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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 4, 20 18 | 48484 We asked the candidatesWe asked the candidatesW running in Oakville's Oct. 22 municipal election to tell us how, if elected, they would make Oakville a more affordable place to live. Here is what those who responded had to say: ... MAYORAL CANDIDATES Rob Burton (incum- bent) For a decade, I have kept tax increases in line with inflation, which is in con- trast to how taxes grew fas- ter when growth was out of control before I became mayor. I will continue to make growth pay for itself as much as possible so that residents don't have to sub- sidize developers. I will continue to push to control growth, because the prov- ince does not allow munici- palities to collect the full costs of growth. Our af- fordability as a communityfordability as a communityf improves when we control growth. For more information, visit www.robburton.org. Julia HannaJulia HannaJ I believe that Oakville should be affordable for young and old, allowing families to live, work andfamilies to live, work andf retire here. As mayor, I will task the planning and bud- get committees to consider the impact of town fees and levies on affordability for seniors and youth and rec- ommend initiatives to im- prove livability. I am also committed to ensuring that Oakville's planning in- cludes a variety of housing options to better meet the needs of youth and seniors. For more information, visit www.juliahanna.ca. John McLaughlin I will lower Oakville Transit fares from $3.75 a ride to a flat $2 transit fare (PRESTO) integrated, to promote mobility & intro- duce my "new" zero-emis- sion electric buses for Oak- ville. For more information visit johnmclaughlinfor- mayor.com. ... WARD 1 TOWN COUNCILLORWARD 1 TOWN COUNCILLORW CANDIDATES June CampbellJune CampbellJ Making Oakville more affordable will depend on bringing people's income up and providing a variety of affordable housing op- tions. I have signed the Hal- ton Poverty Roundtable pledge. In short: If elected, I would work with commu- nity organizations, constit- uents, the business com- munity and faith leaders to reduce poverty and in- equality in Oakville. I will work to develop and ad- vance proactive policies and programs to reduce poverty and advocate to have the mission of the Hal- ton Poverty Roundtable of "No Neighbour in Need" put into the Oakville stra- tegic plan. John Rishworth • Find ways to get people off the waiting list for sub- sidized housing • Create incentives for developers to provide more rentals that don't represent more than 30 per cent of a family's income, especiallyfamily's income, especiallyf prevalent for newcomers and seniors; we currently have two per cent vacancy rate • People who are renting who want to buy, or who are downsizing, have diffi- culty, as there is not enough housing at the $362,950 threshold. For more information, visit www.johnrishworth- .ca. Beth Robertson Many longtime Oak- ville residents know their young adult children can- not afford to rent or own in Oakville, and in 2013, nine per cent of Oakville fami- lies were considered low- income. I would work closely with the Halton Poverty Roundtable to en- sure developers prioritize mixed housing units in new subdivisions or infill pockets. Hubs of affordable housing units on or near GO or Oakville transit lines would be promoted so that cars are not a require- ment. For more information, visit www.bethrobertson- .ca. WARD 1 TOWN AND REGIONALWARD 1 TOWN AND REGIONALW COUNCILLOR CANDIDATES Obaro Akpomena Retiring in Oakville should not be a luxury. Pushing for seniors on fixed income in Oakville tofixed income in Oakville tof get a property-tax freeze would be a priority. With an efficient option in our transit/paratransit sys- tem, teenagers and seniors should continue to have discounted fares to enable them to move around more easily with a streamlined or merged transit system in Halton region. For more information, visit www.voteobaro.ca. Sean O'Meara (incum- bent) We make Oakville moreWe make Oakville moreW affordable by mixed-use development, including a range of housing options, as well as a service review for the town's budget. Ifor the town's budget. If would also champion alter- native service reviews for departments, such as our harbours, to determine whether or not the Town of Oakville should be in those lines of work. We do have service creep occurring, and a review of these pro- grams will help Oakville stay focused on the servic- es municipal governments should be doing. For more information, visit www.omeara.ca. ... WARD 2 TOWN COUNCILLORWARD 2 TOWN COUNCILLORW CANDIDATES Gordon Zlatko Bobes- ich It is not possible for the town council to make Oak- ville a more affordable place. It does not and can- not control the market. This is not in its mandate. No one has an absolute right to live in Oakville. If things are too expensive, then they should try anoth- er location. The town council must start thinking big. It should institute free park- ing and advertise itself as the only free parking town in Canada. Ray Chisholm (incum- bent) Last year, over 50 per cent of the townhomes and apartments sold in Oak- ville were below the $362,000 affordable hous- ing threshold. At Oakville council, we recently ap- proved zoning changes to allow accessory dwellings within detached and semi- detached homes. We now need to target the rental apartment market. I want to work toward municipal incentives for high and mid-rise apartment devel- opments, such as density bonusing, deferral of de- velopment charges, and partnerships with higher levels of government. Fraser Damoff By encouraging the building of more mid- to high-density residential dwellings closer to major transit hubs like Oakville and Bronte GO, Oakville residents will have more affordable places to live that offer significantly re- duced commuting/trans- portation costs. For more information, visit www.fraserdamoff- .com. WARD 2 TOWN AND REGIONALWARD 2 TOWN AND REGIONALW COUN. Cathy Duddeck is ac- claimed. ... WARD 3 TOWN COUNCILLORWARD 3 TOWN COUNCILLORW CANDIDATES Janet Haslett-Theall • Highlight programs such as seniors tax defer- ral and program fee assis- tance • Increase rental accom- modations and ensure af- fordable housing targetsfordable housing targetsf are exceeded • Support process map- ping to reduce costs and enhance service effective- ness • I will regularly ask in assessing spending; 1. Is this a valued ser- vice/program? 2. What alternatives have we investigated to im- prove operational efficien- cy? 3. Is there technology we can take advantage of to reduce cost? 4. Who can we partner with and what will the province/federal govern- ment contribute? For more information, CANDIDATES DISCUSS WAYS TO MAKE OAKVILLE A MORE AFFORDABLE PLACE TO LIVE DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com MUNICIPAL ELECTION See - page 49