ELECTION 2006 SPECIAL
Our recommendations for Tiny’s Next Council
The following individuals have presented themselves to the interview committee separately. As all of them live permanently in Tiny Township and have been active as volunteers and on various issues, they know each other a little or by sight, but they made their decision to seek office individually and independently. All of them love Tiny Township – its rural tableland, the sweep of its sandy and rocky shores, and the pleasures of small town life. All of them have the knowledge and skills needed to govern Tiny Township well over the next four years.
We believe you should re-elect
PEGGY BRECKENRIDGE as Mayor of Tiny Township
When we interviewed her, Peggy spoke with authority and sweep about the role she wants to play as Mayor. She believes that the Township needs a Mayor who will provide real leadership and inspire positive thoughts about the Township in neighbouring municipalities. She is determined to change the perception of Tiny, so that people no longer dismissively observe: “Only in Tiny could such a thing happen,” and so that people are eager to join the staff of the Township.
She feels that community pride needs to be fostered – possibly by establishing a central meeting place, placing special signage at points of entry into the Township, and working on public relations with the various communities in Tiny. And she wants the next Council to work effectively as a team, drawing on one another’s strengths and communicating well with each other.
She is sharply aware of the need to be effective as one of the Township’s two representatives on County Council, which spends a third of our taxes, but is dominated by an complex bureaucracy, and has an unwieldy system of political governance. This need has been ground home over Site 41 and many recent instances where the County has ridden rough-shod over the desires of Tiny Township.
As preparation for serving as Mayor, she has served on a hard-working, well-informed, innovative Council that accomplished an amazing amount in three short years. That Council hired outstanding, well-educated, experienced individuals to fill the posts of CAO/Clerk, Fire Chief and Treasurer. It passed the new Zoning By-law, improved many Council procedures, and continued the Septic Re-inspection Program and the investigation into causes of pollution in the Bay. During its tenure many of the Township’s governing by-laws were re-considered and brought up to date. And it kept a tight control on taxes, this year actually decreasing the Township share of the levy by almost 1%.
Peggy has valuable skills and experience and convictions to bring to the role of Mayor. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Guelph, a Diploma in Education from the University of Western Ontario (she taught high school for 10 years), and took numerous business courses as she worked her way into a number of senior management positions, including becoming President and General Manager of Sunbeam Canada for a time. She continues to be President of Breckenridge Associates Inc. On Council, her experience in management was particularly evident when senior positions were being filled and when personnel policies were under review. She is comfortable reviewing complex budget spreadsheets.
Although Peggy and her husband Terry moved permanently to Tiny Township only in 2004, she was certainly not new to the area. She grew up in Midland and had been a seasonal resident in Clearwater Beach for 22 years.
In the midst of a busy life, she has found time for her community over the years, serving
• on her beach association (once its president)
• as a volunteer for the Children’s Aid Society and the Canadian Institute for the Blind
• as fundraising Chair for the Credit Valley Hospital, and
• as Fundraising Chair of the United Way.
As Councillor, she sat on a number of committees, including
• the Tiny Trails Committee
• the Parks and Recreation Committee
• the Bluewater Dunes Restoration Committee and
• the Community Monitoring Committee.
She is happily married, enjoyed raising her children, and is now an enthusiastic grandmother.
As Mayor she says she would continue the fight against Site 41, strengthen the environmental protections in our Official Plan, strive to keep taxes down, and try to find ways to hear, understand and satisfy the diverse interests of Tiny’s residents.
We urge you to elect Peggy Breckenridge as the next Mayor of Tiny Township.
We believe you should elect
GEORGE LAWRENCE
as Deputy Mayor
Some may remember times when the Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations and Tiny’s Residents Working Together were strongly opposed to each other. But as times changed and issues became more focused on facts than emotion, the hope of many that common interests could replace polarization in Tiny became stronger.
You may know that George was an early supporter of beach mediation, an approach to beach problems that we support, too. What you probably don’t know is that while serving on the 2000-2003 Council, the late Frank Hughes telephoned and visited George Lawrence and Judith Grant regularly, bent on getting them together so that they might discuss issues, since he was sure that they saw many of them the same way. That didn’t happen while Frank was alive. But what did occur was a decision by our organization see if FoTTSA and TRWT might work together on the municipal election in 2003. That experience was salutary. As one potential candidate after another was interviewed, agreement was evident on many issues and, in due course, on the five candidates who would serve Tiny best. The relationship between our two organizations has been a cordial one ever since.
George Lawrence gives a great deal of time to his community – first and foremost since 1996 as Chairman of TRWT and Editor of its newspaper, Tiny Ties. Recently, for example, TRWT helped organize and host two meetings on wind power. In August, TRWT helped organize the highly effective Site 41 demonstration at Queen’s Park – arranging for buses and speakers – and working effectively with the Stop Site 41 group. And each year since 2001 George has organized the highly useful Seniors Information Day. For the last year he has served on the North Simcoe Hospital Alliance Communications Committee.
Attending a number of those occasions, we have been impressed at how well he spoke and how well he managed the event.
Like Peggy Breckenridge, George wants Tiny Township’s representatives to be effective at County Council. We believe that his would be a strong voice there, particularly with regard to Site 41. Certainly the many articles in Tiny Ties about Site 41 are ample evidence of his broad awareness of the issues involved.
George has been a permanent resident of Tiny Township since 1981, is happily married to his wife Joan, was a successful builder, and took early retirement in 1995. He cares passionately about his community, striving in many ways, as he says, to “put back the ‘Unity’ in our community”. He continues to support resumption of mediation and has expressed his willingness to work with ALL parties over beach issues. We have heard him speak positively about the current Council’s decision to define the extent of Township owned parks with signage and posts, about private property rights, and about ensuring that Township-owned property on the shore is well-maintained and pleasant for Tiny’s inland and back lot residents.
He promises to work to ensure municipal services are provided efficiently in order to eliminate tax increases.
George Lawrence has the thorough knowledge of key issues in Tiny Township, the organizational skills and the personal quality of perseverance that are essential for anyone aspiring to one of the top two political positions in the Township. We encourage everyone to support George Lawrence for Deputy Mayor.
We believe you should elect
ANDRÉ CLAIRE
for Councillor
When interviewing prospective candidates, we have looked primarily for an outlook and background that would result in good and fair governance for all parts of the Township. But we have also hoped to be able to support candidates who would represent the Township’s various communities.
Once Pierre Paul Maurice decided not to run in this election, we realized that no one had come forward who might speak for Tiny’s French-speaking population. The fact that André Claire, who was born and grew up in France, has French as his first language is thus very important. That he is also fluent in English – the working language of Council – is, of course, also a plus.
André’s allegiance to Tiny Township extends back almost as far as the year he arrived in Canada. He emigrated from France in 1981 (becoming a Canadian citizen in 1984), and purchased property on Nadia Crescent in 1983, eventually taking up residence full time in 2001, when he took early retirement.
His background is as a professional engineer (with credentials from the INSA, Lyon, in France and with certification as a Professional Engineer in Ontario since 1982). That he is thoroughly comfortable with computers is fortunate now that the Township is moving toward e-gendas for members of Council. (He was a key contributor in setting up a Medical Office Automation Software Corporation.)
A keen environmentalist, he opposes Site 41 and is determined that the “Environment First” aspect of Tiny’s Official Plan be reinforced in the coming review of the Plan. A key figure in getting the Township to reestablish the dunes in Bluewater Park, he is now a member of the Committee that is helping to guide the reclamation process.
As one of very few people familiar with the detail of the current Council’s deliberations and thinking, he would be a real asset to the next Council. For the last two years, he has regularly sat through the twice monthly Council meetings that begin at 9 am and often don’t end until 9 in the evening, and he spoke out on a number of issues. Recently, for example, he raised several points concerning the rules for Trailer Parks at the public meeting about the draft Business Licensing By-law.
President of the Bluewater Dunes Ratepayers Association since 2005, André consistently demonstrates a keen understanding of municipal issues and the ability to apply his logical mind and engaging personality to their solution.
We think André Claire will make an excellent Councillor for Tiny.
We believe you should elect
GEORGE CORNELL
for Councillor
After graduating in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto, George Cornell spent more than 25 years working in the oil and gas sector in both Canada and the United States. He worked for Gulf Canada, Ultramar Canada and Superior Propane, holding various senior management positions, including Vice President of Corporate Development and General Manager for Eastern Canada Operations with Superior Propane.
In the course of this career, George developed strong skills in strategic management and planning, problem solving, negotiation, communication, and organization.
George puts people at their ease. He wants to hear what others have to say, and makes them aware of that willingness. Approachable and genial, he has a voice that reaches easily across a large room. He is energetic and likes to encourage teamwork. Recently we had a chance to observe him tackle a difficult problem, and what struck us was his persistence, his willingness to try various approaches, his ability to discover an appropriate expert, and his good humour throughout. His persistence paid off: the problem will be resolved.
Inevitably, given his career path, he and his wife Sandy and their two children ended up living in a number of communities across Canada and in the US Midwest. But he found time to involve himself in those communities, with Cubs and Boy Scouts, coaching minor hockey (NCCP Level 3), and doing corporate fundraising for the United Way.
In 2001, he and his wife retired to the north end of Tiny Township, where he continues to do some consulting. Recently, he has been active with the Community Physician Recruitment effort for North Simcoe.
As for challenges that the next Council will face, he sees finding an effective way to oppose Site 41 as chief among these. With regard to beach access and water quality, he would build on the progress that has been made to date. He wants to make sure that the coming review of Tiny’s “Environment First” Official Plan produces revisions that make the Plan able to protect the environment effectively. And he wants to be part of a team that uses taxpayers’ money carefully and wisely.
In our view, George Cornell possesses the knowledge, experience, personal qualities and team skills that will make him an effective part of a team coping with those challenges.
We believe you should elect
NIGEL WARREN
for Councillor
Nigel Warren worked as a purchasing and materials manager in the heavy manufacturing and automotive parts industries. As a senior manager with Burlington Technologies, he had experience negotiating with some of the largest companies in North America, including Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota. He holds a Business Certificate from McMaster University, and has taken many professional courses. His years in senior management have honed skills that will be very useful on Council. He has had experience in working effectively as part of a team and has developed good listening and analytical skills. He is used to asking searching questions and undertaking research before making decisions.
Although he and his wife did not become permanent residents of Tiny Township until 2003, they already knew the area well from many visits to relatives in the area. Nigel’s wife is connected to the Maheu and Leroux families, descendants of settlers who came to Lafontaine over 150 years ago as loggers, later farmers around Lafontaine and Perkinsfield.
Nigel has always been generous in giving time to his community —
• as a founding member of the Coalition for Neighbourhood Schools in Hamilton, when local schools were unfairly targeted for closure
• as a certified soccer referee, a coach and executive of Hamilton area soccer leagues for many years
• as a referee for the Huronia Soccer Club and for local high schools for the last two years
• as a driver for a local social service agency (logging from 500 to 3,000 kilometres a month)
• as area co-ordinator for Neighbourhood Watch and,
• as Vice President of Sand Castle Community Association.
Since moving to Tiny, he has learned much about his new community, not only through sports and social service, but also by serving on the Policing Committee and (briefly) on the Tiny Trails Committee. He has attended many Committee of the Whole and Regular Council meetings.
And issues that concern him?
• Site 41 (he feels that alternative methods of waste disposal should be explored and implemented and recycling and diversion efforts increased)
• septage disposal, given the Province’s decision to stop spreading on farmer’s fields
• watershed protection
• keeping taxes down while maintaining services
• adhering to and strengthening the Township’s Official Plan in face of development pressures.
Thoughtful, community-minded, knowledgeable, Nigel will make an excellent Councillor. We urge you to give him your support.
