Sunday, February 16th, 2025

The Creemore Echo posed three questions to the candidates running in wards 2 and 5:

1. As a ward councillor, how would you address personal interests and those of your constituents while considering the township as a whole?

2. What kinds of jobs are needed in Clearview and what can be done to attract those employers?

3. Is growth a good thing for your ward? If so, what could be done to encourage development? If no, why not?

Ward 2 candidates

Donna Baylis

1. I am campaigning to become councillor for Ward 2 because I have a personal interest in protecting food land and source water. Also, my goal is to preserve our currently healthy environment for our children and future generations. These personal interests are intrinsic to my platform and would benefit the township as a whole. When other more localized interests come into play I will research each issue, consult with those affected, strive to keep an open mind, and make the best decision I can to benefit the people of the township. If an issue ever arises where I find myself at odds with my neighbours, I will do my best to represent the majority position.

2. Small Business – the days of long-term company employment with good retirement packages are long gone. Most people, especially young people, are on their own when it comes to finding a job. Since workers must be versatile and adaptable, we have a job market that stimulates entrepreneurship. Through telecommunications and technology there are many opportunities for small business. There are also opportunities for people who are willing to invest their time and/or money in our communities.

Tourism – Last weekend’s Small Halls Festival showcased Clearview as a vibrant tourist destination with all the benefits that tourism brings. Congratulations to all who worked together to achieve such a spectacular series of events.

Think “Green” – With the decreasing cost of renewable and low energy technologies we must continue to promote installation of new systems lowering business and household costs. Feeding solar energy back to the grid from the rooftops of public buildings was a terrific start. Let’s explore other options for innovation and savings!

Community Assistance – As baby boomers transition into their retirements our communities will need more in-home and property care assistance – a perfect business opportunity for aspiring young entrepreneurs.

To attract employers to Clearview Township we must be open to new innovative ways of doing business, and provide leadership to help navigate the complexities of start-up. Additionally, we need to appreciate existing employers and take their needs into consideration when we make decisions.

3. Ward 2 is a diverse landscape encompassing Dunedin, Duntroon, Glen Huron, Lavender, Maple Valley, and Singhampton as well as the greater part of Clearview’s Niagara Escarpment. Balancing development with the needs of each community and our natural areas will not be easy – too much development puts a burden on home-owners, while not enough allows communities to disappear. Each community within Ward 2 is unique. Staying in touch with residents and stakeholders, keeping people apprised of proposals and garnering feedback is crucial to decisions affecting the future.

Kevin Elwood

1. Personal interests cannot take precedence over the good of our community as a whole. This is why we have a diverse council that can look at individual situations and issues and vote on them in the best interests of all the residents of the township in a democratic fashion.

2. In Clearview we need permanent, full-time jobs for people who live in our community and the young people who want to stay here. We need to facilitate the establishment of small business and encourage entrepreneurship that will find stability and opportunity in our township.

3. Managed growth is a good thing for Ward 2, within appropriately zoned settlement areas. Clearview Township has experienced a decline in population in the last five years causing a reduction in the tax revenue base. I have been approached by concerned Ward 2 residents expressing a need to balance costs with taxes. The sitting council has invested in the future of Clearview to service settlement areas to facilitate growth. This growth will offset increasing taxes, both now and into the future.

Ward 5 candidates

Robert McArthur

1. Let me begin by saying how lucky we are to have the ward system. It ensures all corners of Clearview have representation. As a ward councillor, it is important to have a solid working relationship with all members of council. Most of our current issues are township wide.

I believe my job, as ward councillor, is to ensure all local issues are fully explained and discussed with other council members. This is a democracy and if we all pull on the same chain, we can move mountains.

2. I feel we need more year-round jobs in Clearview. Potential employers need to know about Clearview’s abundance of potential employees. Many of our residents commute long distances for work and would gladly give that up for a local job. Our infrastructure and proximity to the Toronto market are invaluable.

3. Growth is very important and necessary for Creemore. The closing of the school annex is all the proof we need. Without youth in the community, there is no future. I feel we need to make development affordable and reflect the uniqueness of our village.

Thom Paterson

1. I see my role as a public advocate at the council table. As a councillor for two terms, I have acted as an independent legislator, primarily informed by the public’s view in my ward, by the views of others across the township and through personal research on the matters before council. I expect and respect the separation in roles between the municipal staff and the members of council. I do not expect to be led by staff but to be informed by their reports. I believe I live up to my role as municipal representative when I have added the public’s voice to the council discourse. I am an open communicator, choosing to use various means to communicate directly with residents. Through town halls, regular newspaper articles and participation in several community volunteer boards and committees, I attempt to keep current with what’s on residents’ minds.

I will not support an issue before council if I do not believe its approval is in the public interest.

2. A quick answer might sound like, “good paying, full-time and local”. I think there is an important role our municipality can play in specifically defining and targeting new job opportunities and in working to attract new employers to Clearview.

The real challenge is to take the time to design an effective framework under which our local economy can expand and targeted new businesses can locate to Clearview. I would urge the new council to begin early in 2015 to develop a comprehensive economic development strategy and marketing plan.

The prevailing view held by many in the development community that Clearview is a difficult place to do business in, must be reversed. It can start by mitigating regulations and fees, both local and provincial, that act now as disincentives and by adopting a “customer service” model.

An economic development strategy would build on our local labour market rooted in agriculture, tourism, consumer services, and pending residential construction and home renovation.

3. Well-planned growth is a good thing in Ward 5 and in Clearview, when costs/benefits of residential, commercial, on-farm and industrial growth are understood and unintended increases in the cost of living are avoided. Specifically, if investments in growth result in more income for our existing local business owners, more employment opportunities, new employers, better needed services, as well as a more sustainable tax re-distribution for our residential ratepayers, it’s a good thing. Unplanned growth results in poorly prioritized capital spending, unnecessary borrowing, continued excessive dependence on residential tax revenues, fees and stagnant service levels and little or no increase in employment opportunities. 

An economic development strategy and long term financial plan can be effective tools to manage our growth. Essential to healthy growth in the shorter term is realizing new employment opportunities while adding to our residential population. One attracts the other. Longer term, local education/training opportunities in technology and the trades should be established.

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