Candidates team up for improved cross-border transit

By Kim Zarzour|York Region Media Group
Oct 21, 2010 – 8:14 AM

“We don’t go to Toronto.”
The statement, from a senior couple living in Richmond Hill, surprised council candidate Bruce Kurta during door-to-door campaigning because the Toronto border was just a few kilometres away from the couple’s southern York Region home.
The husband and wife are disabled and depend on public transit; crossing the Steeles Avenue border, they told him, is a major hassle.
Mr. Kurta contacted his aunt and stepfather who both live in Toronto and use WheelTrans and discovered they struggle with a similar problem; WheelTrans does not leave Toronto. Each region in the GTA has its own specialized services for the disabled, however, they don’t work together.
The Richmond Hill politician has gathered a consortium — five candidates from four municipalities in the GTA — interested in working together for cross-border transit for seniors and the disabled.
Mobility Plus is York Region’s accessible public transit service for people with disabilities. Users can book trips to travel across the Region. Those wishing to go to Toronto, however (or Peel or Durham), must be dropped off at a transfer point (along Steeles Avenue in York) and switch vehicles to another specialized transit service, paying an additional fare.
That strikes Vaughan-Thornhill candidate Styles Q. Weinberg as an unfair burden for seniors or disabled struggling with affordability.
“Once they’re let out of the bus they’re on their own and have to make their own arrangements,” said the Ward 4 candidate, who has joined Mr. Kurta, Jane Twinney (Newmarket Ward 3 candidate) and two Toronto candidates, Bruce Baker and Nancy Oomen, calling for better connections.
“It’s our obligation to ensure there is accessible flow,” he said. “It has to be more uniform and seamless.”
“With communities aging and thinking long-term methods of transportation are going to change, I would think there will be a need for it,” added Newmarket’s Jane Twinney.
Mr. Kurta, hoping for a seat in Ward 5, said the group is calling on the TTC, York Region Transit, Metrolinx and other regional transit authorities to re-think their plans for the future of accessible transit in the GTA.
“You figure you’re in a wheelchair or a walker or you’re elderly and frail — and let’s face it we get 100 days of good weather in this country — and the bus drops you off at Steeles. If you’re lucky there’s another bus to switch to waiting for you. But you’ve still got to get off one or onto the other. There’s just got to be a better way.”
Daniel Haufschild, director of policy and planning with Metrolinx, said the provincial agency is looking into the issue. Metrolinx, which is responsible for transportation planning across the GTA, is working with municipal partners and is scheduled to develop a strategy and implementation plan to improve specialized transit co-ordination and delivery,
For Richmond Hill’s Vito Spatafora, it can’t come soon enough.
As chair of York Region’s accessibility advisory committee, Mr. Spatafora says his group has been trying for years with Mobility Plus to co-ordinate with WheelTrans service in Toronto. He says YRT is now meeting with Metrolinx to explore those concerns.
The regional council candidate said there’s a growing need for it; in 2008 there were more than 12,000 cross-border trips by those requiring special transit.
He said that many of the region’s disabled and seniors require visit doctors and hospitals south of Steeles Avenue and the current system is difficult for many to manage.
Mr. Spatafora speaks from personal experience.
With no room available for her in York Region, his mother was moved to seniors housing in Toronto. His 93-year-old father, still living in York Region, hoped to visit her, but it was a major ordeal. First he had to be registered with WheelTrans, which required a visit to downtown Toronto to fill out paperwork. Then he arranged for Mobility Plus pick-up at his Aurora home, delivering him to Steeles and Yonge where he was to make a connection with WheelTrans to continue the trip.
But because of traffic tie-ups, Mobility Plus didn’t make it there in time. He waited 45 minutes for a connection, Mr. Spatafora said.
As is the case with many senior immigrants, the elderly man had limited language skills. “He was in a panic and called me. But the return trip was worse.” Traffic once again delayed the journey and he missed the connection.
“WheelTrans left him at Steeles and Yonge, just left him there for more than two hours waiting for a connection.
“The people who use York Region Mobility Plus are often not people with the wherewithall to know how to make the calls — especially ethnic seniors — and they may have poor eyesight, mild dementia,” or don’t have manual dexterity to use a pay phone and could be fatigued and tire easily.
“To leave a senior stranded at a connection point is just wrong.”

Cyberspace campaigns

May 28, 2010 – 11:32 AM 

Sean Pearce

Politicians go searching for votes on social networking sites

In the lead-up to this fall’s municipal election, more and more candidates are turning to the Internet to get their message out.
And that’s not really all that surprising to York University political science professor Fred Fletcher.
Candidate websites have been around for some time now and the next logical evolution of that has been for those seeking office to make the migration to other new media vehicles, such as blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, Mr. Fletcher said
He expects to see social media used with increasing frequency in politics and government as time goes on.
“It’s certainly changing election campaigns at the local level, because, compared to the federal and provincial level, those candidates have more trouble getting their message out,” he said. “There’s a multiplier effect, because the reach (of the Internet) is so much greater. If I had to put my message out somewhere as a new candidate, I would use social media.”
However, social media is by no means the be all and end all when it comes to campaigning, Mr. Fletcher said.
New candidates and incumbents need to ensure they’re not just sitting back and letting their blog or Twitter feed do all the work, he said, adding door knocking and all-candidate debates are still important.
One needs to remember Internet use in Canada hovers around 60 per cent, with just 25 to 30 per cent of those classified as regular blog readers, Mr. Fletcher said.
The majority of those engaged in social media are adults and tend to view the information they read online with more scrutiny than with traditional media, he said.
Still, it would be a mistake to underestimate the potential there, he added.
“(United States President Barack) Obama was able to bring in people who were previously non-voters, so that shows you how social media can mobilize people during an election,” Mr. Fletcher said, adding social media can stir avowed non-voters out of their apathy.
Hoping to tap into the growing popularity of social media, a number of local candidates in York Region are online.
In Aurora, mayoral candidate Roger Clowater has his own campaign website up and running at rogerclowater.ca, is using SMS to keep people up to date and has also uploaded videos to YouTube in an effort to connect with voters.
Social media is a great way to reach out to prospective voters in an unobtrusive manner and also obtain feedback, he said.
Using social media during an election is no different than at any other time (as) the principle is the same: it engages people on more of a pull and not a push strategy, where it is on their terms, the conditions they have set and when they have the time, he said via e-mail.
“Hopefully, you do connect with the voter more often. The other aspect is the feedback. The voter has a chance to provide thoughts and concerns.”
At the same time, Mr. Clowater agrees with Mr. Fletcher that social media isn’t meant to completely replace more traditional methods of spreading one’s message, such as lawn signs, brochures and good old-fashioned door knocking.
Of course, no discussion about the use of social media on the Aurora political scene can be complete without making mention of Councillor Evelyn Buck.
Ms Buck began blogging not long after the last municipal election and has kept with it, publishing at least a few posts a week. Her evelynmbuck.blogspot.com site has had nearly 70,000 visitors.
In Newmarket, Ward 3 council candidate Jane Twinney has her own website, janetwinney.ca and has taken to Facebook and Twitter to keep the electorate aware of her events and positions on the issues facing the town.
The daughter-in-law of late former mayor Ray Twinney said she has come a full 180 degrees since running in the 2006 municipal election, during which she didn’t even have a website. She likes the capacity for engagement online tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, provide.
“In this day and age, (social media) is the most wide-spread use on the Internet … especially among the people in my age group,” she said. “It’s really a no-brainer and if you’re not on there, you’re behind the times.”
In King Township, blogging is also poised to be a big deal in the fall election; just ask Ward 4 council candidate Greg Locke. His greglocke.ca website boasts a blog, contact information as well as links to his Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Social media is a useful tool, he said, and one that allows him to keep the public informed about his stance on various matters.
“I’m fortunate, as a municipal candidate, to have a new media background on top of my career marketing experience,” Mr. Locke said.
“(It has) allowed me to construct my own campaign blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn tools, but, most importantly, it’s really me talking and writing, not a back-room campaign team that is massaging every message. I want to come across as ‘the real deal’ and I mean this quite honestly and frankly. Social media helps me do this very effectively.”
And such tools aren’t merely a campaign vehicle, Mr. Locke insists, noting he plans to keep the conversation going if he’s elected to ensure his constituents continue to get the open and transparent representation for which they voted.
It will be interesting to see what role social media plays in elections to come, Mr. Fletcher said. It’s a great tool, but it’s also one with inherent risks candidates might not immediately consider when they sign on.
Studies have shown the most popular social media vehicles are the ones with some measure of interactivity, Mr. Fletcher said, but the danger is one’s opponents or their supporters may make critical or potentially damaging comments on your page or feed.
The other potential problem is you may shoot yourself in the foot without any help.
“The risk is that your supporters may say something your opponents can use against you or, if you’re tweeting on the run, you may say something that gets twisted around,” he said.
The other caveat is that much of the posting and commenting done online is anonymous, meaning candidates and their supporters can slag one another incognito or under various aliases. Such behaviour does occur, but it isn’t really anything new, Mr. Fletcher said, as people have written letters to the editor with pseudonyms since their inception.
“That’s a serious problem and we get arguments on both sides of that,” he said. “My position is that if you want to participate in a democratic discourse, you should at least put your name behind your opinions.”

Municipal races taking shape in Newmarket 

Jan 26, 2010 – 11:31 AM

Teresa Latchford

Nominations continue to be filed for the 2010 municipal election.

All members of council, including Mayor Tony Van Bynen, have declared they will seek re-election with the exception of Ward 6 Councillor Dennis Ramsarran.

Although Mr. Van Bynen, Regional Councillor John Taylor, Ward 1 Councillor Tom Vegh,  Ward 2 Councillor Dave Kerwin and Ward 5 Councillor Joe Sponga have yet to face challengers, the others will be in for a race for their seat.

Ward 3 Councillor Victor Woodhouse will run against Jane Twinney and Ward 4 Councillor Larry Blight will be challenged by Ryan Bender.

Brian Johns, Lucille Abate, Maddie Di Muccio and Ron Clarke are all hoping to serve Ward 6 next term while Robert Snow and current Ward 7 Councillor Chris Emanuel are eyeing Ward 7.

No nominations have been filed for York Catholic District School Board trustee or the French school boards and Martin Van Beek remains the only filed nomination for the title of trustee with the public board.

Candidates rolling in for Oct. 25 election

 Jan19, 2010 – 11:45 AM

Teresa Latchford

Let the campaigning begin for those running in the Oct. 25 municipal election.

Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen declared his candidacy for a second term only four minutes after the opening of registration last week.

“I’m looking forward to an exciting year,” Mayor Van Bynen said. “But I look even more forward to an exciting next term.”

He is confident residents have seen good leadership from himself and fellow councillors in the past three years as the municipality has taken on some exciting projects, including the community urban space project, economic development strategy, old town hall renovations and Yonge Street and Davis Drive restructuring, he said.

“It’s an exciting time for Newmarket and I would like to stay on to see these projects through,” he said.

Looking into the future for employment opportunities and getting the planned women’s shelter operating are two priorities on his campaign list.

He will officially launch his campaign Jan. 28 with a kick-off party. It will be a busy year as he continues his current duties and plans to be on the streets campaigning more than during his previous campaign.

Regional Councillor John Taylor expects an interesting campaign as he predicts the large projects will attract more candidates as Newmarket breaks into a new decade. Although Mr. Taylor hasn’t officially registered, he has made it clear he wants to keep his seat.

“It’s these kinds of projects that make the job interesting and more rewarding at the same time,” he said.

Ward 7 Councillor Chris Emanuel also plans to seek re-election. He is proud of what council has accomplished this term, but also sees the need to continue finding solutions to issues facing his ward, including the sale of Glenway Country Club and the reduction of Woodspring Avenue from four to two lanes.

Councillor Victor Woodhouse seeks to serve Ward 3 for another term, while Ward 2 Councillor Dave Kerwin and Ward 4 Councillor Larry Blight were also quick to announce their intention to run again. Councillor Joe Sponga is also seeking to serve Ward 5 for the next three years.

Ward 1 Councillor Tom Vegh has joined the ranks of councillors who have registered or announced their intention to run again.

Jane Twinney will challenge Mr. Woodhouse for the reins of Ward 3 and Ryan Bender is challenging Larry Blight to represent Ward 4.

Ward 6 Councillor Dennis Ramsarran will not seek re-election this fall.

“The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving,” he said. “This is not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right decision at the right time.”

Maddie Di Muccio and Lucille Abate have filed to replace Mr. Ramsarran.

Martin Van Beek seeks to return as the York Region District School Board trustee for the next term.