Ian Deans, Candidate for Ward 2 in Hamilton Municipal Election 2010 - Raise the Hammer Elections

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Candidate Details
Responses to Questions

Candidate Details (top)

Name	Deans, Ian
Election	Hamilton Municipal Election 2010
Area	Ward 02
Party	N/A
Votes	231
Email	iandeansward_2@yahoo.ca
Website	http://iandeansward2.weebly.com/
Home	289-389-6720
Business
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Bio	* Born August 16, 1937 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Ian emigrated to Canada with his parents and younger sister in 1952. * He was a Hamilton Firefighter and executive member of local 288. * He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as an Ontario New Democrat representing the Hamilton area riding of Wentworth. * He won the seat of Hamilton Mountain in the Canadian House of Commons. (MP). * Following the 1984 election, he became the official House Leader for the New Democratic Party. * While in Ottawa as a Member of Parliament, he was acknowledged as one of the two most effective speakers in the House of Commons. * Later, he took a federal appointment as Chair of the Public Service Staff Relations Board. * During his tenure, he demonstrated his skill as a mediator and conciliator, bringing 132,000 civil servants and 30 bargaining units to an agreement. * Ian has since worked as a consultant and as a negotiator. * In the spring of 2003, Ian was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease "Like Michael J. Fox, I have learned to live with Parkinson's Disease. I will not surrender my dignity, nor my ability to effect change where it is needed. I can not sit back and watch the city that I love fall to pieces around me. I know what Hamilton needs. Put me to work, and let me help to bring Hamilton back to life." - Ian

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Responses to Questions (top)

Question	Brief Response	Full Response
Should we spend the Future Fund to build a Pan Am / Ticat stadium on the CP Rail Yard lands? Why or why not?	No	The Future Fund was intended to assist people who are building and developing the operation of the city. Developing a stadium is not what it was intended for. The money was generated by the sale, ill advised I might add, of Hamilton Hydro and if they had put a proposal to everyone at the time that was done, to build a stadium down in the flats, I very much doubt it would have received approval. This may be a good spot to raise an issue with you - will you support a proposal by me to require that on all major undertakings, before the question comes to council will you require that a financial plan including sources of capital be put before council?
Hamilton's Cycling Master Plan has Council approval. However, the implementation timeline is very long and ward councillors can block individual bike lane projects. Do you support accelerating the completion of a continuous bicycle network and other initiatives like a bike sharing program and better access up and down the Escarpment? Why or why not?	Yes	I had the pleasure of visiting China while I was an MP and I was very impressed by the use to which bicycles were put.
For your campaign, will you be accepting donations from corporations or unions? If so, why? If not, why not?	No	I'm financing my own campaign because I want to set an example for the people and the council.
Council is poised to vote on the Airport Employment Growth District, a 3,000 acre plan to expand the urban boundary around Hamilton International Airport for employment lands. Do you support this plan? Why or why not?	Maybe	I get the impression that this like many things is driven by those who will benefit financially whether it's right or not. As soon as this is approved it will require considerable sums of money just to get the first phase underway, and we don't know what that will cost, let alone the project as a whole.
Many observers argue that Council meetings could be more respectful and professional. Do you agree? If so, what will you do to change this?	Yes	I'm going to carefully review the Parliamentary practices pertaining to proper decorum, with an eye to developing something appropriate to deal with municipal issues.
Do you support Hamilton's LRT proposal? If so, what will you do to ensure Hamilton's success in building LRT? If not, why do you oppose it?	Yes	In general terms I support the development of LRT. There will be some hurdles to overcome leading up to getting people to support the proposal.
Some cities have committed recently to publishing their public data in an open format that citizens can directly access. Should Hamilton pledge to become an "open source city"? Why or why not?	Maybe	I'm not sure what the phrase "open source city" means in the context of municipal government. I will carefully review it and give you an answer later.
Is Hamilton doing enough to support and encourage new investment in our older neighbourhoods? If not, what should the City be doing?	No	The answer to the first part is probably not. It is my intention to challenge senior staff to bring forward a proposal, part of which will reflect how we would deal with derelict buildings the other part should deal with remediation and reutilization.