w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, O ct ob er 2 0, 2 01 0 1 0 Reform parties, though he no longer main- tains any party affiliation and Linda Oliver has no previous affiliation. Despite Johnstons affiliation, he said, Party politics do not and should not play a role in municipal government in Oakville. All councillors park their party beliefs at the door and work together to provide all resi- dents the best possible decision making. He also added he has volunteers in his election campaign who support all political parties. Aceti stated that if he were elected he would not become a member of any political party during his term in office. Though Oliver has no previous party affil- iation, this is not her first time getting involved in politics. She said she was a polit- ical action officer for the Halton chapter of the Registered Nurses of Ontario (RNAO) for two years. The RNAO has a multi-partisan position that does not endorse any political party, but takes an issue-by-issue approach in its lobbying and advocacy activities, Oliver said. Ward 2 This ward has more candidates than any other in the town and with it area residents have more choices. Running for the Town council position are Joe Giraldi, Cheryle McCullagh, Bruce Grant, Stephan Bobesich, Pam Damoff and John Pilcher. Damoff worked with the Liberal MP for London West in the early 1980s and has been involved in current Oakville MPP Kevin Flynns Liberal Riding Association. She is also listed as a director on the Oakville Federal Liberal Riding Associations website. Despite her affiliation she said, I strong- ly believe that party politics should be left at home when a councillor takes his/her place at the council table. It is critical that every- one work together, regardless of their politi- cal affiliation. I am committed to working as a team with my fellow councillors to ensure the best for my community, and Oakville, if I have the privilege of representing Ward 2. Two of her competitors Bobesich and Grant have indicated no party affiliation. Grant said, For the record, I would like to state that political party affiliation is a problem in municipal politics and does not belong at this level of government. The other three candidates have not responded to the Oakville Beaver. Both competitors in the wards town and regional race have indicated party affilia- tions. Stephen Sparling is a member and sup- porter of the Conservative Party. He added he has been a party fundraiser and chaired national and provincial leadership cam- paigns. He also ran once unsuccessfully against former Oakville Liberal MP Bonnie Brown in 1997. Despite this, he said he does not believe party politics play a role at the municipal level. These are simply get- things-done skills that I can bring to my role as a regional councillor. Cathy Duddeck has a more mixed back- ground. She said has been a member of the Conservative/PC parties both at the provin- cial and federal level. She said as a teenager she helped out during provincial Liberal campaigns. She also worked for 13 years as a special assistant to the former Oakville Conservative MPP Gary Carr. Ward 3 Running for the Town council position are Liberal members Mary Chapin and Nick Hutchins and independent Dave Gittings. Despite Chapins current affiliation, she said she used to support the PC party while she served as school trustee. However, when the PC government of Mike Harris reduced spending on social services and public edu- cation, she switched to the Liberals. She also ran against fellow councillor Max Khan for the federal Liberal candidacy for Oakville and lost the race. But she said, I have observed that coun- cillors who support various political parties outside Town Hall, myself included, check party politics at the door and focus on trying to make the best decisions in the interests of our constituents with no concern, either, about what colour tie the constituents might wear. While he did not respond to the Beavers inquiry, Hutchins is listed as a director of the Oakville Federal Liberal Riding Association. In the town and regional race, Keith Bird has no previous political party affiliation, while Jean Gandubert has a background of working both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. He was director of communi- cations during the 1984 and 88 federal elec- tions for the PC party and was been hired as a senior policy advisor for the Liberals Denis Coderre, who was Canadian Minister of Sports. Ward 4 In Oakvilles Ward 4, there is one Conservative squaring off against two Liberals for the Town council seat. Brian Burton is currently listed as a direc- tor for the Federal Conservative Party of Oakville. Vying against him for the position are two Liberals. Roger Lapworth said he joined the feder- al and provincial Liberal parties about eight months ago. The third person in the local race is Susan Sheppard, who has worked with for- mer Oakville MP Bonnie Brown and current MPP Kevin Flynn, both of whom are Liberals. However, she adds that through her community involvement she has gotten to know current Oakville MP Terence Young and his Conservative Party. But she said party lines dont cross into the municipal jurisdiction. I believe munic- ipal politics is not about the party you are affiliated with and there is no official role for their participation, she said by e-mail. However, all levels of elected government must work together to ensure the best results for its citizens. I will continue to maintain relationships with all levels of elected government to ensure Oakville and its residents benefit from positive collabora- tion with decision makers. The other race in the ward, for regional and town council, has two candidates with no prior party affiliations running against Allan Elgar, who supported fellow councillor Max Khan to run as a Liberal nominee in the upcoming federal election. But, he said, I do not believe party politics has played a role in decision-making at Town Hall during the years I have served on council. Running against him are John Foster and Jeff Gareau, with no previous political affilia- tion. Another person in the race, Bhupinder Singh Sandhawalia has not responded to the Beaver. Ward 5 Its a smaller race in Ward 5, with only two candidates running for each of the two positions and both races have a PC support- er. In the running for the Town council posi- tion is PC-supporter Mark Straub against Marc Grant, who has no previous party affil- iation. Straub has been an Ontario PC Party of Halton president and both a member of the provincial PC Party and the federal Conservative Party. Grant questions the motives of individu- als with party affiliations who run for coun- cil. I maintain a thin level of distrust for candidates who are a member of any party running in a municipal election because I'm left wondering if they are getting involved because they truly care about their commu- nity or, rather, if they became involved because they see the position as a simple stepping stone to higher aspirations, he said via e-mail. The other race in the ward has the PC supporting Jeff Knoll squaring off against Bruce Jones with little to no prior affiliation. Jones said he does not hold a member- ship from any party, nor does he receive sup- port from any party. However, he said he has supported past politicians. He campaigned for current Toronto Mayor David Miller when he was running for the NDP and donated to Amy Collard in the last federal election when she ran for the Green Party in Burlington. Both those times he supported the individual and not the party, he said. Knoll said he has been a lifelong Progressive Conservative, but has not held the partys membership since being first elected to Town council in 2000. He added, In fact, my decision to pursue municipal politics was because there were no party affiliations. We are free to vote based on our own unique viewpoint with guidance from our constituents and there is no obliga- tion to respect an ideology. Ward 6 In the Town and regional race Tom Adams, a member of the Liberals, is running against Doug MacKenzie. MacKenzie has not responded to the Beaver request for information on party affiliation. Though hes currently a Liberal, Adams said he has been a member of the Conservative and Green parties in the past. He was a candidate for the Green Party in 2000 and since 2005 has been approached by both the Liberals and Conservatives to run for the parties. He maintains that party politics has not intruded into town council. I don't believe that organized party poli- tics has played a role in decision making at Town or regional council over the past two terms, he wrote in an e-mail. The other Ward 6 race has a few more competitors. The incumbent Max Khan is the current Liberal candidate for the upcom- ing federal election. Running against him are independents Tom Altobello, Ross Bragdon, Janice Wright and Jim Smith. It should be noted that Smith was a Conservative supporter in the past, but has not been affiliated with any political party for more than 12 years and does not accept donations from anybody. Again Young commented on the issue of party politics, this time in regards to the Ward 6 race. I was surprised when Mayor Burton used his position as mayor to send out a media release endorsing Max Khan in his nomina- tion race and asking six councillors to also attach their names to it, he said. There were a lot of people in town who were displeased about that and what has that led to? Well you have a local councillor, Max Khan, who is currently running for public office at two levels of government. And the mayor, whose first interest should be to council, has no problem with that. Councillors say party politics doesnt influence decisions I have observed that councillors who support various political parties outside Town hall, myself included, check party politics at the door and focus on try- ing to make the best decisions in the inter- ests of our constituents _ with no concern, either, about what colour tie the con- stituents wear. Ward 3 councillor Mary Chapin In fact, my decision to pursue municipal poli- tics was because there was no party affilia- tions. We are free to vote based on our own unique viewpoint with guidance of our con- stituents and there is no obligation to respect ideology. Ward 5 Regional Councillor Jeff Knoll Continued from page 9