With only days to go until the October 22 municipal
election here in London, Ontario, Canada (I say Canada for my global readers so
you don’t get us confused with London, England!) I thought that I would share
with you some of the reasons why I have already advanced voted to support Kyle
Thompson to become Ward 9 next Councillor….
Many eyebrows were raised, when Kyle’s signs started
hitting the streets! This must be a
joke! But then another sign appeared and
then many more! Considering the costs of
the signs and the amount of volunteers that are needed to put them up, many
local residents began to take notice!!!
As an artist, I grew to appreciate Kyle’s unique, quirky and engaging signs! My son wanted to know
what his signs were about (and I hear that many other young minds throughout
Byron and Lambeth have also asked their parents what Kyle's signs are for) and
I thought that this was great - it allowed many parents (myself included) to
get our children involved in politics in a fun way!!!! I've never been able to
say that about any candidate in any election before!!
As an artist, I grew to appreciate
that Kyle’s imaginative campaign exhibits strength to say what he wants to say
in his own way! Most people who show
themselves in ways that are unique are usually very smart and insightful! Now, Kyle says he’s not the smartest guy you’ll
ever meet… but it’s his passion for bringing residents’ voice to City Hall that
shows how resourceful he is.
I was in attendance at this
debate! The audience was a bit shocked
that Anna Hopkins (Ward 9 incumbent) took a cheap shot at Kyle at the Bostwick
debate in her first 2 minute intro!!!!! She feels threatened and tried to put
him down! The audience didn't like that!!!! Throughout the event, Kyle got more
and more claps for his insightful and thought out replies, while Anna's claps
were polite...at best!
What most people find frustrating
about our present Councillor is that Anna had a great opportunity to show
everyone what she has accomplished over the last four years… and she didn’t!
In between question to the candidates,
I could hear many from the audience saying, "Well - does she agree with
BRT or not", "I'm not sure where she stands on this subject",
etc etc. There were many in attendance that were wondering why Anna was not
saying stuff like, "Over the last four years, I've accomplished this and
that." Her answers were of the same quality as all other candidates,
"If re-elected I will do this.... do that!" We were all quite
surprised by the lack of examples forthcoming!!!!!
On one question about aboriginal
inclusion Anna said, "There are many committees in City Hall that deal
with many aspects of our city, and it might be a good idea to create a new
committee for this purpose". And this is true - I am a volunteer voting member of
the Tree & Forestry Committee and I do believe that more committees would
be a good thing. What we all wondered about was why Anna had not attempted to
make this new committee to deal with aboriginal issues if she was so passionate
about this topic????? Again.... showing lack of examples of what she has
accomplished!
And then there’s the whole BRT
issue!!!!
It’s amazing how confused everyone is
about this… including me!!
This is a comment that I recently post
on the London Free Press report about the BRT….
It has been hard on the public to find
faith in the present BRT proposal. It has changed 3 times in the last 1 year!
Remember the plan to tunnel under Richmond St.???? Just one lousy idea!!!!
Residents should not be subjected to plan after plan after plan.... we need
definite leadership and that has been lacking!!! BRT is a much needed
system...after all the population of the city will dramatically increase over
the next few decades.... but much work needs to be done!!!! Candidates who
oppose BRT are opposing the present ideas and if you talk to them, they all
agree that a new transportation system is needed.... that's why the 'NO BRT'
front is as equally confusing!!!! Look at what they want to do north on
Richmond... 10 years to have the same amount of lanes as now - with an end
result of only 2 lanes for cars. This fails miserably when crossing Oxford
because a dedicated lane is impossible!! So, what's the point of creating a
system that can't be structured to fulfil its mandate from start to finish! So
frustrating! I've had many chats with candidates and I've shared my view on
London transit.... 1) Get big yellow school buses off 4 lane roads... with
pick ups at nearby 2 lane roads! Just a few phone calls and meetings with
school boards. This policy can be in place within 6 months! No one is talking
about this quick fix to allow traffic to move more efficiently! 2) bus
'cut-outs' to allow buses picking people up to move out of traffics' way! This
would cost a few million to do city wide and would be completed within 2 years!
These 2 ideas would be cost effective.... much needed and offer an immediate
reprieve as better BRT plans are created!!! I'd like to see more people leaning
in this direction as we plan for a better BRT!
Now… residents in Ward 9 see that Kyle
does not support the BRT… and as I said in the comment above – this causes even
more confusion for people! Kyle came to
my house, last night, and we chatted about this issue and we engaged about the
points I made, above…. and Kyle agreed!
He doesn’t not support a better transportation system… he simply (like
me) feels that the proposal before the city will not be successful as is! And I agree!
Anna Hopkins feels that the present
plans will work… and they just can’t!
They are so poorly planned!!!!
Kyle has returned all my email
questions…with his answers! I like that!
Earlier this year, Anna and I
exchanged over 20 emails over 2 ½ months and at the end I still didn’t have an
answer! Not impressed!!!!
The most difficult decision that I’ve
had to face during this campaign period will make you laugh! Kyle came to my house last night, and I knew
I wanted to take a photo! Devon and I
had to decide who would shrug and who got to hold the broom!!!! Devon got the broom!
So… there you go!
My opinion on Ward 9 election matters!
I hope all readers will be inspired to
realize that I have taken a fair bit of time to engage with all the candidates
and the result is simple…. An informed vote!
Please make your vote an informed one,
too!!!!
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FYI
If you’d like to meet Kyle Thompson in
person, you will find him planting trees with me and Devon and a few other
neighbours, this Tuesday, October 16 between 4-5pm at Somerset Woods Park! It’s on Boler Road…. South of Griffith on the
east side of the road. You can park on
the west side in the Byron Optimist Sports Fields! See you then…….
