We believe
GEORGE LAWRENCE
would make an excellent Mayor
We supported George Lawrence’s successful candidacy for Deputy Mayor in the last two municipal elections and believe that he now has the experience to serve as Mayor. Where some Mayors actively dislike the social side of the job – attending functions, net-working, liaising with neighbouring heads of Council, and the like — George actively enjoys that side of the job. This is a major asset.
At the County of Simcoe, he has served on the Corporate Services Committee, which oversees matters like roads, bridges, garbage, windmills, and forests. In his first term he helped block the proposed cancellation of bulk garbage pickup and contributed substantially to the fight against locating a major landfill at Site 41 on Conc. 2.
During his second term he continued to effectively oppose the installation of wind turbines on Simcoe County forest lands in northwest Tiny, though he sees a place for solar installations as long as they are restricted to Class 5, 6, and 7 farmland. He helped iron out many problems as the new garbage pickup service came into effect in Tiny. He notes that it has been worth it, since the change has saved money. (He reports that the emerald ash borer that destroyed many of Toronto’s trees has reached Penetanguishene, but not Tiny as yet. Unfortunately, it seems that there’s no stopping it: only early treatment is effective, and that’s very expensive.)
In the Township, no Council Member has been more conscientious than he on local and neighbourhood matters. He makes himself available to the 8 to 10 constituents who telephone or e-mail him each week. About half the time, he makes site visits, sometimes traveling the length of the Township a couple of times in a single day.
At Tiny’s Council meetings, he arrives prepared and ready to raise questions. He does his share of committee work, in his first term serving on the Site 41 Community Monitoring Committee and on Tiny’s Accessibility Advisory Committee. He has been a member of the North Simcoe Heads of Council Committee in both terms, and this last term he has been the Council representative on the Wyevale Parks and Recreation Master Plan Committee, and on the Springwater Parks and Recreation Committee (Tiny Township children use its arena). He seized opportunities to meet with the LHIN and other Provincial representatives eager to ensure that colonoscopy and opthalmology services remain available at Georgian Bay General Hospital.
George has given a great deal of time to his community. He gained his first broad experience of the Township between 1996 and 2006 as chair of the now defunct citizens’ group Tiny’s Residents Working Together and as editor of its newspaper Tiny Ties. While some elements of TRWT were seen at the time as hostile to the aims of FoTTSA, George became sensitized to private property rights, including that of beaches. He helped further the system of parking permits for Tiny residents and a network of public parks along the shore.
He also familiarized himself and others with the problems associated with wind turbines and the dumpsite proposed for Site 41. In addition, each year since 2001 he has organized the highly useful Seniors’ Information Day. This year the event will take place on October 10 in the Midland Recreation Complex. Forty services are expected to be present to supply information, and there are to be five guest speakers.
He and his wife Joan have been permanent residents of Tiny Township since 1981. George was a successful builder, and took early retirement in 1995.
In his view the key priorities facing Tiny’s next Council are
• deciding how to manage the Township’s septage,
• evaluating, and possibly changing, the Township’s consultants,
• assessing the effectiveness of the Township’s staff,
• looking for ways to reduce the coming increase in the cost of policing,
• making sensible use of space in Township-owned buildings rather than building new township offices.
In our opinion, George Lawrence has the experience, the passion, and the commitment essential for anyone aspiring to be Mayor of Tiny Township.
If you have questions or concerns, you can reach George at gglawrence@sympatico.ca.
