GUELPH POLITICAST #96 - June Hofland on the Lafarge Site

What was once an oasis from urban sprawl, a developed piece of land that nature had reclaimed from a century of industry, is once again a big empty field ready for construction. For over a decade, the area residents that enjoyed this natural space, and its tress and trails, have been dreading this moment, and the journey is far from over.

Budget 2015 Update - Opening Moves

The year started off with council already contentious about the budget process. Mayor Guthrie had announced his intention to bring a motion to the January 19 council meeting that would state that the city government should set itself the goal of not raising taxes anymore than the rate of inflation for the coming fiscal year. Of the seven councillors out of 12 that responded to the Guelph Tribune's request for comment, four were against the motion and three were against. Although the motion has since been delayed, some feel as though the mayor was going too far too soon.

Scenes from a Swearing In

Mayor Cam Guthrie being sworn in by City Clerk Stephen O'Brien

With the dulcet tones of the Guelph Youth Singers, a song by new Ward 2 Councillor James Gordon and a declaration of intent by the new Mayor of Guelph Cam Guthrie, the next term of council was called to order tonight at the council chambers of 1 Carden St. In front of a packed house, platitudes were offered, and promises were made as Mayor Guthrie and a team of seven new councillors and five veterans embark on a quest to guide the City of Guelph well over the next four years. 

Press Release - Recount Confirms It's Allt and Hofland for Ward 3

The final dangling thread from the October 27 Municipal Election has been tied off. Last night, city council voted in favour of a recount to be performed for Guelph's Ward 3 after five votes separated the second place June Hofland and the third place Craig Chamberlain. The result at stake was the second council seat in Ward 3, the first one already secured by Phil Allt. In the end, it looks like the original count was correct, and Hofland is the winner of that second Ward 3 seat, beating Chamberlain by just five votes.

Election Results Now Official, Recount to Come in Ward 3

The election results are now official. The tabulations have been checked, the numbers are confirmed and indeed, everyone that was elected Monday night has actually been elected. One sticking point remains in Ward 3 though because of the photo finish between second place June Hofland and third place Craig Chamberlain. Although Hofland has opened up her lead to five votes over Chamberlain, 2,050 to 2,045, the City Clerk is still recommending that a recount process begin when council next meets later this month. Full details on that, the the rest of the official results below.

Guthrie Wins Handily, Becomes New Guelph Mayor

Courtesy of Guelph Mercury

For the next four years it's going to be a Cam, Cam, Cam, Cam World here in Guelph as the one-term Ward 4 Councillor now steps up into the role of mayor after defeating incumbent Karen Farbridge in yesterday's municipal election. With nearly 39,000 ballots cast, or 45 per cent of the electorate, Guthrie took an early lead with online voters and stayed out front till the moment all polls were tabulated. Guthrie will now be joined by as many as five incumbent councillors and seven rookie (or in some cases rookie-ish) politicians around the horseshoe to helm the Royal City for the next four years.

June Hofland (Ward 3) - Candidate Questionnaire

June Hofland is hoping that the voters of Ward 3 like her past eight years of work on city council so much, that they're ready to give her four more. Born and raised in Guelph, Hofland was first elected to city council in 2006, but before that she worked in banking for 25 years, and had a successful downtown Guelph business until 2012. Since then, she's dedicated herself to helping her husband run his local renovation company, and working on council, and in her free time, she enjoys being in the outdoors, gardening, cycling, canoeing, and skiing, or just reading a good mystery novel. On her website, Hofland says, "As a dedicated volunteer, community advocate and successful businesswoman, she honours and learns from the past, lives fully in the present and continually works towards a sustainable and prosperous future." But will Hofland be prosperous at the ballot box? Perhaps her responses to the candidate questionnaire will help you decide.

Familiar Faces, New to the 2014 Race

The post-provincial election launch of municipal campaigns marches on with two new nominations filed yesterday, one an incumbent councillor and the other an incumbent candidate. June Hofland joins an already busy race in Ward 3 in a bid to keep her job. Meanwhile, Karolyne Pickett will try again to gain one of the Ward 1 seats after her fourth place finish in 2010.

She's Back! Laidlaw Makes it Official

If she wins, she'll be the longest serving councillor on Guelph City Council, but that's unlikely to make her any less a divisive a figure. Today, Maggie Laidlaw submitted her papers to make her campaign for a fifth term around the horseshoe official, and joining the already very busy Ward 3 race. Laidlaw is the fifth candidate to be nominated for Ward 3, and is the first incumbent of Ward 3 to make official her desire to run again. But in an already tight race, can Laidlaw make her mark, and a case for her re-election?

Council Votes To Approve Lafarge Development

The back and forth over the development of the so-called Lafarge lands in the west end of the city is back to forth with a unanimous vote at council this week approving a revised plan from Silvercreek Park Developments.

Introducing - The Water Wagon

Here's a good idea that a certain segment of the population is likely to hate. To my mind though, it's not such a big cost to promote the use of municipal tap water with something like this water wagon. Sadly, I think there's still a kind of boogeyman effect when it comes to tap water, even though studies, both scientific and anecdotal, show that there's nothing wrong with tap water except the perception.

Present and Accounted For

The attendance records for the last year of city council are out, and if half the job is showing up, then Guelph citizens should be glad to know that many of their city councillors are batting .500. 

Recap: Better Know A Ward - Part 3

Today, we have the final part of three recaps for the Better Know a Ward series. This piece was published in the July 3rd, 2008 issue of Echo Weekly and was actually the first part in the series. Hopefully, the re-publication of this piece will mean the second half of the years is nearing launch. So here's to good karma, and here's to the future and parts 4, 5, and 6 of Better Know a Ward.

Ward 3: Where the past and the future meet

Welcome to the first part of my six part series “Better Know a Ward.” (Any relation between this column and a sketch done on a popular late night comedy show is purely coincidental.)

This week’s ward: St. John’s, the fightin’ third. Located in the centre of the city, it’s home to both some of the wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods in Guelph and counts the Library and Exhibition Park amongst its landmarks, as well as a number of heritage homes and buildings. Diversity is also a feature with many new immigrants settling into the Willow area, speaking 26 languages. The councillors representing this diverse sector are the thrice-elected Maggie Laidlaw and freshman June Hofland. I talked to both of them following a Ward meeting in the main council chamber at City Hall.

Amongst the concerns of Ward 3 residents is the usual: property taxes, transit, city services and termites? Yes, it seems that the wood eating insects are something of a nuisance, coming into the ward following the rail line and moving up Woolwich Street.

“One of the issues that was contentious, but its died away because it keeps getting put off, is to have a skateboard park in Exhibition Park,” adds Laidlaw. “Some people are vehemently opposed to it. We’re one of the only cities of our size that doesn’t have a skateboard park.”

Another issue is the placement of an expanded main branch of the library. Last Tuesday, a number of scenarios were presented for appraisal by the public during a library hosted open house. The original building was designed to hold about 40,000 books, a number that it’s since exceeded by a factor of three. Still, there is division about investing in an expanded library, especially after the city lost the preferred location of the old post office on Wyndham.

“There’s still a lot of bad feelings around losing that sale,” says Hofland. “The thing that I find most difficult is that the downtown is everybody’s neighbourhood. That’s why public spaces - libraries, skating rinks - all of those things are important to the health of a city, I really feel strongly about that.”

Of course, the two big elephants in Ward 3 are development related: the Lafarge site and Wal-Mart. As reported here a couple of weeks ago, council voted down the developers’ proposal on Lafarge and now the matter is before the Ontario Municipal Board, where mediation will start in September as all sides try to reach an accord.

Hofland, who refuses to comment on her feeling of the development due to a conflict of interest, says that, “People are not opposed to the development necessarily, but what they’d like to see is a ‘complete community;’ places for people to live, work, shop, public space, as opposed to 400,000 square feet of big box commercial.”

On the other side of the ward is Wal-Mart, and this month a motion will come to council to authorize an expansion of the store and create new shopping space on the surrounding land. After the furious 10 year debate, the fight against Wal-Mart seems oddly stayed as the expansion option has arisen.

“I think people are tired,” said Laidlaw, who was one of council’s staunchest anti-Wal-Mart voices. “One thing I have heard from a couple of people that live on Woodlawn, is that they want a grocery store. And yet there used to be a Zehr’s store where the Staples store is now, so go figure.”

“I don’t think we’ll have input as to what goes into the extension, but I think we’ll have input into the urban design, maybe we’ll be able to suggest a smaller scale but I don’t know if that’ll be the case,” added a hopeful Hofland.

As reflected in their comments, Laidlaw and Hofland share more than a ward in common, but a set of values, as Hofland says; a strong commitment to protecting Guelph’s environment and heritage, while promoting the communication and accountability of city hall. Clearly the people of Ward 3 like what their about as they both won their seats with over 3,000 votes a piece.

“People in my ward want the same things that I want, that’s why they elected me,” observed Laidlaw. “I’m not doing anything I didn’t say in my [campaign] brochure, I’m doing all the things that people expect of me, and I’ve had the same platform for eight years, people know me.”

Hofland agreed, adding, “I still hope that I’m here because I reflect other people’s values and that we mirror each others values.”