Cornwall ON – Mark A MacDonald launched his campaign office earlier this week. Over 100 people munched on burgers and dogs; listened to music, and the city councilor’s message as his campaign went into action on Montreal Road.
Mr. MacDonald from his office.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDxyGsDjt1U
Councilor MacDonald is supported by past mayors Brian Lynch and Phil Poirier, with many rumbling that his grass roots street out rage Howard Beale performance resonates with those disenfranchised with the political process.
Councilor MacDonald hops on a truck and speaks to the crowd.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYSaGE4RllQ
In what many see as a two horse race it should be interesting to see how the public responds and we’ll be having our mayoralty debate on Seawayradio.com for those that want to listen to all of the candidates spar.
The election takes place October 25. Please visit the city of Cornwall Election page for more information on how and where to vote.
For more on Mr. Macdonald and his campaign please visit his website.
Mark
Big words, honest accusations and open promises.
You seem to have neglected to explain how you intend to accomplish your tasks. All I heard was “get elected” Hype speech for the ignorant is about all that was.
Show some direction some form of target a goal if you will. Something other then “make a difference” and “get elected”. Reduce taxes is always a big seller in an economically devastated area, but how will you find funding for infrastructure without taxes?
What are you going to do for the elderly and youth at a municipal lever? To improve their way of life you need money. But you cannot accomplish that with reducing or holding down taxes.
I hope you can deliver, but remember what happened to Phil and Ron when they wanted to break or right the system. They spent all their time fighting against council itself and had little or no support.
This is the perfect way for MacDonald to bow out of local politics gracefully. He’ll scare Kilger a little but won’t gather enough votes to displace him.
I agree withh Smee? Mac Donald is all talk. This is Kilgers’ dream come true. MacDonald will lose the election, and Kilger will lose his biggest pain in the butt.
smee, have a look at this.
BTW, I consider myself well read, not ignorant. Would you prefer a politician like Dalton to feed you lie’s and a holiday in February, or a politician like Harper who runs attack ads on those who challenge him, instead of a platform, or a person like Mark who will honour what he say’s he will do.
The council we have now are happy to turn Cornwall into a bedroom community. We can do better.
Let’s try and keep our knowledgeable young adults in Cornwall. They are our future.
As your Mayor, I will work for . . .
* Good jobs in the new green economy
* Social renewal and poverty reduction
* Greater help for our seniors to live in dignity
* Environmental initiatives for a healthier community
* Planned development of the waterfront
* Greater support of the arts, community festivals, heritage preservation, and the Cornwall Public
Library
* Fiscal responsibility and good, affordable programs and services
* An open and accountable city administration
* Long-term planning with leadership, vision, new thinking, and good judegment
Willie
I have no doubt you are well read, however I do question your comparison to McGuinty and Harper This is municipal politics and not run the same what so ever. That being said, Mark has already begun his smear campaign by accusing Kilger of rubber stamping.
Is Mark any different? What ever happened to the tax dollars he and Rivette were going to get from the generating station? He blows a big horn and there is not much honour in that.
He says he is going to attract new jobs. I only wish we could have better jobs in the area. Ask yourself what kind of jobs will come to a mill town with a high populous of people never graduating high school? Do you think a town filled primarily with former unionized people is an attraction as well? Will these people work at the rates companies proved or will they go back to a closed shop and price themselves out of a job?
Take a look at the global market, most work is now in India – done faster and cheaper. The municipal level cannot right this wrong, especially a small town with 46,000 people.
Social renewal and poverty reduction, greater help for our seniors to live in dignity is also a great idea. But how do you achieve this without tax dollars and where will he find the tax dollars?
Environmental initiatives for a healthier community – what the hell does that mean? Buzz words and nothing more I can assure you of that. Someone wrote words on paper and Mark regurgitated them.
Planned development of the waterfront that has been done for years I have seen plans for the development but the infamous old boys club seems to stop all that. I would love to see TetraTech given the opportunity to clean all that up. They are now doing some work in Thunder Bay and have accomplished some great changes. Just take a look at the new condo development – all Kaneb land, old money? Then we have the people who want access but never use it and people who want change but not pay for it. A small example is the dog park. We want one but will not pay for use.
Greater support of the arts, community festivals, heritage preservation, and the Cornwall Public
Library how do you accomplish this without tax dollars?
Fiscal responsibility and good, affordable programs and services every politician promises these fiscal responsibilities. The affordable programs need industry (see above comment on industry) and yep more tax dollars. Taxes and fiscal responsibility are best not used in the same sentence.
Long-term planning with leadership, vision, new thinking, and good judgment, hmm a 5 year plan would be nice to see. That idea did not pan out so well for Phil though. New thinking – I doubt that. Mark hasn’t had a new idea since I have seen him on council. Well maybe to his friends and neighbors but nothing carried out in council.
As a lost observation, did you notice where Mark made this speech? French Harlem or in sweeter terms Chuck Charlebois Renaissance district. First public visit is the most and longest running poor area of Cornwall. This goes right back to my first post as to who Mark is targeting for support without providing answers
Smee: I agree with the majority of your post…except the last part. So what if he is targeting the “poor area of Cornwall”..these people have all the same rights to representation as the rich folks…it might actually be nice to have a mayor catering to lower income voters…that being said, he was opening his new campaign office which is located in “French Harlem”, so the location makes total sense, to the un-ignorant.
smee said “Then we have the people who want access but never use it and people who want change but not pay for it. A small example is the dog park. We want one but will not pay for use.”
I say again smee, why should I be on the hook for a 35 million dollar 4plex arena? I don’t play hockey, I have no interest in ever playing hockey.. the hockey buff’s in this town managed to raise what, about a million towards this arena? thats just a fraction they are paying to enjoy their games… the taxpayer, like you and I, and everyone else, are on the foot for the rest of this arena just so one special interest group can enjoy their activities… so again, whats so bad about a dog park that costs pennies by comparison? I really don’t see your logic on that one..
And otherwise it will be hard for Mark to take Kilger down, that being said, I was looking at Kilger’s campaign promises, one being Growth, what growth? We’re still at and have been at 46000 population for over 20 years now.. there is no growth.. only for certain individuals is there any growth in this town.. for the masses, they’re still sitting in holes while that few profit off the rest of them, and thats just not right..
Sometimes spending on infrastructure makes a lot of sense, for example a satellite fire station in the North end of town could be the difference in saving lives and property (certainly makes more sense to spend the public purse on that versus city council giving themselves a raise or upgrading council chambers). Now in regards to infrastructure like a public dog park – these are cases where I would want to see public committees formed to help raise 50% of the money for the estimated cost of these projects. Not everyone is a dog owner, but if dog owners could help raise half the initial cost, I think it would be reasonable for city council to support the other half of the bill. Fundraisers for various projects is one way to reduce hitting the public with more taxes, but the most effective way is growth.
In regards to growth, there are at least two things I would like to really focus on. First is positioning Cornwall with our waterfront and affordable real estate as an excellent place for baby boomers to retire between now and 2030. The more retirees we can draw to Cornwall, the more of a boom this will be to the service sector, but also to private health care services – there is a lot of potential job growth in this sector. The best way to position ourselves as a retirement community is through effective marketing strategies. Second de-centralizing government jobs including getting a University into Cornwall. I think a strong argument could be made to higher levels of government, that it would be a lot more cost effective to run a Univeristy here in Cornwall than to continue expanding in large cities like Toronto and Ottawa where downtown real estate cost are through the roof. A University would be a boom to local businesses, generate new service sector jobs, be a huge boost to landlords, and would attract industries that do not traditionally come to Cornwall. A University will also attract people who would participate and organize more cultural events and sports events. A University or becoming a retirement mecca, this takes researching, planning, networking, investment, and a lot of hard work, but if we want to position Cornwall to be in a better place and have a more diverse economy in the 21st Century, we are going to need the vision and hard work to get there. An increase in jobs in various sectors of the economy will create more wealth, increase our population, and reduce poverty levels in the long term.
We can.
destructo,
I agree everyone has pretty much the same rights, but do not use the poor as a stepping stone. Why lie to them because they are less fortunate and provide false hope? He cannot accomplish what he wants without tax dollars
Grimalot
The arena is a good idea. You will benefit from the revenue gained by its use. I would hope it is built properly such that it can host large events bringing in people from abroad. That will help local businesses as well as tourism .
The dog park will need maintenance money. Yes it may be pennies to build but thousand to maintain. There is no revenue gained from this kind of facility either.
Kilger is no leader. hH is kind of like a figure head on the front of the old ships. On a ship it was a depiction of the ships namesake, Kileer is the same and he stands well for an economically underdeveloped city.
Jason
Which retirees will be able to afford the waterfront?
Currently a home is relatively cheap however the taxes are more than most comparable cities. Once we begin to attract the retirees I am assuming the housing costs will be reduced. Ave you ever looked at the patterns associated with retirement communities. You also attract all sorts of low income housing as well as less community oriented individuals and communities.
A university is a great idea and much needed, however we seem to be having difficulty maintaining a college in the city. Currently we graduate people with diplomas in fields they will never have a position in. The city would need a huge industrial growth to support the university, but I did not mention of that in your post. University is no better take a look at the teaching profession, producing them with no chance of employment.
I am not sure how you come to the idea it would be cheaper here either. I highly doubt you would get a prof for a much cheaper rate then you would in Ottawa.
It is great to get ideas and look at them from all angles. A university is a good idea, however what programs could we offer that are different. Maybe some of those thoughts would be better then for private business or the college. With the Scottish heritage in Eastern Ontario I would love to see bagpipe lessons, which is more college level but would it help tourism or the participants to find employment…..
This is the time to get political hopfulls working for us, not us just listening to the same platitudes and empty words.
OK Smee, please justify your claim “The dog park will need maintenance money. Yes it may be pennies to build but thousand to maintain. There is no revenue gained from this kind of facility either.” and compare it to outdoor hockey rinks, splash pads, swimming pools, or any other non rvenue generating venue the residents of this city are granted access to free of charge.
thanks in advance
Who do you think will maintain the park? Where will that money come from? You are aware that grass does not cut itself for one thing. You do not have free access either the park will come out of your tax dollars.
The new arena if built properly can host tournaments which ARE revenue earning events.
smee: the new arena cannot show a profit or city council cannot raise our taxes. Thats a no-no.
Secondly, on the dog park issue and who will pay for maintenance, it should be paid out of the dog licence fees that are forced upon the citizens of our area by the city, with a top-up by the city if required.
Stan
You are just ranting on the arena monies. The samoe logic can be applied to your licensing fees for the dog park.
As for the fees for licensing fees, you are right but in order to do that we would need something like a responsible council or atleast one with a minimal amount of intelligence. That being said if they do use the licensing fees I hope you do not expect a park much bigger then your back yard.
The only real arena benefits I see will be to the area of Brookdale.. Perhaps for Ramada Inn which from what I understand, had a heavy hand in wanting the 4plex built near them, I wonder why?? Yes, some places will benefit, but you can be sure that anywhere past Cumberland, won’t really benefit at all from any of the expenses for this arena that is forced upon us and we have to pay for.. As well, we already have Arena’s.. should we close all those down smee? Such as the Civic Complex for one?
Regardless of which, again, I don’t play hockey, never intend to, so why should I pay anything for it? because of a small special interest group that was only able to raise about 1 million for this new arena, they are getting 34 million shelled out for them.. and again, hockey is not a low income sport, so it won’t be many of the residents here in Cornwall that will benefit from it’s use, but rather external residents and also nearby (within a couple blocks) businesses.. But, low income residents can definitely benefit from the use of a FREE off-leash dog park, their health will benefit as well as the health of their animals.. and I agree with Stan, the fee’s should come out of the licenses that people pay out of their wazoo’s to own their dogs as it is..
MacDonald has given us information on what he will work for as Mayor of Cornwall. Smee, have you asked him to explain how he will work for this yourself? For the last month and a half he has been out meeting with the residents and business owners in Cornwall. Listening to them about what they would like from the next city council, their thoughts, ideas and views. If he hasn’t been able to make it out to your place stop in or call the office and speak with him. The office is at 355 Montreal Road in Le Village where he is a board member on the Le Village BIA and down the street from his home.
Candidates want to get as many votes as possible in order to win. They will knock on doors, shake hands, make speeches, put up signs and send out flyers. Voters want the best candidate for the job but often will make no more of an effort to find out who this is then to gossip, read newspaper articles and review the flyer that gives and overview of the candidate.
We can’t expect the candidate to give us all the information with out asking them any questions. It’s like a job interview and we are hiring a new city council. The candidates have given us their resumes and now we sit down for a face to face interview. When the debates come along well that would kind of be like the interview in front of a panel.
I look forward to meeting all of you at the debates on October 6th.
There are many ways to generate city funds. I took a couple of minutes and came up with examples from cities all over North America. Sponsorhip of memorial benches, trees and gardens, advertising on buses and transit shelters, renting out city hall for events, to implementing composting programs that reduce the amount of space needed for landfill sites and create material that is then used in city gardens or sold for use in home gardens.
This took 2 minutes. I wonder what we could come up with if we had 11 people take some time and research which ways might be best for the city of Cornwall?
@Smee: Please read ENTIRE post before responding. Please compare the maintenance costs of a free dog park to other free amenities already offered by the City to its’ residents: splash pads, swimming pools, outdoor ice rinks, library, etc.
PS…the suggested locations for the dog park are on sites already maintained by City staff, areas which they already mow and pick up trash.
thanks in advance (I hope)….
Destructo.
I do not need to read the whole post. Most posts are all the same regarding issues such as these not fully thought through.
A typical dog park offers a 4′ to 6′ fence; separate, double-gated entry and exit points; adequate drainage; benches for humans; shade for hot days; parking close to the site; water; tools to pick up and dispose of animal waste in covered trash cans; and regular maintenance and cleaning of the grounds. Dog parks may also feature wheel-chair access, a pond for swimming; and a separate enclosure for small dogs. This may also be a rezoning issue
Now do you think all of this will be free?
Also how many times do you thing the lawnmower man will step off of his tractor into a pile of dung before it becomes a council issue. Then you have lawn care, I have dogs and have for years. Female dogs tend to burn the grass, how do you think a lawn will look in a couple of years if there is no maintenance. I mean if it is all free
The only benefit to a dog park is to by law enforcement for whatever benefit they provide. Now they can sit in the shade of tree at the dog park and ticket all owners with animals not registered or vaccinated.
keyene
I truly like the composting idea, I am looking inot that concept combined with waste management. The only draw back to open composting is the amount of VOCs and GHG’s ie:methane gas, that is produced by rotting garbage. But there is a solution, the only issue isfinding people locally with the intelligence to see the long term gain to what I am proposing