself in the interesting  position of having met them all.  All are passionate, and believe in Milton, and believe they can make difference.

The general issues I see cropping up are: hospital expansion, growth, and the whole notion of an "new milton, old milton." idea. The hospital expansion comes down to money of course.  Some believe it's about pledging- $60 million over 30 years in order to show the province we're serious.  Others believe in fundraising, and that a tax increase should be the last option.   I've said before in other entries, a good thing to keep in mind is that nothing can be done about the hospital, without provincial consent... something that isn't gauranteed.

Growth I think will always be an issue here.  Town Council has just approved Boyne development, the size of which will see Milton double.  The new council will have to grapple with concerns dealing with building infrastrucutre, and financing it.  Council will also have to deal with the continuing consequences of too much growth too soon, and finish catching the infrastructure up with the rest of subdivisions.

I know the terms of "new milton" and "old milton" are ways of geographically designating the town; ways to describe where we live, and where we work. But are they more? Could they be used to do divide people.  And speaking of "old"- the matter of St. Paul's is still on the front burner.  But it's doing the job getting people talking about what we kind of Milton we want.  What kind of identity do we want? Do we want to keep the gorgeous downtown full of life, and restaurants along Main St? Or do we want to become another Mississauga?

There are a lot of issues for the upcoming council to decide.  But before they make their decisions, we need to do our research, and vote.
 

Follow The Changing Ward Boundaries

Thanks to a ward boundary review, the boundaries in the town of Milton have changed for this upcoming municipal election October 25th.  The boundary review happens every two elections, and in this case three new wards have been added. The other major change, is there will be eight councillors representing eight different wards.  More on the candidates, as we make our way towards election day.

The eight new ward boundaries are as follows:
Ward 1: North  401, South: Lower Base, West: Bell School Line, and east to: ninth line.
Your Current Councillors: Rick Day, and Brian Penman.  At the Regional Level: Barry Lee, who is also the regional councillor for ward 3.
Candidates so far:  Andrew Salmons
Update,27/4/10: Martin Capper

Ward 2: north: #5 Side Road, South: Derry Road, east: Fourth Line, and west: Tremaine Road
Your Current Councillors: At the municipal level: Mike Boughton, and Greg Nelson.  At the regional level your councillor is Colin Best, who also serves as the regional councillor for ward 4.
Candidates so far: Mike Boughton, Greg Nelson, and Jennifer Smith.

Ward 3: north: Highway 7, south: Derry Road, east: Tremaine Road, west: Milborough Town Line. 
Current Councillors: Cindy Lunau and Jan Mowbray.
Nobody has declared so far for ward #3. 

Ward #4: north: Steeles Ave, south: CP railway, east: fourth line, west: Ontario St
Current Councillors: Wendy Schau, and Paul Scherer.  Wendy Schau isn't running.
Candidates so far: Carey de Pass.

Ward #5: north: CP railway, south: Derry Rd, east: Fourth Line, west: Ontario St.
This is the first of four new wards, there are no councillors at the moment
Candidates so far: Arnold Huffman, and Mike Bugala

Ward #6: north: Derry Rd, south: Britainnia road, east: fourth line, west Thompson Rd
The second of four new wards, there are no current councillors
Candidates so far: Mike Cluett

Ward #7: north: Derry Rd, south: Britannia Rd, east: Thompson Rd, west: First Line
The third of four new wards, there are no current councillors.
Candidates so far: Rick Di Lorenzo, Paul Virdo, Marshall Horner and Mahammed Khan

Ward #8: north: Steeles Ave, south: Britannia Rd, east: CP railway, and west: Bell School Line
Candidates so far: Zeeshan Hamid, and Jeffery Belo

The regional councillors have been re-distributed as well.  The one regional seat represents 1,6,7,and 8.  Running for this seat so far is Tony Lambert.  The other regional seat represents: 2,3,4 and 5.  Running for this  so far are Jan Mowbray, and Colin Best.

Candidates for Mayor so far are Gerry Marsh (officially), and Gord Krantz (unofficially).

To see a full ward map please visit: Milton's New Ward Boundaries

To see a list of individuals who have formally declared their candidacy please see: Candidate List.  Check back often, as this is sujbect to change depending on new candidates.