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 9, we have answers from three of four candidates: incumbent Deb McIntosh, and challengers Simon Nickson and Paul Stopciati. Candidate Trinity Hollis did not supply answers.
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?
You can click on each candidate's name to visit their election website on Sudbury.com.
Kingsway Entertainment District
Event Centre: Following a lengthy consultation process, including input from experts in the field, city staff, and local residents, City council has made a decision to locate the arena/event centre in the Kingsway Entertainment District. Our task now is to work together to make it the best arena/event centre we can for the citizens of Greater Sudbury, while ensuring that environmental and transportation concerns that have been raised during the consultation process are addressed effectively. For my voting record on this topic visit debmcintosh.ca
Casino: Personally, I have never been a proponent of hosting a casino in Greater Sudbury, as I do not believe a casino is in the best interest of our local economy. The decision to welcome expanded casino gambling to Greater Sudbury was made in 2012 by a prior city council. That decision led to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) licensing a private company (Gateway Casinos) to operate a casino in Greater Sudbury.
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
A municipality must make many investments into the community. Some investments are made to maintain the current service levels we provide (such as repaving an existing road), some are made to improve our quality of life (new splash pads/skate board parks, etc.) and others are made strategically in an effort to provide a return on our investment. Returns come to the municipality through increased assessment growth – an increase in business and property values that result in more revenue coming to the municipality, so that we can repave more roads and pay for splash pads and skateboard parks without significantly increasing the tax rate to do so.
Investing municipal dollars in any of our downtowns should be done with a view toward getting the best return on our investment regardless of where the downtown is located. It is in the best interest of all of us – whether one lives in the rural, suburban or urban parts of the city – to grow our economy and assessment base so we can continue to pay for the services we need and amenities we want while keeping tax rate increases low.
I will continue to review investment proposals for all areas of our city on a case-by-case basis, and support those proposals that provide the best return on our investment.
Ward issues
Ward 9 encompasses a number of communities in the southeast corner of Greater Sudbury: the areas of Algonquin/4 Corners, Coniston, Wahnapitae, Wanup, Long/Richard/McFarlane (and many other) lakes. Each community has its own personality but they knit together to form an integral part of the greater city.
I believe Ward 9 issues are much the same as those in other wards: road conditions, jobs/economic development, and service levels. However, at any given time residents in different parts of Ward 9 might prioritize those three issues in a different order – the same probably holds true for other areas of the community.
As I have done during the past term of council, if re-elected I would continue to work proactively with the residents and businesses in each area of Ward 9 to address these issues in a fair and equitable manner.
Over the past four years, I’ve been in communication with residents almost every day. Residents of Ward 9 are passionate about their community, but the majority of them also understand that what is good for the City of Greater Sudbury will be good for Ward 9 and vice versa. We may sleep in Ward 9, but many of us work, go to school, shop and drive on the roads in other wards.
Kingsway Entertainment District
I provided input to the Planning Committee over the rezoning application for the Kingsway in January and March 2018 in support of an arena in the downtown location. The planning process in early 2018 however was around rezoning for the Kingsway location and not about alternate locations. The location decision had already been made in June 2017 by council with limited opportunity for formal community consultation. Given the importance of the June 2017 location decision, this would have been an excellent opportunity to include a referendum question for this election to truly capture community input before the location decision was made. Much of the election focus around the KED could have been avoided as the support from the community would have been defined.
The City of Greater Sudbury has chosen to move forward with work around the Kingsway Entertainment District and there is nothing concrete currently on the table that would lead me to propose that this development be stopped. It is not the location that was my preference, but the Kingsway location was the decision of the current council. Let’s move forward with planning for the opportunities that this location provides. Should alternatives come onto the table, my position would be to consider them based on the merits presented at that time. In terms of the associated cost for the event centre/casino/hotel complex, this needs to be managed so that taxpayers are not unduly burdened by associated tax increases and considered in line with the proposed library/art gallery and convention centre plans for the downtown area. The proposed development of a casino is not attractive in my opinion and needs to be considered in the context of a business model that considers impact on the community.
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
I do believe that rural concerns are legitimate and perhaps this needs to be assessed in terms of where city budgets are aligned in a rural/urban context. In a sense, the 12-ward model should provide for some representation of both rural and urban concerns. Ward 9 specifically includes a distinct representation from both rural and urban concerns. The City of Greater Sudbury is spread over a large area with variations in population density and this represents a challenge to ensure that basic infrastructure is supported. The downtown core is an important component of the City of Greater Sudbury, but it must be recognized that smaller community centres also exist. These are typically communities that have their own culture, history, concerns and infrastructure that might not get the same attention as some of the urban areas of Sudbury. Some of the local interests can be represented through Community Action Networks and I have been involved with the South End Community Action Network (CAN) over the last 10 years. CAN’s are an important component of the community and along with other volunteer organizations, help to provide valuable input on local area concerns.
There is always the option of exploring some level of local governance within the City of Greater Sudbury. The City of Montreal went through this exercise following amalgamation of municipalities on the Island of Montreal in 2002. Following a subsequent change in Provincial government, former municipalities were given the option of taking responsibility for the management of certain services and sharing others with the regional City of Montreal. This may be an avenue for some community independence and still enable the City of Greater Sudbury to manage city-wide needs.
Ward issues
The three things that I have heard during this campaign from Ward 9 residents include numerous comments on poor road conditions, emphasis on the development of walking/cycling infrastructure and uncertainty on the tax implications of some of the large projects currently being planned.
In terms of road conditions and the development of walking/cycling infrastructure, the next council should complete a review of some of the road/sidewalk priority rankings to ensure that they are aligned with the needs of specific areas. I know of a local road in my area that was recently repaved with no discussion of plans for a sidewalk, even though it is a busy school corridor that leads directly to two local schools and was the topic of a Civic Petition submitted to the City in 2012. This is unfortunate as this street will likely now not see additional roadwork for some time and children will be left to make their way to school without any sidewalk. On this same topic, community access needs to be provided for in the design of new residential areas, either by incorporating sidewalks, cycle paths or trails as new development is approved.
In terms of the tax implications of some of the large project plans, I have heard concern over the uncertainty of how these projects are to be financed and what tax burden will result in future years. Some of these costs are included in 2017 and 2018 budget documents that are on-line, but a complete summary of the large project financial plan is not very clear at this point. Some of the feedback that I have received also points to the lack of clarity on what some of the large projects encompass.
Kingsway Entertainment District
Sudbury deserves an event centre, casino, and hotel that will bring new dollars into our city. Financially it is very simple: If we own it, we pay for it; if it’s shared usage, it’s shared paying; if it’s privately owned, it’s private funds.
Downtown and the urban-rural divide
Sudbury’s downtown that services all outlying areas. If our city is going to prosper and be attractive, we need to develop the downtown more to enhance its purpose.
Are we doing enough in the downtown? No, we’re not, and we should work with our downtown businesses and capitalize on their ideas. Our restaurants and dining areas should be opened up – like outdoor eating and patios. We should encourage more building and refurbishing of the current buildings downtown. We should continue to support downtown events such as Open Streets. The BIA should be working hand-in-hand with downtown businesses and I’m appalled that they did not stand up for downtown businesses. Ribfest should give Sudbury businesses a chance not clean out Sudbury’s pockets and purchase their ribs outside the city.
If we have an attractive downtown, people will drive downtown and the whole city will feel they can utilize it – and the way to do that is to work with people that have businesses in the downtown area.
Ward issues
Roads are one of the major topics of discussion throughout Ward 9 and our city. Sunnyside Road is in bad shape, for example. I would like to set an objective for the next four years to survey and identify the worst roads in the ward, and prioritize repairs on those sections.
Maintaining reasonable tax levels is a key priority – they shouldn’t increase above the rate of inflation as part of the budget process.
Transportation for the elderly in outlying areas, such as Wanup and Wahnapitae. I plan to meet with the transit department and review the current schedules and service offerings for ward 9.
