Tim Gordon, Candidate for Ward 7 in Ward 7 By-Election 2016 - Raise the Hammer Elections

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Candidate Details
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Candidate Details (top)

Name	Gordon, Tim
Election	Ward 7 By-Election 2016
Area	Ward 07
Party	N/A
Votes	0
Email	gordon.timothy@me.com
Website	http://www.votetimgordon.com/
Home	905-516-4981
Business
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Bio	About Tim Tim is active as a social worker, volunteer, and engaged citizen in Hamilton. He has volunteered as an executive board member (as a financial officer and a director of clinical services) on local non-profit organizations helping people with mental health related issues. Tim also has extensive experience politically, working with a local riding association and by being engaged with municipal politics. Taking Action Tim has been an outspoken advocate for mental health; In 2014, Tim was called upon by Hamilton's chief of police to comment on and raise issues involving Hamilton's police issuing conducted energy weapons (often to referred to as tasers) to their police members. Tim collected and shared information about the hazards of these weapons when it comes to people with mental health related issues and spoke out about how non-violent interventions need to be put in place for police when working with people who suffer from mental health problems. Getting Results Tim is an internationally recognized social worker who focuses on ways to help people and communities. He is currently involved in a humanitarian aid project preventing violence against women in Sierra Leone. In Hamilton, Tim has been at the forefront of bringing low-cost and free programs to people with mental health related issues, including providing services to assist family, friends, and other people who provide support for people with mental health problems.

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Responses to Questions (top)

Question	Brief Response	Full Response
How important is it for Council to work with specific goals and targets for each City Department at the beginning of each year? How would you ensure this happened?	Yes	It is essential that our council sets specific goals that are measurable, outcome-focused, and time-bound. These goals need to be written actively to address the many efforts that are required of City Departments independently and collaboratively. I have a lot of experience working on varying boards of directors. My experience is that creating active goals in this way is to the benefit of everyone involved. I will use my experience and influence to encourage working relationships in this way, creating a balanced effort to address important goals.
Will you encourage the city to shift new development away from car-dependant sprawl?	Yes	I am an advocate for moving away from car-dependant sprawl, specifically through the development of an affordable housing policy that involves a transit oriented development plan, non-motorized transit planning, and smart city planning. All of which are evidence-based approaches to building healthy communities.
Will you push for increased transit investment on the Mountain? If so, how will you pay for it?	Yes	Absolutely, I will push for increased transit investment on the Mountain. Specifically, I would like to see the implementation of frequent service for mountain stops, comfortable stop locations, convenient rider information with route designs that make sense to commuters and are easy to track. Efficient operations (including better coordinated services) will make everyone involved happy. We can predict that commuter trip time reduction and financial incentives along with the changes I mentioned earlier will increase ridership and commuter behaviours. This strategy will be balanced through careful spending/route and operations planning in addition to expanding commercial capital growth in Ward 7 (specifically along Upper Wellington Street and Concession Street, effectively adding funds to our budget). Furthermore, I will advocate to use municipal endowment funding for public transit from the province of Ontario to bolster the necessity for transit oriented development in Ward 7 and throughout the city.
In your view, what's not happening now in the City of Hamilton that you'd like to see happen? Why? What's not happening now in Ward 7 that you'd like to see happen? Why? What's not happening now at City Hall that you'd like to see happen? Why?	Yes	Right now I'm troubled by the elimination of the voluntary trusteeship program, the city's lack of progress on the cities report "Preparing Seniors Centres for 2036," and many other issues I have with specific groups of vulnerable people in our city who depend on these policies and programs. I want the voluntary trusteeship program reinstated, advanced progress made in policy and actions/results for advancing our infrastructure and services for seniors as we face a growing ageing population. In Ward 7 we have little opportunity to engage city hall, we need a community council, we must give voice to those who feel disempowered through neighbourhood associations, and it is our duty to advocate for a city that can be a great place to live.
Income inequality is a serious problem in Hamilton, and poverty is increasing in mountain neighbourhoods. What will you do to reduce inequality in Ward 7 and across the city?	Yes	As a social worker, I have long been an advocate for issues of marginalization and oppression; this includes income inequality. At our first neighbourhood association meeting in Ward 7, we identified that tackling issues of poverty was a priority. Increasing transit oriented development is an evidence-based approach to combating issues of poverty, it increases mobility from the mountain to inner-city transition zones, and the inner-city where people can more easily access outreach programs and increased employment options. My plan to combat poverty is not to contribute to powerlessness that people living in poverty experience but to instead to empower them with options that can enrich their lives and wellbeing. Poverty is a systemic issue in Hamilton that we need a brave new outlook on to confront with compassion and see results.
Will you push for a safe, continuous cycling network in Ward 7 with better connections to the rest of the mountain and the lower city?	Yes	Pushing for a safe, continuous cycling network is essential to orienting a transit development plan that will work for us. Non-motorized transit planning has proved to have a significant positive impact in Ontario's communities, decreasing traffic congestion and simultaneously increasing public transit ridership. This will reduce total traffic, reduce peak period traffic, shift automobile traffic dependence to alternatives including public transit, and appears to be correlated with also increasing walking traffic. There is no way that a non-motorized transit plan that includes cycling is not a good move for our city. We need to investigate it fully and make choices the reflect making mobility safe for both cyclists and commuter traffic.
How will you help to break down barriers between Councillors and the Wards they represent to ensure a more cohesive Council and more balanced decision making?	Yes	I will use my skills as a board member, a social worker, and as an influential team member. This instalment of city council has done impressive work and I feel that with a fresh, new face, I can inspire collaboration, and breathe new found excitement to take on bold perspectives in doing what is right for our city.
Do you support a more vibrant neighbourhood retail destination on Upper Wellington? If so, what do you propose to achieve this?	Yes	From the onset of campaigning and in all my election material, I specifically cite securing commercial capital growth for Ward 7, specifically on Upper Wellington Street and Concession Street. Ward 7 needs a new vision for urban revitalization. This is more than possible; we can take a page from our neighbours in Ward 1 and other places in the city where critics would have cited that revitalization was a lost cause. We deserve a mountain with a thriving local economy, growing entrepreneurism and a sense of ownership in this area. We can only do this through reimagining what Ward 7 will grow to be and working with stakeholders to see commercial capital growth.
Will you encourage the creation and growth of more neighbourhood associations in your ward?	Yes	I am a member of my local neighbourhood association, being an attendee and participant in planning at our very first meeting, here in Ward 7! I think this is essential to empowering citizens to be heard in the context of our city. I will do my best to attend start-up meetings as our Ward councillor for neighbourhood associations and fully encourage their development. Furthermore, I will create a community council to further engage citizens and give us a voice.