Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Key properties in the very heart of Newmarket’s historic downtown at 196-200 Main Street South are up for sale for $7,995,000.
Businesses which will be affected include the Goulash House, Lemon and Lime and the Olde Village Free House.
Coldwell Banker, the real estate brokerage handling the sale, describes the properties as a "turnkey investment opportunity" in downtown historic Newmarket.
Slippery
The property for sale is in the same block as those owned by the notoriously slippery developer Bob Forrest who has left his properties empty and boarded up for years.
In May 2018 his wife, Colleen Forrest, promised to reveal the “new concept” plan for this key part of the old downtown “in the near future” but we are still waiting. Promises from the Forrests are essentially worthless.
And now this.
Will Forrest put in a bid for the properties up for sale? If so, he will, ironically, re-acquire business tenants he previously evicted from properties now shuttered on Main Street South. Will his promised “new concept” embrace the entire block? Does he have the cash to buy? Does he want to?
"My business is building buildings."
Years ago, Forrest told his then business tenants he would let them stay on for a little bit longer than he had originally planned. He was worried about boarded-up shop fronts and what the Council would say about that. He subsequently told them:
"I don't want to sound at all arbitrary but it is very real for me. My business isn't renting stores. My business is building buildings and I want to get to the point that I can build my building at the earliest possible moment."
We don’t know what Bob Forrest will do about this new "investment opportunity" until he tells us.
But in the meantime the Town should insist on full details of his “new concept” - which has been gestating for a leisurely six months.
The Town should also check his empty and decaying properties on Main Street to ensure they are properly winter-proofed.
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
It goes without saying that all the candidates, without exception, deserve a hearty round of applause. Running for elected office takes time, money, energy and commitment and when it’s all over - and to rub salt into the wounds - the voters never say thank you. That’s not their job.
The winners, of course, are now fair game.
The Real Winner is Tom Vegh
Tom Vegh had the most to lose in this election and he did the business. He abandoned his safe berth in Ward 1 to make a pitch for the Regional Councillor vacancy. It could have gone pear-shaped but the gods were smiling on him.
The entry of the green Joan Stonehocker into the race probably siphoned votes away from Chris Emanuel whose platform was way too negative. That 40% tax hike was never going to stick. Emanuel’s loud insistent drumbeat on tax drowned out everything else.
Tom Vegh could hardly believe his good fortune. His big, bold and positive signature policy – a new library and seniors’ centre – didn’t even feature in the Town’s election pages which profile the candidates (using the candidates’ own material). When Tom penned his profile (sometime after 27 July when the Town published the list of certified candidates) his top three priorities were:
1.Increase seniors’ housing options
2.Reduce speeding on residential streets
3.Oppose Regional land transfer tax
At no point in his profile does Tom mention a new library and seniors’ centre. Clearly, it is work in progress. I shall be following Tom’s efforts closely as he seeks to deliver on his promise.
Taylor was never going to lose
Taylor was always going to win. He has a spider’s web of contacts that cover the entire Town – his campaign launch was proof positive of that - and they all turned out for him.
We have two new councillors – Ward 1’s Grace Simon and Ward 4’s Trevor Morrison – and a retread, Victor Woodhouse, in Ward 2. They will be joining the old gang of four – the re-elected councillors (Jane Twinney and Bob Kwapis) and those who didn’t face an election because there were no challengers (Kelly Broome and Christina Bisanz).
It will be fascinating to see how Taylor handles the job of Mayor with all the new faces around him.
His predecessor, Tony Van Trappist, was content to play the part as Chairman of the Board – only venturing an opinion when he was backed into a corner and had no other option - allowing Taylor to set the agenda and, largely, dictate policy. Van Trappist never reported back on what was happening at York Region – and not just because he wasn’t paying attention. He left it to Taylor. I can’t see Taylor deferring to Tom Vegh.
Dive in at the deep end.
For what it’s worth, my advice to the new councillors is to dive in at the deep end. Don’t wait for that brilliant thought to materialise before opening your mouth. Get stuck in. The former Ward 4 councillor, Tom Hempen, took years to find his voice and that was a tragedy because he often had interesting things to say.
Some councillors also have an unstated policy of never voting against a staff recommendation. Don’t do it. It leads to lazy thinking. And it begs the question: why bother having an election at all?
Challenge the staff
Challenge the staff. If there is a policy vacuum they will fill it. Ask questions. And then ask some more. Does this have to be discussed in closed session? Take the solicitor/client privilege stuff with a spoonful of salt. Keep them on their toes and don’t let them take you for granted. And perhaps this is a good time to remind them of section 2(b) the Town’s Employee Code of Conduct:
“It is every employee’s responsibility to ensure that all information they communicate is as accurate as possible. No employee shall withhold information or wilfully mislead Members of the Council, other employees, clients or the public about any issue of corporate concern.”
If they bother to stir themselves councillors can shape, mould and lead public opinion and get people re-engaged in local politics.
In an era of declining voter turnout that surely must be a good thing.
In October 2018 voter turnout in Newmarket was 34.7%. In 2014 it was 36.8%.
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Jim Watson, the incumbent Mayor of Ottawa, and Tony Van Trappist, the retiring thin-skinned Mayor of Newmarket, share one thing in common – they block certain people from reading their Tweets.
Van Trappist has fiercely defended his right to block critics. 
Even people like me who are never abusive. At least not intentionally. I can say things that people may find offensive but we live in a free country. This isn’t Saudi Arabia and I don’t have to worry about getting my fingers chopped off for writing something Mohammed bin Salman finds disagreeable.
I remember Newmarket’s John Heckbert bravely telling councillors in February 2016 that it was a mistake for them to block people from accessing their social media platforms.
He says it is all about “democracy”:
“No member of Council should be allowed to block, censure or otherwise restrict the inherent right of residents to question them and receive information from them in whatever way that resident chooses to engage them including via social media platforms.”
This upsets Van Trappist no end.
Full of injured innocence he scolds Heckbert:
“Yes. You are entitled to say what you have (said). And if you have something to say my view is you post that on your site. My page represents my views and anything that comes from my twitter feed is believed to be endorsed. So I don’t feel in the slightest way obligated to advance an argument that is contrary to my views. So I don’t apologise for blocking certain people."
"I do set standards in terms of what I permit on my site and again I don’t apologise for that. But if you have something to say, set up your own site. Set up your own contacts. Send out your own messages. So you still have that right.”
Now the Globe and Mail has nailed its colours to the mast. Last Friday (19 October) the editorial was absolutely unequivocal:
“Mr. Watson is also wrong when he says his Twitter account is a personal one. That’s just not true – even if he is the only person operating it, as appears to be the case. The account is being used by the elected chief executive of Ottawa to sell his election platform, to campaign, to announce events he will attend as mayor, to cheerlead for himself and to communicate vital information to city residents.
His posts are done on the public dime during working hours and inherently reflect the office that he holds; he cannot pick and choose which of the city’s taxpayers are agreeable enough to merit the privilege of seeing them.”
Maybe Van Trappist’s Tweets are pure gold. Sharp, witty, insightful.
Alas, I shall never know.