The election is on. Now, make it personal
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Jan 4 2014)
The 2014 municipal election race is on — but don't feel bad if the finish line seems depressingly far away.
High-profile mayoral candidates started declaring themselves early last fall and election-tinged jousting at council meetings already feels old, 10 months before voting day.
Just remember: you can't afford to tune out.
Local government — like it or not, the most accessible level you've got — is responsible for a yearly $1.3-billion budget that costs the average residential homeowner close to $4,000 in taxes and water rates.
And this year, current and aspiring politicians are staring down a series of budget-busting, history-making calls. Think a $1-billion light-rail line across the city. Two-way street conversions in a historically one-way town. A controversial downtown casino pitch that just won't die.
These decisions can change the value of your home, the face of your neighbourhood, your route to work — maybe even the number of wheels you need to get there.
You choose the decision-makers Oct. 27. We're here to help with a list of looming choices and still-reverberating decisions that could influence your vote.
Van Dongen’s list of hot-button issues is as follows:
01.
LRT
02.
Casino
03.
Stadium
04.
West harbour
05.
Taxes
06.
Council friction
07.
Poverty/homelessness
08.
Two-way streets
09.
Heritage
10.
Scandal
Read it in full
here
The casino issue is certainly open to electioneering but it's arguably all about posturing and speculation. The OLG’s Request for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ) submission deadline has no real meaning to candidates or the voting public because (a) it’s only the pre-qualifying round; (b) to date, none of the interested parties have been revealed; and (c) the important phase of the
procurement process is the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage, which will proceed at a time of OLG’s choosing (ie. "Target release in the coming months"). The OLG’s first three gaming RFPQs closed by March 14, 2013, yet AFAIK, none of the potential players have yet been outed... around 300 days later. The GTA West RFPQ evaluation phase would almost certainly last as long. The RFP timeline is anyone's guess, and it's only during the RFP phase that facility siting is determined.