2010 Campaign

Newmarket is truly one of the most wonderful places to live.  After living in a number of communities and cities, including Toronto, St. Catharines, Barrie and the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Jane understands the diversity and the growth that is part of our community.  She knows she brings a view, an understanding and the much needed perspective to council that is currently missing.

She feels there is a need within her own community and her Ward for the understanding of issues that are ever present.

If you are looking for a more balanced and equal representation of Council that brings with it integrity, honesty and concern of her fellow neighbours, then you are looking at Jane.

Accountability

Being accountable is the most important standard by which we judge our elected officials.

What we see them doing, what we know of them, what and how we hear from them all play a part in how we judge them.

My pledge to you is to be as accountable as I can throughout my term as Councillor with constant communication by way of a Ward 3 website not unlike this website.

I will also establish a Ward 3 e-mail distribution system that will deal with timely information and updates sent right to your desktop about what is happening within the Ward including what I am doing and how that affects you.

I also vow to you to show transparency of my voting on issues within Newmarket, what I support and what I do not support. As a resident of Ward 3 I feel this is important to know how our representative stands on issues that affect us directly. Living in the Ward, I have the same concerns as you.

Most importantly, however, is that when you place a phone call or e-mail to your Councillor, it will be returned in a timely manner regardless of whether the issue is simple or complex. I am here for my constituents and don’t believe that town staff should be your point of reference first.

If you want your voice to be heard, I promise to you that it will be.

Taxes

My guess is that your salary has not risen to meet the tax increase that we have seen at the Municipal level and you are questioning what increases in services you have seen for those increased taxes. I have spoken to many residents on how these have affected them personally on a day to day level.

My pledge to you is to be diligent during the budget process to ensure that the services the Town of Newmarket provides are essential , not wasteful, practical, not impractical, and most importantly affordable not outside your financial means so that you receive the services you expect from the money you pay in taxes.

I feel that we need to focus on encouraging businesses to come to Newmarket to establish increased levels of viable jobs for the residents of Newmarket. The ability for residents to work closer to home not only will help with the ever increasing commute traffic, but will also help increase our tax base. The residents themselves cannot continue to be the brunt of the tax burden. More businesses mean more taxes coming from this source to the town.

Taxpayers are NOT a never-ending revenue stream. There are limits to what we can afford.

Green Spaces

One of the great attractions to Newmarket and especially Ward 3 is our access to the amazing trail system along Fairy Lake and the Holland River. There is nothing that Joe, Michael and I like to do than ride our bikes along the trail to either visit the Farmer’s Market or head further afield to the extended trail system.

I believe many families feel that it is important to maintain and grow our green spaces to whatever capacity we still can within our boundaries. Protecting and growing green spaces is something I feel strongly about. Continuing with our existing trail plan, I would like to ensure we have a Master Plan in place that will help connect the missing links to create a safe and easy to use system. With proper planning, we should be able to use this system so we are able to connect to other areas of Newmarket safely.

Campaign promises:

• Regular Ward meetings that are communicated to the entire ward, with ongoing communication using the internet, e-letters and newsletters.
• Passionate, caring and understanding of today’s economy and the future of our town.
• Have the courage to take a stand and make tough decisions for a better future.  Be a leader, not a follower.
• Provide better management of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.  Eliminate waste without decreasing the services of our town.
• Promise transparency by posting her voting record on all Council issues on her website
• Bring new blood and a new perspective that is so desperately needed
• Jane will bring a high level of responsiveness and “customer service” that she is known for in her business life to residents’ concerns and questions.
• Jane is committed to improving community quality of life while fostering responsible economic development.
• Recognizes the special requirements of seniors and people less mobile. Work towards enhancing public transit and a barrier-free Newmarket. Develop an advisory group for the seniors of Newmarket, so they are able to communicate their issues more effectively.
• Protect and enhance Newmarket’s environment as this is the town we are leaving to our children and grandchildren.
• Understands that the most important element of being a councillor is the ability to listen and understand resident concerns and have the strength to act on them in a timely matter.
• As a resident of Newmarket and active member of her community and her ward, your concerns are my concerns.