Elections
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?
Responses to the question: "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?"
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13 Candidate Responses (top)
| Ward 07 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Bradshaw, Philip | Yes | Although we would be working for our own wards, councillors should understand that some of our issues might be the same and by working together we can overcome some of the problems by bringing the people together. After all, we belong to the individual wards but we are all Hamiltonians and we should be striving to work towards a common good, for the good of the City. |
| Farraway, Doug | 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. |
| Gordon, Tim | Yes | I will use my skills as a board member, a social worker, and as an influential team member. This instalment of city council has done impressive work and I feel that with a fresh, new face, I can inspire collaboration, and breathe new found excitement to take on bold perspectives in doing what is right for our city. |
| McMullen, Geraldine | Yes | I would advocate for a vision of Hamilton, where Council works together to:
* Increase public participation * Improve accountability * Promote equity |
| Nicholl, Anthony | Yes | As I have mentioned, there is a disconnect between City Hall and the residents of Hamilton. It would be ideal for Councillors to improve communication with their perspective Wards. I would implement quarterly Ward Hall meetings to give Ward residents the opportunity to raise concerns with their Councillors. |
| Pacey, Jeanne | Yes | Barriers are usually put up when there has been a breakdown in relationships and then communication becomes stilted or even comes to a halt. I excel at building good working relationships. I think my skills will help build a more cohesive Council which will lead to more balanced decision-making. |
| Qureshi, Uzma | Yes | I think I bring a number of proven skills to the table. One skill for which I'm pretty well known is my ability to work with people to reach consensus. Collaboration is a strength, not a weakness. By harnessing and focusing the power and the goodwill of all of Council, we can achieve great things for our constituents, and for all Hamiltonians. That's not pie in the sky. That's a fact. |
| Rabb, Howard | Yes | During the time I worked at City Hall I did not see a lot of "barriers". Instead what I saw was a 16 people working together to find solutions to problems. There are issues that are shared by wards 14 and 15 that are not necessarily shared by downtown but that does not mean those Councillors have erected barriers around themselves and refuse to work with anyone else. In fact, I saw people disagree harshly on one topic and be on the same page as each other on the very next agenda item.
It's important that we separate the job from our personal feelings so that we can continue to do our jobs. We do this in the private sector, and need to do it in government as well. One thing that I will do (that is actually already done now) is take a tour of the other wards with the ward Councillor. This is something many of the Councillors do to help other Councillors know what is going on in their ward, and what improvements they'd like to make. It's also a great way to get to know someone a little better that you might not be as close to. When you spend half a day getting a tour from them and the other half giving a tour to them you really get to see things from a new perspective. |
| Skelly, Donna | Yes | I believe the city is poised to forge forward to bigger and better things. For the first time in the over 20 years I have been covering council, I see an opportunity for its 15 members to act as a united force for the overall good of Hamilton and all of its residents. Hamilton councillors have a responsibility to care for the needs of their constituents both inside and outside their direct ward. As the representative for Ward 7, I will address poorly paved streets, uneven sidewalks and broken water pipes, but my responsibilities do not stop there . As the new Ward 7 Councillor I realize I will become a board member of a multi-billion dollar corporation and my experience, team spirit and vision will have a positive and profound influence on the future of our city.
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| Starr, Damin | Yes | As I've demonstrated as a citizen, I intend to be a councillor that sees value in the unique characteristics of all areas of our municipality. While ensuring my representation for Ward 7 is paramount, I believe sincere recognition of challenges facing other councillors and their Wards can break down silent barriers and develop a fresh lens of co-operation. |
| Vecchioni, Louis | Yes | Wards through their community hub committees, should be allowed more input to decisions at city hall. When city staff does their homework, Council should not take that information and make a viable decision and not send it back for more info, just because a Councillor will make a stand on an issue, by their own opinion and not what the majority of citizens want ! Again back to where one Councillor is voted into office with less than 10 % of the eligible votes i.e. Ward 3 election results. A majority of the minority of voter turn out is not a good thing to happen in any election !
More important issues such as poverty and social housing are neglected and less important issues: i.e.- garbage pickup weekly or bi weekly, - no. of garbage bags allowed at the curb for pick up, - snow removal, these such issues bring an up roar and settled faster, because residents fail to see the bigger picture. |
| Young, Robert | Yes | 1) I would delegate the issues specific to each ward and unite the Council as a team on the non-specifics.
2) Allow each ward to work specifically on issues that are unique to it while bonding together on issues that overlap multiple wards. 3) When overlapping occurs no special treatment should be delegated to any single ward. 4) Allow each ward to focus on the most pressing issues relevant to their ward. 5) Bond each similar issue throughout the other wards with the same issue and cohesively bond the broader issues into a team measure amongst the whole council as it pertains to. |
| Zuriel, Hans | Yes | Councillors should go door-to-door to listen to the issues that matters for their Ward residents, not only on the election year. Besides that, an excellent idea is to follow the framework of "Meet-the-People" sessions conducted in Singapore whereby local residents could seek advice and solutions for their bureaucracy related problems. In the context of Ward 7, this could mean that people could attend sessions conducted every week to voice their concerns whether it involves potholes, snow removal, garbage collection, sidewalk safety, local crime concerns, etc.
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Response Summary (top)
| Brief Response | Count | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 13 | 100.0% |
| No | 0 | 0.0% |
| Maybe | 0 | 0.0% |
9 Candidates Have Not Responded (top)
| Ward 07 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bolton, Robert | ||
| Burt, Shaun | ||
| Charters, Bob | ||
| Danko, John-Paul | ||
| Heroux, Chelsey | ||
| Hetu, Luc | ||
| Murphy, Glenn | ||
| Nagy, Paul | ||
| Shahrouri, Mohammad | ||
