5 people declare candidacies for vacant Newmarket Ward 5 council seat

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 3, 2016
By Chris Simon 

The words have barely finished their echo through Newmarket’s council chambers, but a slew of candidates have already declared an intention to run in Ward 5’s by-election.

Last week, former regional councillor candidate Darryl Wolk, anti-poverty advocate Tom Pearson, traffic safety advocates Ian Johnston and Bob Kwapis and former Ward 5 councillor candidate Ron Eibel registered to run in the Oct. 17 by-election. Council called for the vote July 25, about one month after the seat was vacated by long-time councillor Joe Sponga.

Eibel finished fourth in Ward 5 in the 2014 municipal election, earning 61 of the 3,198 votes cast. At the time, he mentioned high taxes, never-ending construction on Davis Drive, traffic calming and a lack of understanding about municipal politics as the biggest issues facing the ward. He says the clock tower and increased accountability, following the reconstruction delays at Old Town Hall, have become major issues since.
“I look at being councillor as being the voice of the people as a man of the people,” he said. “I have no political agenda/affiliation. I am just a guy, like most people in my ward, who has a 9 to 5 (job), commutes out of town and has to weigh any major purchase carefully.”

Kwapis, who has lived in Newmarket for more than 20 years, worked in the telecommunications sector for most of his career.

Johnston finished third in Ward 6 during the 2014 election, gathering 280 of 3,180 votes. He is a real estate and mortgage agent and lists the Main Street Clock Tower proposal, traffic, crime, affordable housing and upgrades to parks and recreational facilities as the most pressing issues facing the ward.

“People should vote for me because I have been here in the same area for over 50 years,” he said in a statement on his website, . “I have attended most all public council meetings for last 20 years and had numerous meetings with town officials on a number of issues.”

Meanwhile, Pearson calls himself the “breath of fresh air our townsfolk are gasping for”. He sees support for Main and downtown parking as significant issues for the ward.

“I believe strongly that it is a town councillor's job first to represent the best interests of the residents of their wards,” he said. “I will never promise anything, as I've been taught in the business world that you cannot promise anyone tomorrow will even arrive.”

However, the clock tower is a “non-issue” because of loopholes in current planning policy that allow developers to push their projects through, regardless of the community’s opposition, Pearson said.

“It's just too bad none of us matter in the scheme of things,” he said.

Wolk lost to Regional Councillor John Taylor in the last election, earning 5,128 of the 19,587 votes cast. He is calling for a parking structure in the downtown, the closure of Main to vehicles - between Water and Park streets - on summer weekends, an increase in the number of festivals and the opening of the Newmarket Public Library on Mondays, and he’s fine with development in the downtown, as long as it aligns with existing municipal bylaws.

“Approving the current Clock Tower proposal would open the floodgates elsewhere and waste all the tax dollars invested into preserving our heritage buildings,” he said. “We need a proactive approach in our downtown. We cannot simply react as things happen.”

Since the election, Wolk has doggedly criticized council over the mayor’s salary and its handling of the Davis Drive reconstruction.

For more information on Pearson, visit . Further details on Wolk can be found at votewolk.com.tompearson4newmarketcouncil.blogspot.ca

Kwapis could not be reached for comment.