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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , O ct ob er 2 2, 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The rest, it is said, is now up to you. The candidates seeking election in the various local municipal election races will undoubtedly be making last-minute pitches this weekend to get their message across to Oakville voters. Please give them your time. Listen carefully to what they have to say. Ask them ques- tions. Challenge them. There are a lot of rumours and innu- endoes circulating in the final week of the campaign. Try to sep- arate fact from fic- tion. But most importantly on Monday take the few short minutes needed to cast your vote. When this campaign began early last month, we urged voters to learn what they could about the candidates running for the Catholic school board, public school board and Oakville Town Council. Over the past month weve tried our best to cover the campaign by profiling the ward races, highlighting the issues and reporting on the all- candidates meetings. Oakville is facing some tough choices over the next four years choices the 12 councillors and the mayor will be forced to deal with. The issues property taxes, economic devel- opment, the new hospital, growth (infill and urban sprawl development) and the infrastruc- ture remain the most prominent concerns among voters. Now and in the coming years, the Town has to find ways to maintain the current services, build new facilities as they are needed and keep one eye on the growing debt. The people who put their names forward for election are to be commended for their desire to make Oakville a great place to live. They have worked hard in recent weeks to convey their ideas and concerns. The very least you, as a voter can do, is cast a ballot Monday. The Oakville Beaver is a division of NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206,Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editorGet out and vote THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Re: Our pick for mayor, editorial Oakville Beaver, Oct. 20. You mention that you are concerned about the towns financial commitment for the new Oakville hospital, stating that asking residents to pay their share from 2015 to 2045 is adding further to the taxpayers bur- den. You then compare the town to a spend- thrift homeowner who is never concerned about the future until their house of cards comes crashing down. Firstly, its sad that the Beaver considers funding something as worthy as a hospital as a burden. Secondly, I believe Mayor Rob Burton has the future completely in mind. The hospital is obviously something that town residents will require in the future, and therefore we have to accept that assuming our fair share of its construction is not unrea- sonable. Mayor Burtons practical funding approach is exactly what is needed to ensure the hospital is there for all our futures. KEVIN UHLIG, OAKVILLE Our pick was the wrong pick says reader Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Party politics story was unnecessary Re: Is Oakville seeing red and blue in municipal election?, Oakville Beaver, Oct. 20 You ask if Tory and Liberal political influences have trickled in to this terms municipal election. I would suggest to you no more than any other election year until now. The Beaver, however, with its over- the-top coverage of this subject has ram- rodded the issue right down the elec- torates gullet. And shame on you for so doing. Let me state that I am a Liberal and have indeed been an active one in Oakville both provincially and federally. I have also voted for Ann Mulvale several times knowing full well her Conservative affilia- tion. I would be appalled if candidates for local office did not have political affilia- tions for the most part. To not have would suggest they were uninvolved or uninter- ested in the influences of more senior lev- els of government. I would be most con- cerned about any candidates of this ilk-for it would show they didnt care enough. As to the positions our municipal rep- resentatives take on issues why would you suggest they are driven by political affiliations? This is the one level of govern- ment where I believe votes are made based on the individual politicians brain, con- science and supporters wishes. Those views may be conservative, liberal or whatever, but they are reflective of the rep- resentatives beliefs not his/her party influ- ence because in simple terms there is no party involvement here. This is the basic point you seem to have missed. Or have you really missed it? I have admitted to currently being a Liberal supporter. As a paper you have not admitted to being anything other than an Ann Mulvale supporter. Your endorsement record, however, is clearly on the side of Conservatives with at least one notable exception I can remem- ber. I believe your substantial coverage of the political influences is skewed to inti- mate that somehow this is a Liberal thing and we should all be alert to this cabal. I trust the electorate will see things clearly and vote for the candidates who best reflect their wishes without giving credence to the presumed red flag of party affiliation that you have so ill advisably raised. JIM LEFRANCOIS, OAKVILLE The people who put their names forward for election are to be commended for their desire to make Oakville a great place to live.