Ward 11 candidates applaud each other, debate transit in rural areas
With no incumbent to target in the Ward 11 municipal election race, and four candidates from the Glanbrook area who seem to genuinely like each other, the tone of a TV debate was captured by a less-than-hardball question hurled by candidate Nick Lauwers.
I've seen a negative tone at city hall that turns people off in politics, and so I was hoping that maybe each of us could talk about points that we appreciate in the other candidates," said Lauwers during the open forum" segment of the Sept. 21 Cable 14-Spectator debate.
I want to thank Nick for paying for my Coke when we had dinner a couple of weeks back, that was nice of you," replied Mark Tadeson, adding: I see good people in front of me and I think Ward 11 will be well-suited with any one of us."
I feel any of us would make good representatives because we care about the issues and listen to constituents," said Terri Moffett.
But public transit - a pressing issue for a ward that includes rural Binbrook and Mount Hope - did generate disagreement.
Nick Pellegrino said he's heard from Binbrook residents who say introducing transit there is long overdue." He said cars are double-parked due to traffic congestion and it will soon be a problem for snow plows. He added that families say they would like their kids to be able to take a bus to the mall.
Moffett countered that transit would inevitably hike taxes for ward residents, with the elimination of area rating" - a Hamilton policy that distributes the burden of municipal taxes based on service levels in different parts of the city.
Just because people have cars parked on the street doesn't mean they are going to sell them all," said Moffett.
Pellegrino said that while he doesn't want to touch" area rating, the policy will inevitably be scrapped by the urban ward voting majority on city council.
Tadeson said he would resist transit, arguing the case for a resident who lives on the outskirts of the ward, south of the airport.
I don't want people in rural areas who don't have access to busing to have to pay for it," he said. We don't want that for someone on Leeming Road in Mount Hope ... The big thing is, maybe we rejig area rating to be a rural versus urban (split)."
Jon Wells is a feature writer at The Spectator. jwells@thespec.com
Who was there
Present Nick Lauwers, Terri Moffett, Nick Pellegrino, Mark Tadeson
Absent None