Platform

• Hold the line on Taxes and watch government spending
• Work with staff, mayor, and city council me

Financially Responsible Government

Hold the line on Property Taxes and watch government spending.

Why does Oshawa have the highest tax rate in all of Durham Region?

To keep taxes in check, I’m prepared to go through the budget’s spending (line by line), and to examine historical spending patterns to find tax savings for all residents .

A few years ago, your Property Taxes on a monthly basis equated to a monthly car payment. Now, they are approaching a monthly mortgage payment. If we are not financial responsible, in time, your monthly tax bill will soon be the equivalent of a monthly car and mortgage payment.

My financial philosophy is simple, I will monitor, watch and question the spending in the same manner as you do in running your household expenses. I am prepared to ask the hard questions to ensure that the proposed spending is in the best interest of our community.

By watching our spending, we can reduce future tax levy increases to a minimum. Council has to be the champion of expanding the industrial and commercial property tax base. For every dollar paid in residential property taxes, the commercial tax payer currently pays $1.45. The other benefit of expanding the industrial and commercial property tax base, will be the creation of local jobs.

Find efficiencies in budget for strong economic growth and continued services and amenities.

By making it easier for businesses to relocate to Oshawa, supporting existing businesses, & expanding the industrial tax base will lower the tax burden on residents.

Create a better ratio of non-residential taxes which shifts the burden away from the residential tax base to fund the services we expect as citizens.

Improve the business experience so it is easier for business to relocate to Oshawa & create new jobs locally.

Enhance city and region communication strategies with residents.

Safe and Caring Community

As our population grows, we need to expand emergency service supports to Paramedics, Police & Fire.

Automated Speed enforcement in community Safety Zones.

Full roll out of Speed Reduction program to keep our streets safe (Community Safety Zones, Speed Bumps, Bollards, etc).

Push for a new Police Satellite Station in Ward 1 to respond to the needs of our community.

Enhance traffic and parking enforcement.

Expand Bike lanes and multi use paths.

Enhance and ensure accessibility and safety of Bike and walking trails across Oshawa

Building Sustainable Communities

· Ward 1 is unique that it consists of both rural and urban areas. While housing developments are rapidly expanding across the province, council must also be able to tailor and adopt unique solutions to the urban spread so that our farmlands and developments can co-exist harmoniously and preserve the integrity of our neighbourhoods.

· Ensure developers pay their fair share for community infrastructure costs as our community grows.

· Balancing urban sprawl & development intensity with transit priority along major corridors.

Ensure that we have a livable community which meets the needs of our diversified demographic population.

Infrastructure needs to catch up with the rapid growth of our city: traffic congestion, speed calming measures, crosswalks, and stop signs are put in place to ensure community safety.

Availability of a wider range of affordable and accessible housing options such as single storey and semi-detached for seniors and first time home owners.

· Increase community engagement during the planning process.

Enhancing Services for Seniors

Advocate for enhancing services to seniors

Our Seniors need to know that this city is accessible to them, and that their mental and physical well-being is important to us. They need to be able to have easy access to facilities and feel included and dignified. Bus stops should be near Senior residents and destination points that make sense.

Affordable housing and in home care services that enable seniors to stay in their homes.

Senior Advisory Committee

· Waiving of all recreation fees for those seniors over the age of 70. We need to encourage and remove all barriers so that our seniors can be active and stay healthy.

· To provide technology supports to our seniors. I have seen how some seniors have found technology challenging such as the ArrivCan App. The City of Oshawa, has a great library and they would be tasked with assisting all seniors with their technology issues on a no fee basis. FREE!

· It has come to my attention that many seniors are continually waiting for the City’s snow removal program to respond after a snowfall. Many of these seniors have important medical appointments that they have to attend and they are driving to these appointments. I would increase the funding for this program to reduce the wait times.

· Enhance parks and park equipment for seniors to enjoy.

Downtown Oshawa

Your downtown should be a dynamic part of your City. It is where people should work, play, and eat and most importantly socialize.

Do you believe our current downtown meets this standard?

·Do you think our downtown has improved or declined over the last four years? If you think it has declined, then why would you vote for the current incumbent? Why reward poor performance?

·We have many wonderful business owners who have invested their hard earned money to invest in our downtown. Unfortunately residents do not frequent downtown Oshawa as they once did, resulting in a more challenging economic environment for these businesses.

·As a long standing resident of Oshawa, I do remember the glory days of Oshawa downtown. The downtown use to play an important role and identity of the City. Historically, our downtown used to be the jewel of the City and it has now lost its luster and shine.

Right now, every Oshawa taxpayer is subsidizing the assessment/property taxes of our downtown. The property taxes for commercial/ businesses are based on the income approach. The more profit they make – the more they pay in property taxes. With the downtown, currently underperforming from a property tax basis, the remaining Oshawa taxpayers are paying more in taxes to offset the downtown’s lower assessment value.

Community Engagement

Promote Open and transparent communications.

Foster positive and productive initiatives for community engagement where every voice is heard.

Ward Advisory Committee

Seniors Advisory Committee

Regular town hall/coffee meetings with constituents

Transparent and accountable governance

Increase community engagement during the planning process

Seek input from community on all issues

Environmental Stewardship

· Encourage development with lower carbon footprints here in Oshawa

Protecting green spaces & CLOCA lands to ensure that our environment is protected for future generations to enjoy.

Protect our farmlands.

· Increase electrification of the City’s fleet.

· Expand electric vehicle charging stations across the City to encourage support of electric car adoption

Accessibility and Diversity

Oshawa is for Everyone!

I want our great City to be inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

Diversity and inclusiveness should be one of the pillars of which we continue to build our great City.

· Ensure that all park equipment is safe and accessible for everyone to enjoy.

· Ensure that new housing and apartment developments allocate apartments for those with disabilities and seniors.

Economic Growth

Foster economic development by improving the business in Oshawa to create new jobs locally.

Form partnerships and meaningful connections between education institutions, local businesses and business associations in order to ensure that job seekers are able to gain or upgrade skills needed for meaningful employment.

Diversify our economy

Work with business associations to encourage small business and entrepreneurs startups.

Promote and encourage Entrepreneurs by providing the right conditions to flourish.

Economic growth, jobs and access to markets and services, we need good roads, telecommunications , energy, transportation, and communication.

With Broadband across our city it has become easier for citizens to work from home and create their own businesses.