Elections
W. Peter Randall, Candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek in Ontario Provincial Election 2011
Details page for this candidate.
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Candidate Details (top)
| Name | W. Peter Randall |
|---|---|
| Election | Ontario Provincial Election 2011 |
| Area | Hamilton East-Stoney Creek |
| Party | Green Party of Ontario |
| Votes | 0 |
| wpeterrandall@gpo.ca | |
| Website | (no website listed) |
| Home | |
| Business | 905-563-4398 |
| Fax | |
| Bio | Peter Randall is the Green Party candidate in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for the 2011 Provincial Election.
A payroll manager, hockey coach and professional musician, Peter has served his community in many ways, including seven years as a municipal councillor. Currently, he manages a team of five and oversees $300-million in payroll for the Hamilton-Wentworth DIstrict School Board, where he's worked for 12 years. Recently, Peter was seconded to provide financial expertise on a large HR/IS project for the board. Peter served two terms as a Municipal Councillor for the Town of Lincoln, beating a 17-year incumbent in a close race. During his tenure, he focused on making communities more walkable by expanding sidewalks and streetlights, adding bike lanes and trails and involving the community in environment-focused events, such as Earth Day cleanups. While on council, Peter was Chairman of the Fire and Public Safety Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Finance Committee. He also sat on the Planning and Development Committee, The Greater Niagara Circle Trail Committee, the Regional Road 12 Landfill Committee, the Infrastructure Committee and served as Deputy Mayor on a rotating basis. Before receiving his CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) and CPM (Certified Payroll Manager) designations, he obtained diplomas in both General Arts & Science and Recorded Music Production at Fanshawe College in London. A guitar, piano and trumpet player in addition to being a vocalist and songwriter, Peter is committed to music education in schools. He mentors young artists, providing them with songwriting and career advice. An avid traveller, Peter volunteered on a school construction project in Nicaragua. Peter lives on a farm with his wife of 17 years, June, and his children Conor, Ceili and Nolan. A Hockey Canada certified coach, he is active with a hockey development organization, as well as being a long-time volunteer coach with minor sports organizations across the province. |
Responses to Questions (top)
| Question | Brief Response | Full Response |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton has a large number of contaminated brownfield properties that present a risk for investors. What, if anything, will you do to make it easier to remediate brownfields? | Yes | Provincial and Municipal incentives in these areas can be paramount to the restoration and reclamation of these areas. Through property tax credits and reductions and other such programs.
Waive land transfer tax fees? Reduce building permit fees? Create low interest clean up loans? |
| Hamilton has a lot of available office space in the downtown. Will you move any departments to Hamilton to boost the local economy and save on rent costs? Why or why not? | Yes | One of the first and foremost mandates of the Province is to treat all parts of the province and all areas and citizens equitably. It is far too easy to congregate all provincial resources and offices around Toronto.
We need to stimulate the entire province and share the resources offices are needed In Hamilton, Windsor, Oshawa etc to share the wealth. Ironically, office space is even cheaper outside of Toronto so double bang for our buck. |
| Do you believe municipalities should have more powers to generate revenue? If so, what would you propose? If not, why not? | Maybe | I don't think it is easy to provide a straight yes or no to this question. In general I lean towards NO, However, it is dependent on the idea and the proposal.
It seems to me municipalities are not very good at generating revenue and do not have private sector type ambitions, safeguards etc in place. IE Ever see the random loonies collected at public skating or at a public swimming pool? Usually a teenager is manning the box and it is just such a tin box...no way to audit and know the accuracy of the count and the collections. Theft could be involved, the teen may get up and go to the washroom when three people walk in, they may let friends in for free...ie the proper controls are not in place. So in general I do not consider municipalities to be qualified to earn and maximize revenues in a great many areas. However if you turn to other areas, such as investment returns on reserves then with CEO's, clerks and accountants municipalities are often very well versed in maximizing revenues in these areas. As I say it depends on the specific proposal and the details of what would be granted to a municipality. |
| Do you support term limits for municipal politicians? Why or why not? | Yes | Oh thank you for asking!!! I have long believed in three term limits for all politicians in ANY post in this country.
Having served two terms myself as a Municipal Councillor, I can tell you first hand that human nature sees most become very complacent in their jobs and comfortable with a sense of entitlement. They know too many people and owe too many people favours. We all become set in our ways and resistant to change. Lifer politicians can generally be heard quoting ‘We did this in 1973 and it worked just fine, let’s do it now’. Truth is we need vibrant new solutions and people have such great trouble beating these entrenched incumbent s that many solid candidates do not even come forward. The best councils or groups or boards are a mix of female/male, young/old, immigrant/Canadian. Those repressing seniors, those representing a group with young children and those representing pre-child bearing years. With fixed three term maximums at the municipal, provincial and federal levels we would see more heated and more interesting races for top jobs like Mayor and we would see deadwood and complacency removed and make way for some sorely need bright new ideas and approaches. |
| Do you support completing the Mid-Peninsula Highway? Why or why not? | No | No I do not support the Mid Pen Highway, highways and additional lanes are not the way to our future. We cannot keep adding more lanes and more cars. We must reduce our dependence on ever scarcer fossil fuels that are congesting our planet.
More trucking needs to be moved back to rail as does more commuter traffic. HOV lanes are a start and it is fabulous to see this in the Burl-Oakville corridor now but seamless, affordable, timely GO Transit where one can work downtown Hamilton from Mississauga, Grimsby, Stoney Creek or Vineland is the answer. |
| In 2007, the Ontario Government promised two light rail lines in Hamilton. Will you fulfill that promise to build light rail in Hamilton? Why or why not? | Yes | I heartily endorse light rail and all forms of public transit to ease our congested roads, increase public safety, decrease future infrastructure costs and improvement our environment.
Many see rail as our past in this country and it indeed rail has a great legacy from coast to coast in this great nation. It was once the glue that united us. What many fail to realize is that rail, in all forms, is also our path to a willed, vibrant and sustainable future. We urgently need more GO Connections to Niagara from Hamilton and the light rail lines in Hamilton. Myself (W. Peter Randall) and my party (The Green Party) will definitely be catalysts for these endeavors from the word go. |
| The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area has some of the worst traffic congestion in North America. What, if anything, will you do to alleviate the gridlock? | Yes | Publicly accessible and affordable mass transit is the answer. |
| Will you complete the job of uploading social services costs to the Province? Why or why not? | Maybe | A tricky and sticky wicket there…obviously we are not the power in party and I am not currently an elected MPP. One thing I have always found is that those politicians we need to fear the most are the ones that appear to have all the answers- these are the dangerous ones.
Upon being elected we would have to closely examine the books, roll up our shirt sleeves and begin to draw up a roadmap to a sustainable, greener, non-debt dependent future. We Greens know that much work must be done and that the status quo of paying today and burdening our children with debt is not working. We do not pretend to have all the answers, simply eager, open and willing minds ready to tackle a myriad of complex issues via a new collaborative approach. |
