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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 11, 2006 - 9 The views in Ward 3 By Kim Arnott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Mailboxes in Ward 3 are likely to be stuffed full of campaign literature as five candidates battle for the area's seat on Town council. With incumbent Chris Stoate taking a shot at the mayor's job, five contenders have rushed in to fill the vacancy. While none has ever sat on council, voters may be familiar with the names. Voters with kids might be familiar with Birbank Drive resident Mary Chapin, who has represented the ward as a trustee with the Halton District School Board for the last two terms. Local Tories will undoubtedly recognize Andrew Pask, vice-president Mary Chapin of the provincial Progressive Conservative party in Oakville, and former campaign manager for candidate Rick Byers. Wayne Moorehead, house league vice-president for the Oakville Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), is a familiar face in the town sports circles, while Scott McColeman has been a fixture on the local and master collective bargaining teams at Ford Motor Company. Reynolds Street resident Stephen Cowan, a semi-retired business consultant, has the lowest public profile, but may be known to local residents as a result of the 25 years he's lived in the area. Cowan, 57, says he is concerned about the future of Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. While he supports a new facility for the town, he says he wants to see some services, including an emergency department, retained at the current hospital. As a councillor, Cowan also says he would investigate the cost and benefits of refurbishing the old Oakville Trafalgar high school site for the use of area residents. He added he would like to see a stop to the downloading of development costs onto established neighbourhoods, and wants to increase the number of ice sheets, soccer fields, transit routes and teen drop-in centres in the town. McColeman, a Blenheim Crescent resident, says he would be an asset on town council because of negotiating skills he has picked up in six years of bargaining with the Ford Motor Company. A Ford employee for 19 years, as well as a past director of the Oakville United Way and the Peel Halton Dufferin Training Board, McColeman says he would hold regular community meetings to hear about public issues, if he was elected as a councillor. Like several other candidates for the Ward 3 seat, Scott McColeman McColeman, 41, expressed concern with how the town has been dealing with development and the cost of frequent battles in front of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). "Development is coming in Oakville, so we need to be prepared for it," he said, suggesting that the town should be involved in negotiating with developers at an early stage. "Developers and residents need to be at the table with town council." That comment was echoed by Pask, who noted, "I think we spend too much time fighting developers at the Ontario Municipal Board, instead of getting involved really early." He believes the town must become better at cooperating and negotiating with developers, rather than spending millions of dollars at OMB hearings. Pask is also concerned with property standards. He wants to see the appearance of Royal Windsor and Ford Drive improved. A Beechnut Road resident, Pask wants to see property standards bylaws enforced with businesses and residents who can afford to deal with their properties. However, he is suggesting establishing a senior support program that would link up high school volunteers and seniors in need of property maintenance work. "The kids would get their (required volunteer) hours, the lawns would get mowed and the property would look great so the neighbours wouldn't worry about it," said Pask, a 38-year-old political advisor to Toronto city councillor Rob Ford. Moorehead, a marketing manager with Canadian Tire Petroleum, has appeared before Town council a number of times to argue the need for more ice time for the town's young people. As house league vice president for the last seven years, Moorehead notes that OMHA, like the town, has struggled with growth. The association has expanded from 150 house league teams to 223 in that period. He has told town council that Oakville doesn't have enough available ice surfaces to satisfy the growing recreational demand, and Moorehead, a resident of Greeniaus Road, fears that the town's recently approved Parks, Recreation, Culture and Library Master Plan won't resolve the problem. That concern is part of what has brought him to run for council. "I'm very hands-on. I don't just complain about things, I do something about them," said Moorehead, 55. He adds he will wait to take a stand on other issues until he can gather complete facts from the councillor's chair. "I'm a big believer in informed decisions, not off-the-cuff decisions," he said. Chapin, a Birbank Drive resident, says she would focus on quality of life issues as a town councillor, and wants to make sure the ward's atmosphere is preserved. Wayne Moorehead Pointing to infill development, air quality and service levels, Chapin adds that she would defend the neighbourhood's trees. "I came here for the schools and the trees, and that for me, is quality of life," she says, noting her property contains dozens of trees in the 60 to 100-year-old range. Yet Chapin, and several other candidates, said she would not have supported the proposed private tree bylaw recently before town council. That bylaw has been sent back to town staff for more work. Vice-chair of the town's new Cultural Advisory Board, Chapin has also sat as a member of the executive board of the local chapter Andrew Pask of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and previously chaired the Oakville Museum Advisory Board. Chapin says she has demonstrated her ability to truly represent her community, and to get things done around a board table. She also notes that she will be able to give the job her full time attention because she isn't employed elsewhere. Ward 3, which is bounded on the south by Lake Ontario, on the north by the QEW, on the west by the Sixteen Mile Creek and on the east by Winston Churchill Boulevard, elects two councillors. One sits only on town council, while the other sits on both town and regional councils. Veteran councillor Keith Bird was acclaimed for the Ward 3 town and regional seat. -- Photo of Stephen Cowan unavailable as of press deadlines. at the OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Friday, October 20/06 Showtime at 8:00 PM Tickets at the Box Office 905-815-2021 www.oakvillebeaver.com Forecast: Perfectly warm and comfortably cozy. Count on it with a Lennox® home comfort system. Get up to a $ Instant Discount* with purchase of qualifying Lennox® products. 500 $ a Clean & Check** 10 Off 90 University Ave. West, Cobourg, ON K9A 2G8 905-372-6666 Serving Northumberland County for over 35 Years. TSSA #0076571678 Offer expires November 16, 2006. © 2006 Lennox Industries Inc. Lennox dealers include independently owned and operated businesses. *See your participating Lennox dealer for details. One offer available per qualifying purchase. Instant Discount offer is valid with the purchase of qualifying Lennox product(s). **Service offer applies to new customers only.