Voters want to know where the candidates stand on the issues and so does Sudbury.com.
To that end, we’ve created this election special feature: Where Do They Stand? We reached out to the council candidates and invited them to participate.
Each candidate has 250 words or less to stake out their position on each of these issues: the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED); downtown Sudbury and the urban-rural divide in our amalgamated city and; the top three issues facing the ward in which they're running.
We’ll be rolling a new story on a new ward every weekday, as we work our way through all 12 wards, save Ward 2 and Ward 3 where the incumbents (Michael Vagnini and Gerry Montpellier, respectively) have been acclaimed.
From Ward 7, we have answers from all three candidates: incumbent Mike Jakubo, and challengers Frank Mazzuca Jr. and Deborah Swyer-Burke. Although we have photos of both Jakubo and Mazzuca, Ms. Swyer-Burke did not furnish a photo that was usable by Sudbury.com.
The three questions we asked are:
1.Kingsway Entertainment District
People want to know: Do you support the construction of an event centre / casino / hotel complex on The Kingsway east of downtown? Do you support using taxpayer dollars to build a $100-million arena that will be paid off over a generation? Do you support expanded casino gambling? Explain your position.
2. Downtown and the urban-rural divide
The prevailing wisdom is that a healthy downtown equals a healthy city. Great downtowns attract new residents and new businesses (to the community, but not necessarily to the downtown core), and are a measure of a community’s economic health. But in our amalgamated city, municipal spending downtown is unpopular in rural parts of the community, which feel the urban areas receive more spending and more services. Are rural concerns legitimate? Are we doing enough for downtown? What should we do? Explain your position.
3. Ward issues
Thinking about your ward, what do you see as the top three issues facing your area of the city? How do you propose to address those issues?
Mike Jakubo (incumbent)
Kingsway Entertainment District
I support the KED 100 per cent. Ever since election 2014, I have been a proponent of a new event centre in our city. It is a strategic investment that our city is making in itself and will be complimented by even greater levels of investment. I believe that long-term assets like this should be paid for over the life of the asset by the taxpayers who will benefit from it. Further, the financing plan that has been built and approved for the KED, including the initial cost-sharing for site development, is in line with industry standards, has minimized the impact on the tax levy and is thereby very affordable for all of the taxpayers in our city. Expanding the existing casino/slots into a more attractive, accessible and modern casino on the Kingsway will attract increased traffic from visitors to our city. That increased visitor traffic means more money coming into our city, and I am always supportive of that because it means growth in other new and existing businesses, which also means more jobs. The KED development will bring significant private development to our city, is supported by well in excess of 80 per cent of residents of Ward 7, gives our city something more to be proud of and shows that our city has confidence in itself!
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
Greater Sudbury is a community of communities; and it is the diversity of those different communities which makes our city great! All of our city’s downtowns can thrive with varying degrees of the same successful formula. All of our downtowns need to be centres of retail and business complimented by housing options. More people living in our downtowns is one recipe that will be beneficial, but it is not a recipe that city council can overly subsidize, yet the city does continue to offer Community Improvement Plan incentives to all downtowns. There is a definite perception in suburban and rural Greater Sudbury that downtown Sudbury believes they should be first in line for any and all development in our city. The truth is that private property owners in downtown Sudbury and any of our downtowns need to start investing in mixed-use buildings which blend retail on the ground floor and housing options on upper floors in a single development. This would get more people living in our downtowns and more residents yields more customers for retail establishments, would lead to increased pedestrian traffic and would leave a cleaner more desirable area. By building up all of our downtowns, our whole city can win.
Ward issues
A) Infrastructure (Roads, Water Lines, Parks & Rec Facilities)
We need to see a continuation of what has been a heightened level of investment in the renewal of our roads, water system and recreational facilities. We also need to invest in more active transportation options to better connect Ward 7’s communities and to connect Ward 7 to the rest of the city. Such infrastructure is what feeds and connects our homes and facilitates economic development by helping businesses thrive and making our city an amazing place to live, raise a family and age.
B) Affordable Housing
Studies show that affordable and secure housing can serve to reduce demand on a number of other city services. Affordable housing can be established in a number of fashions. It could be a program where low income seniors can have a portion of their property taxes registered to the title of their homes rather than requiring that they be paid up front. It could mean amending the development charge bylaw so that development charges could be reduced for smaller sizes of houses built in well-serviced and connected living areas of our ward. It could also mean new affordable housing developments in well-positioned areas of our ward.
C) Youth Engagement and Retention
Retaining more of our youth after high school and post-secondary will help grow our population and our city. We need to ensure that there are more and more well-paying jobs in more diverse industries. We need to listen to our youth to find out what they want to see from their city and what they value in Greater Sudbury being the place to start their working lives, raise a family and grow. In order to achieve this level of communication and take any specific action possible, I will work on establishing and facilitating a Youth Advsiory Panel to study the topics of interest to our youth and young adults. I will also continue to support existing businesses to grow and new businesses and industries to set up shop in order to allow a greater number of good jobs to be available. I will continue to work with Ward 7’s youth organizations and centres to provide more quality programming and facilities.
Frank Mazzuca Jr.
Kingsway Entertainment District
The decision has already been made. I’m not sure why we’re still talking about KED. If it comes back to the table, my preference would be to take care of taxpayer dollars to the best of my ability.
I do not support the use of taxpayer dollars to build such a complex. I could see fit to spend $25 million on the existing arena downtown. Consider that in Kanata, they are trying to move the arena back downtown. In Toronto, the original Maple Leaf Gardens and now the Air Canada Centre are downtown. Even London renovated its exiting facility. If this decision comes back to the table, I would want to have the downtown considered as the location.
I support expanding the slots in the current location. Only a percentage of the gambling money stayed in Sudbury, the rest going to the province. The $37 million that we’ve receive over the years by having the casino in Chelmsford was received by the city with open arms, but note that the city didn’t want the facility in the first place.
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
Whatever we were to accomplish in downtown Sudbury should be spread over the greater city due to the fact that we have seven downtowns.
Why do people in the core expect residents in the outlying areas to travel into the core for everything? Why can’t residents from the core travel to the rural areas of the city. These outlying areas have unique opportunities to offer, too.
Ward issues
We need to regenerate and maintain services in the rural communities of Ward 7 that comprise the greater city. For example, Capreol’s Ski Hill. Sadly, the city couldn’t find $38,000 to maintain this service for the residents and visitors to Capreol. This and similar concerns need to be reviewed.
The share of city spending on leisure services in places like Capreol needs to be addressed. What passes for a city-funded fitness facility (the Millennium Centre) is a far cry from what is available in Hanmer (Howard Armstrong Complex). Why the massive discrepancy?
The proposal to build an arena with a double ice surface near Howard Armstrong Complex is troubling as there is discussion to close at least one of Capreol’s rinks? This rink is only 12 km away. Why is this even being contemplated? If there is a need for more surfaces, it should not mean that one in Capreol would close to accommodate it.
Deborah Swyer-Burke
Kingsway Entertainment District
I support the construction of an event centre / casino / hotel complex on the Kingsway east of downtown. I believe the project will help boost the economy by bringing more people to the City of Greater Sudbury; this includes the expanded casino gambling. A project of this calibre is bound to create work and businesses in the community. Bringing more taxpayers to the table helps drive our economy forward. This will also help showcase the City of Greater Sudbury to the rest of Ontario, Canada, and potentially the rest of the world. I believe that if the construction of the Kingsway Entertainment District has an economical benefit to the community, the $100-million arena can be funded by taxpayer dollars. However, as a business woman, I would want to see all documents related to the construction project, as I believe transparency to the community on the issue will help alleviate some of the concerns the members of the community have with the project. I want to drive efficiencies of the project forward, and eliminate the inefficiencies.
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
I do believe that a strong downtown, with heavy cultural influences such as Indigenous culture, is the heartbeat of a city. The City of Greater Sudbury is a beautiful, diverse city bursting with arts and culture. I think it’s very importing to support the arts and culture, and we should take advantage of everything the City of Greater Sudbury has to showcase to the world. However, I do think that the spending in the rural areas of CGS has been lacking. The concerns that have been brought forth are legitimate. I see this particularly in my ward, Ward 7, and we are definitely being overlooked. This was one of the reasons I decided to run for councillor. I believe that proper funding of city infrastructure and public services, including the transit, is vital (I participated in the Transit Challenge, and it was quite eye-opening). A large portion of the people that live and work in the City of Greater Sudbury are found in the rural areas. They pay taxes, and should see the benefits of their hard-earned taxes being put to work in their communities. While the downtown might be the heartbeat of the city, the rural areas are its character.
Ward Issues
A) Open for business: bringing more taxpayers to the table can help eventually lower the taxes. Ward 7 has many small businesses, and many opportunities to welcome new businesses. Ward 7 needs to grow as a business centre within the City of Greater Sudbury, and I want to help make that happen. Furthermore, I think it is very important to help the businesses that are already established as they make the community move forward.
B) Youth and aging population: With three large elementary schools, and two relatively close high-schools, there are a lot of children and teenagers in the community. Ward 7 does not have many opportunities for these youth to participate in extra-curricular activities. Most of these activities are found either in the city proper, or in neighbouring wards. Increasing the number of available extra-curricular activities within the ward is one of my priorities. The reverse is also true; with an aging population, we need proper infrastructure and housing to meet those needs so that the aging population that has spent their lives raising children and paying taxes in this ward can stay in the ward.
C) Public Transportation: When I rode the bus as a teenager in Garson, the schedule that was available then is practically the same as it is now. Ward 7 has grown significantly since then, and the public transportation that caters to this community is abysmal. I did the Transit Challenge, and it took me 45 minutes to get downtown, with a bus that was 20 minutes delayed. This is unacceptable; Sunday schedules should be eliminated and run on regular service, and regular service needs to be increased and revamped.
