Below is the full text from my speech to attendees of my Fundraiser at the Pottageville Pavilion on September 16th. I invite you to read, as a “one stop shop”:
- Who I am
- Why I want to represent you on Council
- What I possess that I think qualifies me, and
- How I will work with the incoming Council to go about it.
The King Weekly published an article on my address and I welcome you to see it here.
HELLO EVERYONE AND THANK YOU FOR COMING!
I’m truly honoured by Geoff Simpson and Nancy Bodi’s kind words about their experiences with me.
They are colleagues and I’m proud to say, friends. I asked them if they would say a few words to you tonight because although I can tell you a lot about me and why I am passionate about this place we call King, there’s a lot you can learn from what others say, and possibly more, than I ever could.
Geoff and Nancy have certainly been very positive influences in directing my constructive passions. So thank you – Geoff and Nancy. Two truly great people whos names you will read and hear, and positively, for a long time to come.
And once again — Good Evening!
My name is Greg Locke and, quite simply, I want to be YOUR Councillor for Ward 4 in King Township.
WHY?!
Because the next 10 years are critical in my belief to how King will look, feel, and function.
Because we are at a tipping point, and perhaps somewhere past it, for maintaining the best of what we love about King.
The last 10 years has seen Municipal governance become a very complex practice and I believe it will continue to do so in the next.
I won’t hide the fact that I’m not pleased with how my opponent has performed in office these past two Councils. He is a good man, I like him very much, as do a lot of Ward 4 residents. I’m often told what a “nice guy” he is – and I agree.
But I believe strongly that we get the leadership we DESERVE,
And that leadership …. is what we VOTE FOR.
We need to raise the bar and bring a different skill set to this important public role, to bring the tipping point well back.
And I have the Passion, Skills, Vision, and as I’ll describe shortly, an Approach, that together make me a better advocate and negotiator for YOU on Council.
Tracy and I moved here 5 years ago. We love King and especially, Schomberg.
We fell in love with our house the first time we saw it, and the community that embraced us here reinforced all the good reasons why we sought a cleaner, kinder, thoughtful, not to mention this heritage, nature and artistic-supportive community.
Living here is truly a dream come true for us both, and we’re delighted with the friends we have made, the organizations we have devoted our time to, and the passion and spirit for this place we share with all of you.
I’m passionate about our unique and distinctive communities and lifestyle, and I see both opportunities, and challenges, in maintaining and enhancing these, in the coming years.
As we know the GTA is growing significantly, and we face pressures, to follow suit.
At the same time, King is facing unprecedented, financial pressures.
I’m CONCERNED for King because:
- We need committed, qualified, and unified leadership to address these weaknesses, minimize threats to our communities and lifestyle, and maximize our inherent strengths.
- We lack diversify in our tax base, job growth in our communities, and needed resources for our seniors and children.
But I truly HOPE for King, because with Positive Leadership we can realize opportunities to increase our quality of life, in sustainable, environmentally, and fiscally responsible ways.
What do I MEAN by Positive Leadership?
It’s three things that form my approach to working with Council:
- Represent a POSITIVE, strong, informed voice for YOU, in Ward 4.
- Contribute POSITIVELY, to the unity, quality, and commitment of Council,
in other words, CONSENSUS BUILDING and,
- Promote a POSITIVE vision for Ward 4 AND King, that balances responsible economic growth with preservation and sustainable management of King’s Natural, Heritage and Artistic assets.
This is the kind of leadership we need, right NOW – positive, and active.
I want to apply my passion for this community, with the tools, experience and leadership I can bring to this role, to better ourselves in this decade to come.
Let me tell you a bit about myself:
- I’m a university educated local glass artist and business owner with over 20 years of business and community experience.
- I studied Economics at York University and graduated with my B.A. in 1986, which whet my appetite for studying business at a Master’s level at what is now the Schulich School of Business at York. After graduating with my MBA in ’89 I’ve never looked back.
- I’ve worked in various marketing, new product and business development capacities with companies including Ontario Hydro, AT&T Canada, Siemens Canada and Bell Canada.
- And as I describe in some detail on my web blog, I have a history and dedication to volunteerism, starting as a teen as my family was quite involved in volunteer efforts in my childhood community of Scarborough.
And today, I’m very active in the King volunteer community, as Geoff and Nancy both spoke to.
I STRONGLY believe that arts, heritage and nature form the cornerstones of healthy, vibrant communities — I have an interest in their support and growth.
This is my VISION for Ward 4 and King Township. And this is where my approach to working with your Council meets with the issues that have driven my desire to represent you.
I don’t want to talk about the “issues” in much depth here, for there is so much discussion of them in our press and – if you want read about them, I discuss them extensively on my blog (and I encourage you to do so!). Other candidates across King, to various degrees, are doing the same.
Because most importantly, we need to TALK about the challenges facing King and to a significant degree, we’re NOT.
We’re largely not voting, we’re not reading, we’re not debating or discussing. And we need to change this.
My blog is an attempt to do so – it’s aimed at communities across King, not just Ward 4. And I’m pleasantly surprised that some have noticed: I’ve been written about in two publications for utilizing social media to get my messages out to our diverse constituencies.
The issues we debate today are symptoms of the larger issues facing our approach to them.
Two and three years from now, we’ll be debating a different set of issues, and I can only give you confidence in my ability to manage them by speaking to my Positive Leadership approach, and with reference to some key current issues that we all have a stake in.
Here are my brief thoughts on three of them:
On the Peaker Plant:
I am fundamentally opposed to it – and I’m dismayed by the Province’s usurping of its statutory authority to force it upon us.
But most of all, I am saddened by this prime example of Council’s lack of “ART – istic” appreciation.
That is, Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency, in how our Council majority narrowly but predictably defeated Cleve Mortelitti’s original motion in April 2008 to declare King an unwilling host.
King was the ONLY municipality to do so – all others passed motions of strong opposition.
I believe that Council’s predictable majority’s actions to deny, protect, counter, or negotiate a solution with the Province, and unsuccessfully I might add, stem back to that original flaw:
NOT being positively united, NOT being positive advocates, and NOT promoting a vision for King, A.K.A. – Positive Leadership.
King lost something important in how Council handled this decision.
And by the way – little attention has been given to the high pressure natural gas pipeline approved by the OMB earlier this year – that will be dug from Pottageville to the plant site, across Lloydtown road, through Kettleby, and north-east to the plant site. [read more on this issue here]
Work must commence before December 31st according to the OMB decision. There are dangers to such a facility so close to residences and schools.
I will work to minimize these risks and also, inconveniences during construction. But the damage has been done.
On King’s Impending Debt Level Increase and the Nobleton Sewers:
I won’t go into the complexities of this issue but please speak to me later if this is new to you.
We are in this situation because King has lacked a meaningful vision, and for some time. We backed ourselves into this crisis because of a lack of – you guessed it – Positive Leadership.
Nobleton needed sewers 15 years ago and I can only think this was too hot a potato – previous Councils passed it on … and on … to the point now where the hook-up cost to many households is now out of their means.
Sewers for Nobleton, for the most part, was and is a good idea. But the lack of vision and effective leadership for King has put us up against this debt wall that if approved by the OMB will severely restrict, if not completely, our ability to exploit opportunities to invest in infrastructure as they arise, or to deal with emergencies or disasters.
On the New Schomberg Arena:
I’ve written a lot about this issue, and the impending sale of the old arena.
First, the arena is a done deal – as anyone can see driving up Hwy 27 at Doctor Kay Drive can attest.
I’ll work to ensure its timely completion and for receipt of the stimulus funds.
BUT:
- Council’s majority, my opponent included, put together a very unrealistic funding formula to commit to the Township’s $4.7M portion of the cost. [see more on this issue HERE and HERE]
- I’m highly skeptical of the realism of this formula, and I fear as taxpayers we’ll be obliged to pick up any cost overruns or funding shortfalls.
With the sponsorship and naming deal with Trisan Construction that Council committed to on Monday, we are already $450,000 further in the hole. More is yet to come.
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I’ve just given you my opinion on what I know are 3 important “hot button” current issues facing King.
There are more that will change the face of King (or not) in the coming decade.
As the first non-incumbent to register for the election, I published a full 6-point campaign platform last April, and I’d like to take you through it’s salient points.
6 POINT ELECTION PLATFORM:
1) Stimulating Economic Development — This involves diversifying our tax base away from our 95% residential tax base and attracting targeted industries to King and especially, Ward 4.
Did you know this Ward has the highest amount of zoned, undeveloped industrial land in the Township?
Natural market forces are and will bring marginal industries to these lands.
Let’s use our relationship with our upper tier governments to identify and bring high-wage sustainable jobs.
Telecommunications. Software Development. Digital Media and Entertainment.
These are just examples based on my experience. All in a campus-like environment and a small-town setting that knowledge workers will line up for. Stratford is doing it. We can do it.
2) Preserving our Natural, Heritage and Artistic Assets – You know I am committed to all three of these areas.
One of the best long-terms ways I can think of to protect these most valuable cornerstones of our communities is by STIMULATING TOURISM.
And the timing couldn’t be better: Ontario’s Tourism Ministry is about to complete a most significant realignment of its structure and resources, placing King within one of 6 new major tourism zones, ours reaching from Durham to the east to Hills of the Headwater to the West.
Each zone is a functional marketing and cost centre.
By aligning ourselves effectively with this new structure, we can greatly leverage our ability to preserve our assets by making increasing their inherent demand and economic value.
3) Managing Responsible Growth – My original motivation in running for Council.
The Places to Grow Act is bringing some intensification to the 3 villages in the coming years and we can’t stop it.
The Morraine Act is coming up for review in 2015 and we risk it being merged into the Green Belt legislation.
Residential growth is coming – But … we can shape it. Look, quality, feel – we can make new development integrate effectively but it’s an active process.
I learned through my Community involvement and OMB participation with the Laurier development at Hwys 9 and 27 just how weak our planning tools are, AND how important it is that we have a unified (read: consensus-building) Council to guide planning and development.
I intend to work with Council to remedy both.
The Schomberg plan is currently up for renewal and I plan to spend quite a bit of time and effort improving it as a key planning tool, as well as investigating the use of Community Improvement Plans for our villages.
4) Enforcing Bylaws – We have some limited yet painful examples of lax bylaw enforcement in the Township, and if you live in Pottageville or Schomberg you likely know what I’m talking about.
Two are in this local area and I want to ensure you all I will work with Council, our Bylaw department and the landowners to remedy them.
Our village gateways speak volumes to our values and are our calling card to the world. They deserve better.
5) Controlling our Debt Load – I need not go into further detail here on the facts before us.
If I had a crystal ball I would tell you I see the OMB approving our debt increase request (though I am no fortune teller).
If this is the case, we’ll in essence have a very large mortgage to pay down, guaranteed in part by the Nobleton homeowners who have opted for the Township to extend then credit.
In this likely scenario I will work with Council to produce realistic, effective budgets that significantly address our need for proper fiscal management.
King is facing an accumulated $80 million road and infrastructure repair backlog and we need to figure out how to address it without uploading our major arteries to the Region.
6) A Seniors Plan for King:
a) Recreation, Health & Fitness. We need local support for seniors within our communities.
This includes a broad menu of services, and places to congregate and socialize.
I should add, I had thought we’ll increasingly need a centralized Township multi-use facility that will support more focused Seniors’ needs.
Apparently I’m wrong! Comments on my blog regarding this topic are overwhelmingly in favour of local-provided services.
So I learned something here, and can only thank the community for pointing me in the right direction.
b) Planning Tools. These must reflect the changing age demographic of our communities, to amongst other things, support more assisted and senior housing, and services to support them.
Tracy and I plan on staying here the rest of our lives, so we’d like to have the right facilities and services here to meet or needs, and at the right time.
3) Transportation. Getting around becomes more and more of an issue as we age.
To access services and to remain integrated within our existing communities, we need the selective ability to transit, and for critical services to come to us.
I hear you that seniors need to get to Newmarket for health appointments. But I also hear you that there are scarce local health and other senior-focused resources to begin with. These are complex issues.
I will work with Council and Staff to plan for your increasing influence in our decision making.
A VISION FOR KING
I want to conclude my speech with you here tonight with really what all this adds up to, and something I see as lacking in King: VISION.
Without it we are effectively chasing our tails instead of planning for the place we want to live and work in 10, 20 and 30 years from now.
My VISION for King: A sustainable, responsibly planned and diversified community that fosters growth of, and respect for, our HERITAGE, NATURE and THE ARTS.
Ward 4 and King require a proactive, adaptive and modern approach to realize the opportunities available to us in the coming years.
To do so, we need a VISION, and a plan to implement it that includes, you got it: Positive Leadership.
To achieve it, we need to cease what I call our “reactive” culture on Council:
We REACT to a power plant proposal; we REACT to developer applications; we REACT to budget pressures (typically by spending more, or by uploading responsibilities to the Region).
Most important, however, is our need for transparency and full disclosure of Township finances.
We cannot produce a realistic Vision if we do not have the facts. We need more A.R.T. on Council!
I told you earlier that the next decade is critical to how King will look and feel and function.
We MUST:
- Maximize coming opportunities for our communities,
- And leverage our significant strengths.
I’ll work hard with Council and staff to:
- Coordinate the Township’s plans and activities so that we work proactively, in unison, with a longer-term focus.
- With transparency – disclosure of relevant facts and data – as standard operating procedure.
We’ll then RESPOND more and REACT less —
NOW … please tell me …isn’t that better?
Thank you for our time and Please VOTE FOR GREG LOCKE October 25th.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Hello Greg:
You have been listening to Margaret Black and company too long. You are wrong. Nobleton sewers were “needed” only by the developers and the business community and by very very few streets.
I have been involved from the very beginning and have watched as the Environmental Assessment was done and all the errors that it made. I have an Honours Chemistry degree from U. of Toronto and it was obvious to me that the real reason for sewers for Nobleton was developers and the Nobleton Chamber of Commerce.
The OMB member Steven Stefanko was not convinced from the written submissions and requested that the Township attend an OMB hearing on Sept. 21 to answer questions on the necessity or expediency of the project and the burden of taxation on the taxpayer. He asked the Director of Engineering Rob Flindall if he had personal knowledge of the necessity of the project. Rob tried to pass this question off as well the environmental assessment … and the member would have none of that. He wanted to know his personal knowledge and Rob had to admit that he personally could not testify to the necessity of the project!
The Township did not even supply the OMB with the EA for the Nobleton sewer project. The OMB member asked if the Township had supplied it. They admitted no, they had not.
Here’s what I wrote on the Topic of the Need for the Project.
E. The Need for the Project
1. The Class EA process involved taking e-coli samples and doing a door-to-door survey.
2. The e-coli samples were taken in stagnant water where bacteria would flourish in warm conditions. Even though in some places the e-coli counts were large, these could easily be accounted for by all the large number of cats and dogs that live in Nobleton, along with all the other wildlife that are in our area (raccoons, skunks, rabbits, etc.).
3. The door-to-door survey, as previously mentioned in my original submission, was anecdotal. It was also just a brief sample (about 200) of the over 1000 homes in Nobleton.
4. The e-coli counts were scientific, but there was no further testing done to assess whether the e-coli counts were caused from septics or from the flourishing animal life. There was no testing of anyone’s septic.
5. York Region used to be in charge of ensuring that people’s septics were fine. King Township took over that role. Some people have replaced their tile field and now their septic works just fine.
6. In the spring there are occasionally some odours, but that is part of nature. Sewage treatment plants smell more in the spring too, but that does not mean that the plant is not working. If Township staff smelled something, they are able, by law, to investigate and compel the homeowner to fix the problem.
7. A working septic is a fine way to treat sewage, is not a hazard to wells and is approved by the Ministry of Environment as an acceptable way to treat sewage.
8. The Township sent out a flyer dated Spring 2010 (Tab 7, end of text on p.1 and top of p.2) which made the incorrect and deliberately misleading statement:
“Septic systems are a priority risk that needs to be addressed by municipalities.”
9. As already mentioned, in Part B of our response, York Region did not have Nobleton listed in its 10 year capital forecast and in fact did not intend to build a sewage treatment plant for Nobleton until 2012-2025.
10. The need is not present, except for the developers, the commercial areas, and the schools. Most of these areas have already been done in the “Constructed Works”. The few remaining areas could be easily linked through the developer’s lands.
To be really well informed on this topic, you really should read what I wrote in my original letter of objection which I sent in the beginning of July and what I sent in later response. The above ten points are just one part of the response. The OMB then told the Township to respond to our objections by Aug. 16 and gave us a chance to respond to the Township’s reply by Aug. 27. Then the OMB asked for a hearing to ask the Township more questions.
The OMB member thanked me personally for my responses and all my attachments. The OMB has reserved its decision.
If you would like to read my submissions, I could email them to you.
I am very disappointed that you would make the blatantly incorrect statement that sewers were needed in Nobleton 15 years ago.
Nancy
Hi, Nancy,
This is a very complicated topic. And yes, I did make an opinion on this in my fundraiser speech. I certainly can’t attest to being any sort of expert here either – and I won’t try to be.
What I do think makes sense to me, is that IF sewers were ever to be seriously considered for Nobleton, then the ‘real’ cost (in an economic sense) to the Township and to ratepayers was drastically smaller 15, even 10 years ago in my opinion.
The easy way out for previous Councils was to ignore it and leave the decision to future ones. Previous Councils should have either categorically rejected any consideration of sewers OR gone ahead full-steam. Lack of consensus and good leadership got us to where we are today in my opinion.
And here we are. A significant part of the infrastructure has been installed – right or wrong – and how do we move forward? I tend to like Jim Streb’s relative compromise where anyone wanting to hook-up to the existing infrastructure can, at their option; but that any additions to the current trunks be mothballed until our financial future is more clear.
Will I hang my hat on this? I’d be foolish to – for I know I need more background on the whole issue, and with your help it appears I will!
I’m not into forcing square pegs into round holes, OK?
I hope this makes you feel a bit better about my stand. We can certainly keep this dialogue going.
Thank You for commenting here. I hope it’s not the last time Nancy.
Greg