If you can sum up council candidate Paul Stopciati’s platform into one sentence it is this: Ward Nine residents deserve better.
The candidate in the upcoming municipal election released his basic platform on Aug. 27, in which he lays out his priorities should he manage to defeat incumbent Deb McIntosh for the seat.
“The next 4 years as councillor will be very difficult and many important decisions must be made by your councillor,” Stopciati said in a release to media. “During the past 15 years, I have watched and noticed that we need a strong voice and a vision to reach our city’s full potential.”
If elected, Stopciati said he would push for an audit of each city department to find savings and to hold staff accountable to the taxpayer.
As well, the candidate positioned himself as pro-development, but he’s not for development at all costs, he said.
“When development is presented to us we must embrace the opportunities and analyze the benefits that could be obtained from it in a timely manner. We must think of the long-range advantages that can benefit our community. We must be fair to all developers and treat them equally.”
Stopciati would also like to set a four-year strategic plan for road and infrastructure work. Sticking with the four-year theme, he also suggests the city lower development charges for four years to attract new business.
“One of the reasons we are losing new business speaking to developers across the province is we are not open for business and our development charges and policies need adjustments,” Stopciati said, adding that, if elected, he would “solicit new business to invest in our community to intensify our leisure services.”
Citing the support the Fielding family has given to Kivi Park and the support the Lopes family has given to Coniston, Stopciati promised, “There will be more to come under my leadership.”
He also wants to see more work done to preserve the health of local lakes, and cites his experience as a former member of the Police Services Board as a key skill for a city councillor when it comes to promoting community safety.
