Cornwall ON – Elaine MacDonald is seeking re-election as councillor for the city of Cornwall. First elected in 2006, MacDonald’s experience on council has been very positive. She feels the council worked as a very effective team, advancing the interests of the citizens of Cornwall in a spirit of collegiality and respect and she resolves to continue in that tradition.
Serving on council involves a steep learning curve; one lesson learned early on was that the best ideas can’t make it from motions to bylaws without support around the table. If re-elected, MacDonald is committed to working with other elected officials to best serve all the diverse sectors of the city.
MacDonald feels economic development is the key to Cornwall’s growth, and that council’s role in economic development is to support the work of the committee directly, work to see the Cornwall regional airport developed and, at the same time, to enhance our public infrastructure and safeguard public access to the amenities of the city.
The 2006-2010 council accomplished a lot, but MacDonald recognizes that Cornwall is still very much a city in transition. With massive infrastructure projects underway, Cornwall is undergoing a physical renewal that reflects the city’s resilience and recovery from industrial losses of the recent past.
However, MacDonald feels the next council will have to be vigilant to protect, support and strengthen the public services and progressive initiatives that make our community a good place to live and work and raise a family. For example, the environment has been a special concern to this council; the next council will have to build on that going forward.
MacDonald has served on Cornwall & Area Housing Corporation, the Raisin Region Conservation Authority, the 2010 Budget Steering Committee, and was a founding member of the Social Planning Council, the Parking Committee, the Cornwall Carbon Reduction Initiative and the Municipal Environmental Advisory Committee. In the broader community, MacDonald serves as president of the Cornwall & District Labour Council, co-chair of the Cornwall Chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition and fundraiser for Child Haven International.
Since her election in 2006, MacDonald has gained an appreciation for the values of the community. In this respect, she recalls that the single issue that drew the most calls to her was possible changes to the way the city manages its curbside waste. She looks forward to the much anticipated report on waste optimization and wants to be part of the council that will, in implementing its recommendations, take the city to the next level in its progress toward sustainability.
She asks the people of Cornwall to give her the opportunity by re-electing her on October 25.
