Stewart Klazinga, Candidate for Ward 5 in Hamilton Municipal Election 2018 - Raise the Hammer Elections

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Candidate Details
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Candidate Details (top)

Name	Klazinga, Stewart
Election	Hamilton Municipal Election 2018
Area	Ward 05
Party	N/A
Votes	0
Email	sklazinga@gmail.com
Website	https://www.sklazinga.ca/
Home	289-683-1477
Business
Fax
Bio	Greetings Hamilton and hello to my fellow citizens of Ward 5. My name is Stewart Klazinga. I moved to Dundas a week after my first birthday, and have lived in Hamilton ever since. I attended Calvin Christian School as a child, followed by Westmount Secondary School. I received my high school diploma from the HWDSB Adult Day School program. I also attended Redeemer University where I studied psychology and social work. I’ve lived in many neighbourhoods of our great city: Rolston, Gilbert, Quinndale, Bonnington, Greeningdon, Kirkendall, St. Clair, and now Vincent. Hamilton is a vibrant and amazing city.

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Responses to Questions (top)

Question	Brief Response	Full Response
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	We need to build up, not out. Higher density residential is better for the housing market as it relates to vulnerable populations. Higher density residential buildings contribute more tax dollars per area and have a much better infrastructure dollars per person ratio. Hamilton needs to start looking for reasons to accept and draw in higher density developments, instead of looking for reasons to turn them down or make the developers look elsewhere. Arbitrary high restrictions and the continued expansion of suburbia are not things that Hamilton needs right now.
Bonus question: If LRT goes ahead, what will you do to ensure Hamilton receives the maximum benefit?	Yes	I will use it, which will give me the best stance from which to support it and advocate for it.
Do you support improved public transit in Hamilton? If so, what changes do you propose? If not, why not?	Yes	Of course. Firstly I believe that dollar for dollar, an investment into a more vulnerable population has a greater return on investment than that same investment into a population which has less of a need. Transit serves many of our most vulnerable populations, so I see it as an obvious investment. We need to eliminate area rating for transit. We need to provide appropriate transit to the entire city. Everyone should pay for it & everyone should have access to it.
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	Yes. Climate change needs to be addressed from all levels of government.
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	Absolutely. We need to listen to young people and we need to value what they tell us, and we need to start talking to them as early as we can. We need to listen to what they want in a city and we need to work to provide it for them. We need to understand their hopes and fears and we need to assure them that we are the city in which they can best achieve them and avoid them respectively.
Do you support phasing out area rating for transit? Why or why not?	Yes	Yes. Firstly I believe that dollar for dollar, an investment into a more vulnerable population has a greater return on investment than that same investment into a population which has less of a need. Transit serves many of our most vulnerable populations, so I see it as an obvious investment. We need to eliminate area rating for transit. We need to provide appropriate transit to the entire city. Everyone should pay for it & everyone should have access to it.
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	Better & more cycling infrastructure across the city. I would be in favour of reduced speed limits on residential streets, and especially in all school zones & around all school crossings. I also believe that we need better traffic enforcement in Hamilton.
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	Social housing needs to be seen as a valuable asset as well as an investment. Both quantity and quality are important, and right now they are both being neglected, The city needs to require greater amounts of affordable housing where it can and incentivise developers to include greater amounts where they can't. The impact of organisations like Indwell cannot be ignored either. The city needs to continue to work with them and try to attract the attention of other organisations like them. Lastly, affordable housing, geared to income housing, etc. needs to be spread evenly across the city. It can't be relegated to just a few parts of the city. Diverse neighbourhoods are stronger neighbourhoods.
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	es. Yes. Yes. 1 million times YES! LRT is the best solution for traffic. LRT is the best solution environmentally. LRT is the best solution for accessibility. LRT is the solution with the lowest ongoing maintenance & upkeep costs. Nearly a decade and a half of studies, proposals, and investigations by experts has proven LRT to be the best solution across the board. Nearly a decade and a half has proven LRT to be the will of the people through the representatives they elected every four years. Nearly a decade and a half has proven to be the best choice as voted by Hamilton council repeatedly.
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?	Yes	Absolutely. Hamilton does not need a pseudo-highway running through the neighbourhoods of the lower city. If over the next hundred years, a single life can be spared, that alone would make the conversion worth the effort. Our most vulnerable populations are paying the sticker-price attached to our "competitive advantage", and they're paying with their lives. A cost far too high.
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	I do not know enough to answer this question. I would have to seek input from affected citizens and from professionals in the field.