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.
Everyone has chosen sides. Read on and find out exactly what the candidates think. Now, every candidate was invited to participate, but, for whatever reason, not all of them chose to do so.
From Ward 1, we have answers from three of four candidates: Gordon Harris, Bob Johnston and incumbent Mark Signoretti. Candidate Justin Pappano did not provide 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?
1. Kingsway Entertainment District
I am not convinced that the process to place the KED in the east end of the city was a reasonable decision. However, I also recognize that the downtown is disorganized and their bid was not strong. I do not support the idea that taxpayer (the city) is expected to pay for this entertainment complex with the unaddressed risk of what will happen if problems arise and then sold to a private interest at loss. (Like the original Skydome in Toronto and Rogers Communications takeover at 24 per cent of the public price tag).
Interesting side point of the KED: the cost to individual taxpayers! Say the final pricetag is $120 million (the claim is $100 million, but we know that will likely inflate – it always does for these types of projects). Now, there are about 78,000 taxpayers recorded in Greater Sudbury, with about 23 per cent of them paying less than $2,000 average in annual tax assessments due to low income. That means the remaining 60,000 represents the middle-class and wealthier taxpayers.
At $120 million dollars, that means all us middle-ground taxpayers are paying about $2,000 each for this unsure private-public partnership production! Not sure about you, but I am not likely to get any free tickets to anything there for my $2,000!
2. Downtown and the urban-rural divide
I am in a unique position as the only private individual to actively promote and “sell" the downtown to thousands of tourists and visitors to the core. I did that for the last 10 years with my Downtown Sudbury Guide that goes out in print and mobile form to the hotels of Sudbury. As such, I remain a unique observer to the downtown organization that promoted the idea of the Entertainment Centre being downtown. The money spent downtown is poorly spent and I would openly engage in such a debate over that.
As for urban and rural spending divides, I can see that issue becoming stronger, especially as the population growth, as limited as it is in Sudbury, is drifted to the outlining towns. Part of the problem is the way the wards are laid out with almost each ward having a sliver of the urban core and a broader swath of the rural like an irregular pie slice. This leaves the councillors often having to balance the demands of the core portion of their wards with the need of the farther flung rural sections. This creates problems and should be addressed with a ward realignment.
3. Ward issues
Hate to say it, but roads remain the number one issue of residents of Ward 1. Second would be property taxes with a general feeling that they are not being spent well, and then closely behind is that these taxes are too high to start with. Thus, the perception is that if city hall were more efficient with the taxes then they ought to go down. Hence, this is the concern for the publically funded Kingsway Entertainment District being another tax burden.
Snow clearing and tree clearing were also topics brought in meeting residents and remain lesser but still top-of-mind issues.
1. Kingsway Entertainment District
The KED is wanted by Ward 1 residents and myself. We must start somewhere and move forward in a positive way. I must put a voice for the people of Ward 1 and they stated move ahead with the KED: we are tired of talk and nothing to show. We, the people of Ward 1, hope this will be done and we can move on working on other important issues. Gambling could be addicting, but awareness is the key. Let's be honest, we really have nothing here and are children are leaving for a reason. We should be the top of Northern Ontario, but we are not. Yes, my friends it is time to wake up. Let's invite business to Sudbury for a change.
2. Downtown and urban-rural divide
We, the people, feel downtown is at its max; let's leave it as a business district, arts and specialty shops and eateries. Parking, addictions, poverty, homelessness and the list goes on and on. Woolworth, Boni-mart, Eatons, Silvermens and ect. — it's gone lets move ahead. Sudbury is wide, beautifully spread out: let's take advantage of this my friends.
3. Ward issues
Ward issues are very concerning. Lorne Street and Edna have no painted lines or guidance for people to cross; Horbin Street sidewalk not being plowed when Princes Ann School is right there and small children are walking on road to get home. Ward 1 has more slow down signs then election signs. This is very concerning. And the two mini highways — Southview and Robinson Drive — what happened to this residential neighborhood? Islands, speed bumps, crosswalks and the problems go on. Kelly Lake Road: these people have lost big dollars on this road work that could have been completed a while ago. What happened to our winter carnivals and family events? We, the people, want to get back on track and wants to work as a team. There is much more, but we all know what's wrong. No ties, no lies.
1. Kingsway Entertainment District
I don't support the KED project and I have been very vocal against the project right from the beginning for many reasons. I have spoke to many residents in my ward and across Greater Sudbury, and they don't want their hard-earned tax dollars to go to pay for a developer's vision/dream! The developer did a great marketing campaign to mislead the taxpayers that he was paying for this development and donating his land for free. What the developer failed to mention was that the taxpayers would have to foot the bill for new infrastructure to his property and site preparation work on his property.
The hotel that he is proposing seems to change like the wind. First, we heard that the Hyatt was coming and then the Hilton. Neither are coming, and to clear things up; they weren't paying to build the facility. All they would consider is to allow whomever built the hotel to use their name as a franchisee.
As for the expanding gaming in Sudbury, I ask: where are all the people going to come from to support this? North bay is getting a casino and Sault Ste. Marie already has one. The notion that we will be the next Casino Rama is again misleading the taxpayers of Greater Sudbury. Casino Rama in Orillia has a population catchment area of millions of people that they can draw from as they are close to Toronto. We don't. Gateway wants to increase the revenue that will leave our city from $40 million to $100 million and give us pennies on the dollar. This is not a win/win for the City of Greater Sudbury that I care about.
2. Downtown and the urban-rural divide
I understand that rural areas want the same level of service as urban areas. We need to be mindful that we can't support and be everything to everyone. We have to make hard decisions and hard choices that benefit all of Greater Sudbury whether rural or urban areas.
Downtown Sudbury needs to continue on the path that was prepared and outlined in the Downtown Master Plan and Downtown Revitalization. We need to stay the course and not take things out of the downtown. We need to keep the arena/event centre downtown. Our City of Greater Sudbury can't support two districts. We already have a district downtown and we need to continue building on the success of the School of Architecture and the Place Des Arts.
3. Ward issues
I believe the three issues that face Ward 1 are roads, water and sewer, Community Livability Project, and safety issues for the roads in the area.
I plan to continue the work on these three issues that has been already done by city staff/committee volunteers and myself.
I plan to advocate for Ward 1's share of road/water and sewer improvements, from upgrading main roads to residential roads. I will also continue to advocate for safer roadways for the citizens of Ward 1 to travel on whichever mode of transportation they choose.
In addition, I will keep working with committee partners and city staff on improving our local playgrounds so Ward 1 residents can come out and enjoy them with their families.
