Elections

Doug Farraway, Candidate for Ward 7 in Ward 7 By-Election 2016

Details page for this candidate.

In This Page:

Candidate Details (top)

NameFarraway, Doug
ElectionWard 7 By-Election 2016
AreaWard 07
PartyN/A
Votes0
Email dfarraway@rogers.com
Website http://farrawayfor7.com/
Home905-388-4499
Business
Fax
BioDoug’s Hamilton Mountain Roots

Doug, son of a 30-year veteran with Hamilton Police Service, was born at Henderson General Hospital and grew up on Hamilton Mountain. He and his wife Debbie Morin-Farraway, a retired employee of U. S. Steel (formerly Stelco), continue to live on Hamilton Mountain. Doug is a graduate of Westmount Secondary and Mohawk College where he trained in the Communication Arts Program, under the direction of the legendary Norm Marshall.

Doug’s Career

For the past three years, Doug was Director of Development for Neighbour to Neighbour Centre (N2N). He became very passionate in raising funds for N2N and reached out to the community to help support many events. During this time, Doug established the Hamilton Mountain 'Coldest Night of the Year' walk to help raise awareness about poverty on the Mountain while raising tens of thousands of dollars for N2N.

Prior to N2N, Doug’s career in broadcasting lasted 36 years. He started as an intern at CKOC, where he eventually was employed. During his time with CKOC, K-Lite FM hit the air waves and Doug became News Director and host of '90 Minutes Live from Hamilton.' Later, Doug was a radio host and sports director at the FAN 590. As the 'Deacon,' doing a late-night talk show, he took every opportunity to challenge anyone who spoke ill of 'The Hammer.'

Volunteering in the Community

Doug and Debbie were the leaders in running three successive, and successful, Terry Fox Marathon of Hope events on Hamilton Mountain. In addition, Doug coached minor hockey at Chedoke Arena, the Hamilton Hawks Women’s Hockey at Inch Park and with Mount Hamilton Minor Soccer Association all across the mountain.

Wanting to serve his community further, Doug was named to the Hamilton Public Library Board. It was during his time on the board that the decision to partner with others at Turner Park in order to open a new south mountain library was made.

Broadcasting being close to his heart, Doug also volunteered at Cable 14, Hamilton's community television station. He was host of Council Edition, interviewing City Councillors every week, and was also a commentator for Cable 14 coverage of municipal, provincial, and federal elections.

Doug and Debbie have 2 children, Shane and Amber. With both children now grown, Debbie volunteers her time in the Hamilton Community, including Neighbour to Neighbour, Good Shepherd, and the Women’s Centre of Hamilton.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FarrawayFor7/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/farrawayfor7

← Back to Candidates

Responses to Questions (top)

QuestionBrief ResponseFull 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 Council needs to make it clear to its senior management that the business of Hamilton needs to be conducted like a business. I have worked for massive corporations (Rogers) and for a non-profit (Neighbour to Neighbour) and the same rules for conducting business have applied in both situations. Performance reviews are predicated on manager and employee discussions that set reasonable goals and targets to achieve by years end with quarterly updates on progress. We know that severe weather events could impact on targets especially in Public Works, but that doesn’t mean that these conversations shouldn’t take place. From the top down the bureaucracy needs to understand that they serve the taxpayers of Hamilton.
Will you encourage the city to shift new development away from car-dependant sprawl? Yes The current urban boundary should be the end of sprawl. We have brown fields to remediate and re-adapt. We have renewal opportunities in the Barton/Tiffany area, at the Queenston traffic circle, and at the new sports zone in the South Sherman hub not to mention huge tracts of land in Ward 7 that remain undeveloped. No more farmland should be consumed. Let’s encourage renovation and adaptive re-use within our current urban limits.
Will you push for increased transit investment on the Mountain? If so, how will you pay for it? Yes I will be very active on this file pushing for increased transit investment. The how you will pay for it question is a tricky one because until the Master Transportation Plan, the HSR review and the Citizens Panel on Transportation release their reports we are in a transit limbo. I do support and state clearly and unequivocally that I will support an end to area rating of transit.
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 Having worked the past three years at an anti-poverty organization (Neighbour to Neighbour Centre) I have seen first-hand the face of poverty on the Mountain. Poverty above and below the escarpment is virtually on par, 16 vs. 18%. First of all I support Hamilton declaring itself a “living wage” city encouraging all employers in Hamilton to engage. I would like to work on the issue of the City Housing infrastructure deficit and on the broader issue of “affordable housing” by seriously examining with other levels of government Inclusionary Zoning.
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 * What's not happening now in the City of Hamilton that you'd like to see happen? Why?

If I may respond this way I would say there are two overriding issues that will impact on our future. First of all, representation by population is a huge issue especially for Ward 7. Our boundaries need to be altered and in some cases the new lines drawn will likely upset some who will think they are too radical. The second issue is attached to the first. We need a council that works together for a Greater Hamilton, in other words the future, and not for what has gone before. Parochialism is alive and well unfortunately and that needs to end.

* What's not happening now in Ward 7 that you'd like to see happen? Why?

There is a distinct feeling at the door that Ward 7 the largest ward by population is not receiving its fair return on taxes. From road and sidewalk infrastructure to express buses, to GO bus service to dare I mention it hospital services. Only ten emergency beds for the Mountain and that includes Wards 6,7,8, 9 and 11 is not good enough in fact it’s dangerous. The conversation about urgent care that ended 8 years ago needs to be resurrected and I propose when elected to do just that.

* What's not happening now at City Hall that you'd like to see happen? Why?

Transparency is a big issue for me because of my media background. The tendency to get behind closed doors goes against my grain. The fact we do not throw open the doors to the latest technology to allow our citizens to see council and committees in the best possible manner is in my opinion just lazy. We need to encourage the media to get involved with the presentation of City Council and General Issues as was done in the past in partnership with Cable 14. The current fixed camera positions do not do justice to the story that is Council and our civic discussions. As well I want to see an end to the idea that the city clerk is the best person to shut off microphones when tempers perhaps flair. Civility should always be the goal at council but when contrasting ideas turn into verbal flair-ups our citizens should be able to see and to hear what is going on to make the best judgement they can about who represents them. I am very uncomfortable with the concept of a button in the hands of just one person making an arbitrary decision about who gets to hear what. Finally we need to have an independent body review complaints against staff, councillors and private citizens. There should not be two sets of rules regarding personal conflicts or misdeeds. I hope council as a body will invite the Ontario Ombudsman to handle any cases like the infamous “shovegate”.
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 Not only will I push for an expanded continuous network but a safer network for families to enjoy. I will also push for an expansion of the SoBi program on the Mountain. The current route through the central mountain is a mysterious winding route that utilizes what was when it was designed existing infrastructure. In other words one minute Bendamere is your bike route to Upper James but you must veer off course to McElroy to use the lights, when in fact the bike route could continue eastbound on South Bend if only we gave people the opportunity to cross Upper James. The same holds true at Upper Wentworth where the bike route attempts to cross to East 24th. My recommendation and something I will work for is pedestrian push buttons that will stop the flow on both of these major arteries to allow families on their bicycles or pedestrians on foot to safely cross these dangerous high speed routes. This of course is not the only issue we face regarding cycling safety. The death of Jay Keddy was avoidable. If the good people of Ward 7 chose me on March 21st I will make it one of my top three priorities to push for not only a planned route up the Claremont but a functioning safe bike lane before the snow flies in 2016.
Do you support a more vibrant neighbourhood retail destination on Upper Wellington? If so, what do you propose to achieve this? Yes I support more vibrant neighbourhood retail destinations wherever possible in Ward 7. Upper Wellington becomes a difficult case for this application if the neighbourhood itself is not sold on the idea of creating a BIA. Many business owners have told me personally they do not support a BIA and also would not support a narrowing of Upper Wellington. What many would like to see is more enforcement of speed limits and the addition of a pedestrian friendly light at Upper Wellington and Brucedale to allow their clients to safely cross this dangerous intersection which has seen its fair share of accidents and near misses.
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 As already mentioned some councillors are quite cozy in their geographic neighbourhoods. But what if through representation by population we take them out of their comfort zone by adding non-traditional neighbourhoods to their ward? Does Dundas have something in common with West Hamilton? Does Ryckman’s Corners have anything in common with Concession St. In the first case yes and in the second case no. We need to re-think who we want to be going forward and if that means adding councillors to better reflect the representation by population goal and the geography of this city then it should be considered as an option in the Ward Boundary Review.
Will you encourage the creation and growth of more neighbourhood associations in your ward? Yes There are several solid neighbourhood associations, but they generally focus on sports for their kids, which is a good thing. But I’d like to see them take another step forward. I want to see more citizen engagement in Ward 7 neighbourhoods and if that engagement evolves satisfactorily then I will not hesitate to introduce participatory budgeting to the central mountain.