Elections

Jeff Beattie, Candidate for Ward 10 in Hamilton Municipal Election 2018

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Candidate Details (top)

NameBeattie, Jeff
ElectionHamilton Municipal Election 2018
AreaWard 10
PartyN/A
Votes0
Email jeff@jeffbeattie.ca
Website https://www.jeffbeattie.ca/
Home905-929-0444
Business
Fax
BioJeff Beattie is a life-long resident of Winona/Stoney Creek. He is a parent of four children, a business owner, a community volunteer and a community leader.

After graduating from Orchard Park Secondary School, Jeff successfully completed Niagara College’s Business Administration program specializing in Operations Jeff and Tina Beattie Management. After graduating, he spent nearly ten years in front-line management in the agricultural services sector before taking over his family’s business in 2008. He and his wife, Tina, now own and operate Winona Gardens, the greenhouse, farm and garden centre which was started by his grandfather in 1953.

Jeff is proud of his farming roots and maintains membership with both the Hamilton-Wentworth Federation of Agriculture, and Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

This Spring, the Stoney Creek Chamber of Commerce presented Winona Gardens with a prestigious Legacy Award for over 65 years of service to the community! Under Jeff’s ownership, the business has also been awarded the City of Hamilton’s Business Achievement Award, consecutive Reader’s Choice Awards, and were nominated in 2017 for the Ontario Ploughmans’ Farm Family Award.

In 2014, Jeff was elected to serve as the Trustee for Stoney Creek (Wards 9 & 10), for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. At the Board, Jeff is a leading advocate of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Education (STEAM) as taught through innovative robotics programs in our schools, as well as Active & Sustainable School Transportation initiatives to encourage cycling and walking to and from school.

From December 2015 to December 2017, Jeff proudly served as the Vice-Chair of the School Board and is currently Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. Since elected, Jeff has served as member of the Finance & Facilities Committee, the Policy Committee, Human Resources Committee, Governance Committee and joint City-Board Liaison Committee, as well as serving as a representative on the Faith Community Advisory Committee.

Jeff has been a volunteer with the Winona Peach Festival, Winona Halloween Parade, Fifty United Church, the Winona Easter Egg Hunt, 1st Winona Scouting and a member of the Winona Men’s Club. Jeff’s involvement with the Peach Festival includes serving as a volunteer, Committee Chair and Director. Jeff has served as Co-Chair of the Winona Halloween Parade & Pumpkin Patch since 2011.

Brimming with new ideas, Jeff looks forward to serving the new Ward 10 with a commitment to represent all the residents of Stoney Creek, Fruitland and Winona.

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Responses to Questions (top)

QuestionBrief ResponseFull Response
Hamilton has a legacy of multi-lane, one-way arterial streets dating back to the 1950s. Do you support accelerating the conversion of these streets to two-way? Why or why not? Maybe This is tough one. In the suburbs, people want efficient access to the City's core if they are going to come and visit and spend money. And currently, transit isn't a viable option for someone from Ancaster, Stoney Creek or Waterdown coming downtown.
I visit James St. North, Locke Street, and Ottawa Street all the time, so being able to get to those places in a reasonable amount of time is an important consideration for me deciding where I will be headed for dinner/shopping or entertainment.
That said - I completely understand the view of those who live in those areas, who don't feel safe around 5 lanes of traffic racing through their neighbourhood. So what is the balance? How to keep traffic moving while allowing ease of access to and from other parts of the City? Some one-way streets are natural candidates for conversion, others are trickier. I look forward to being part of that conversation.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act mandates that cities must be completely accessible by 2025. What changes would you make to ensure Hamilton complies with this mandate? Yes With the private sector being forced to invest heavily in AODA compliance, the City needs to take a leadership role and ensure that compliance plans are being targeted effectively, and funded properly.
Council has voted dozens of times since 2008 to advance Hamilton's light rail transit (LRT) project, including voting to submit the plan with a full funding request to the Province in 2013, and voting to accept full funding and implementation from the Province in 2015. Do you support completing the LRT plan? Why or why not? Yes I support transit expansion and infrastructure renewal. I support balancing the Urban/Suburban tax levy imbalance. I support focusing high density, high rise development into the downtown corridor and not in the suburbs (where nobody wants it). The LRT project as I understand it does all of this. I support continuing to work with the Province and Metrolinx (who are providing funding for the project) to complete the project, so long as these benefits remain.
Since the 1950s, most new residential and commercial development in Hamilton has been single-use suburban sprawl. Do you believe Hamilton needs to concentrate new development within the already-built area? Why or why not? Yes Hamilton needs a a better mix of development, including both brownfield and greenfield builds. I'm in favour of rebuilding older parts of Hamilton's core with higher density development, while allowing lower density in our outlying areas. At the end of the day whether in the City's core or in the suburbs, development and redevelopment needs to 'fit' and reflect the community in which it is occurring.
Bonus question: If LRT goes ahead, what will you do to ensure Hamilton receives the maximum benefit? Yes Infrastructure renewal, transit expansion, redevelopment of areas with a lower tax base into areas with a higher tax base, opportunities for new affordable housing options, focusing high rise/high density development into the downtown corridor (away from the suburbs) are all benefits of the project. These benefits need to be better communicated to residents - not just in the 'old' City of the Hamilton, but particularly in the outlying areas. There is a LOT of misinformation out there that needs to be challenged.
Global warming is an existential challenge facing humanity. Do you think Hamilton should play a role in addressing climate change? If so, what should the city be doing? If not, why not? Yes Again, the City should be play a leadership role - but budget needs to be part of a balanced conversation. Green initiatives on new buildings, efficiency retrofits on existing facilities, and making low- or no emission vehicles part of the City's fleet should all be considered.
Do you support improved public transit in Hamilton? If so, what changes do you propose? If not, why not? Yes I absolutely do. I don't use transit. Not because I don't like it, but because where I live doesn't have any kind of reliable/predictable/reasonable service (Eastern Stoney Creek is serviced by an outdated Trans-Cab system) I don't want my kids to grow up car-dependent. I want to invest in making transit reliable/predictable and reasonable.
I want to use outside the box thinking from other jurisdictions. An innovative partnership in Kingston between the City and School Board has led to Kingston's Transit System being one of the fastest growing in the country. They started showing high school students 'how' to use transit, and offered incentives to encourage young people to use transit. The result? When these young people become adults, they take these new habits of transit use with them and become more likely to transit users in the future. We need to more users, and a system that will build confidence in itself.
Should Hamilton be trying to attract more young people to live, work and start businesses here, including the 60,000 students studying at Mohawk College, McMaster University and Redeemer University? If so, what should we be doing? If not, why not? Yes Attracting youth is one thing - retaining them is another. We need a better city-wide focus on youth issues and engagement. We need to understand what the obstacles are to keeping young people in Hamilton. I believe that a lack of jobs, affordable housing, transit, and barriers to small business creation, are among them. We need a better plan to address these issues and keep young people here.
Do you support the "Vision Zero" goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Hamilton? If so, what specific actions would you take to implement this policy? If not, why not? Yes Traffic and Traffic calming issues are as much of a concern here in Stoney Creek as in any other part of the City, so yes, we need to reduce and eliminate pedestrian and vehicular injuries and fatalities in all parts of Hamilton. The tools to achieve this vary depending on the need of the community. Being open to all options would be an important first step. We can't have any more 'that doesn't apply here'
Do you support phasing out area rating for transit? Why or why not? Yes I think that our hodge-podge taxation system goes beyond just phasing out area rating. A comprehensive overhaul of the city's taxation system is needed.
Hamilton has been experiencing a slow-motion crisis in housing affordability. Do you support an expanded role for the City to provide more affordable housing? If so, what should Hamilton do? If not, why not? Yes In my community, the affordable housing issue is happening behind closed doors. Young families are quietly living in their parent's basements because they can't afford to enter the property market. The City plays a role, but should act as an 'enabler' for other groups who's primary focus is affordable housing. This is entirely about partnerships and working together to find solutions. Ensuring that a larger percentage of new builds include an affordable housing component is a start.