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13 | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, October 13, 2022 | Matt Cardwell OCCUPATION: Whitby Business Owner -- Royal Oak Pubs WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN? Losing in the 2018 municipal election to become west ward councillor by only 105 votes demonstrated that 2,435 residents had a shared goal for the Town of Whitby. I return in 2022 to get the job done and continue my advocacy for this great town. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES? Property taxes, local jobs and transit. the town has significant reserves; if they were not tapped into during COVID, when will they be? I have a plan to provide a net-zero property tax increase during one of the four years of the next council. Red tape in the town is significant. Why does it take so many years to get projects completed? As a businessperson, I know how to fix this. Lori Lopes OCCUPATION: Registered Nurse WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN? As a front-line healthcare worker for many years, I know the federal, provincial and municipal issues that impact us where we live and work. More importantly, proactive strategies are needed to address: aging population, health-care issues, affordable housing, the economy and environment, many of which are going unaddressed. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES? 1. Infrastructure Initiatives -- need for safer roads, lack of schools, parks, shopping and businesses for increasing population. 2. Environmental and ecological policies, less sprawl, waterfront development, cycling infrastructure. 3. Healthy people and healthy town -- to improve health policy and initiatives for all residents -- seniors, children with special needs, implementation of programs, inclusive parks, support EMS services, etc. Kamlesh Patel OCCUPATION: Insurance Professional WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN? To become an effective voice for the community, I face similar issues to others which allows me to empathize toward them. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES? Road safety, financial accountability and affordable housing. Jim Skenderis OCCUPATION: No occupation provided WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN? I am running for councillor because I would like to help build a better community for the residents of Whitby by creating a true community that is inclusive and accessible for all residents. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES? My top three issues include eliminating user fees for public skating and swimming, building outdoor skating rinks and/or trails for free public use, and to make Whitby a destination to enjoy for everyone in the GTA. Anjali Thorve OCCUPATION: Life Insurance Broker, I run my insurance business in downtown Whitby under the name of All-Life Insurance WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN? I love Whitby. I want to preserve the community that my husband and I chose to raise our family in. I also want to look out for west ward residents' best interests. I want to address people's concerns regarding development, ensure that it is sustainable and minimize the tax burden. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES? Economic development: Bring new business to Whitby. Use the employment land we already have designated and diversify the tax base. Safe communities for families: Deal with speeding issues around schools and parks. Development: We need sustainable and compatible development to keep Whitby the best town in the GTA. WARD 2 CANDIDATES Lynde Shores Conservation Area, Ward 2. Susie Kockerscheidt/Metroland HERE ARE THE CANDIDATES FOR WARD 2 TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com Elizabeth Roy, 56, has been thinking of running for mayor of Whitby since 2018. The longtime local municipal politician, who has been a Whitby regional councillor since 2014, and was a west ward councillor eight years before that, has been in the public spotlight nearly half her life. Before joining Whitby council, Roy served as Durham District School Board trustee, serving nine years on the school board, part of that time as chair. "Growing up in a family of five, I was always taught giving back to the community is something we've done. Even as a high school student, I was active in student council and was student council president." Roy moved to Whitby in 1993. She has two daughters and a son and has a one-year-old grandchild. Even with all her other activities, Roy has worked full-time as a medical radiation therapist for the past 32 years, a job she said she is retiring from if elected mayor. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR MAYOR? "I knew in 2018 I was running for mayor in 2022. I knew with the progression of where I had been in council with my experience, that I'm ready to lead this council, I'm ready to lead this community.. "We're looking at how can we work with the community to address what is important to them today. It's having more conversations one on one. It's creating a communications plan council members and all of us can work with in our community. It's looking at everything that I do that I can now apply to the town where I have the depth of knowledge where we've been regionally, but also municipally to move the council forward and not to learn the job, but to do the job," said Roy. WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN ISSUES? "The community is telling me the beautification of our community is important," said Roy. "We have to look at economic development as well, and getting the lands developed at Highway 407/ 412. We need to be engaging all councillors to be economic ambassadors. We need to be talking Whitby wherever we go. Who knows where the conversation could lead us to. We have a lot of senior managers, CAOs who live in Whitby -- can we entice you to bring your business to Whitby?" she said. "We need to fight for the hospital and need to have an answer sooner than later because it's going to be a long time before we can get the community fundraising for that hospital and we need to meet the community obligation for that fundraising. That's what we need to get going. We need to get moving so we can get a hospital in place. "We're looking at the culture of respect. The community needs to know the direction of the council. And that's where the strategic plan comes into place. It's giving regular reportding, measurables of where we are at and what we are doing. Communication ranks up high -- we need to have more of an understanding of how we can touch individuals," Roy said. Evan Griffiths and Deidre Newman are also running for mayor. Election day is Oct. 24. MEET WHITBY MAYORAL CANDIDATE ELIZABETH ROY Elizabeth Roy is running for mayor in the 2022 Whitby municipal election. Elizabeth Roy photo TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com MUNICIPAL ELECTION ELIZABETH ROY WILL HAVE TWO CHALLENGERS IN RACE FOR MAYOR OF WHITBY