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Inquire about your Personal Design Consultation Renovate Decorate Celebrate 5 J Q P C ( K V \ I G T C N F At Fitz by Design we are committed to creating breathtaking, functional spaces that are unique as the individuals living in them. 5 Friday , A ugust 27, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Oakville mayoral race is a lot like an elevator ride with people going in and out. The ride has started with two candidates, then moved to three, then back to two and its now back up to three. Long-time Oakville resident, business- man and engineer Raymond Ray has entered the fray for the October municipal election. Ray is running against the incumbent in Mayor Rob Burton, and former mayor Ann Mulvale. John Kay had previously withdrawn from the race. Despite his two competitors having more political experience than him, Ray is hoping he has something that they dont have. In the fight to stop the proposed 900 megawatt gas-fired power plant on Ford- owned lands proposed by TransCanada, the 74-year-old has a bit of an in with the compa- ny. Ray has worked on building various power plants, including the Pickering nuclear power plant and has worked with various firms around the world, including TransCanada. He understands the electricity business and he knows there is little that can be done to stop construction of the power plant. Unfortunately, in many cases, they have a 100 per cent right to build, he said. It seems like it cannot be stopped legally. What I want to do, as a normal citizen of this town I have no power to talk to them, negotiate with them. But if I were elected I would sit down with the president of TransCanada and try to convince them and give them an alter- native place to build. He said a lot of pollution is being put into the atmosphere in Canada needlessly. He said the majority of the electricity produced in Canada is sold to the United States, but the pollution stays here. You can see thousands of kids with a puffer. I have one. Now (the province) wants to add to that? he said. He said the land is too small for the size of power plant and if anything were to go wrong, the Ford plant and thousands of peo- ple would be affected and that people would die. Furthermore, he is also hoping to imple- ment a new system of waste disposal. Instead of incinerating waste he would build a plant that would convert the waste gasses into energy, similar to a system being construct- ed in Durham Region. That gas is equal to natural gas and that can be used to produce power, heating the house or whatever. It doesnt discharge any- thing into the atmosphere, he said. Ray said he also wants to tackle senior cit- izen issues. He said seniors often sell their homes and move into a condominium apartment think- ing it will be cheaper. Unfortunately, in this town there are one of the highest condominium taxes around, he adds. He compares two similar condos of the same price in Oakville and Markham, where residents in the Markham condo pay half the property taxes of their counterparts in Oakville. This has to be changed, he said. He noted also that he would continue a seniors shuttle service in town, encourage developers to build more senior citizen hous- ing units, develop more senior programs, organize senior health fairs and more. He also wants the town to continue to work towards being green, improve govern- ment transparency, increase the use of arts and sports, youth programs and public trans- portation, as well as create more affordable housing. He compares the town to Wal-Mart, one of the most successful corporations in the world. Im a businessman, not a politician. I look at the town as a business. Its a corpora- tion. What this town needs is a better price lower taxes and better service, he said. Ray also added that as a business man he doesnt need a mayors salary, but hes run- ning to help improve the town. I want to do something for this town, its my town, he said. Ive been living here for 30 years. My children grew up here. My grandchildren live here. Ray was born in India. At age 18, he left his native country and lived and studied in Switzerland and then later moved to Sweden. He and his wife have lived in Oakville for 30 years. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Third candidate enters race for mayor The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has set aside eight weeks beginning in November to hear appeals of Oakvilles new Development Charges bylaw. The bylaw, approved by council last summer and in effect as of Aug. 31, 2009, imposes charges on land development to pay for services like libraries, recreational facilities, roads and wastewater facilities required due to growth. Appeals of the bylaw to the OMB have been filed by Mattamy Realty Limited and Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). Town councillors received a legal update on the appeals in a private session on Monday night. Eight weeks scheduled for development charges appeal