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August 16th, 2022 BURLINGTON, ON
That would be a No! to the question – are you going to run for office.
 Calderbank posted this twitter about 24 hours ago – well before we published an opinion piece. You can watch her interviewing the next Mayor on YourTV.
The die is basically cast for the October 24th municipal election. Couple of seats that are in contention. Related news content: That Linked In feature.
August 16th, 2022 BURLINGTON, ON
Is she or isn’t she?  Charismatic, competitive – ready for big time politics locally? Is Kimberly Calderbank going to run for the office of Mayor? If she is – and at this point we don’t know – her recent LinkedIn piece could have been read any number of ways. Calderbank considers herself a strong strategic thinker – is her game plan to wait for the very last minute and then announce giving her some almost immediate momentum ? The last half of August is always a quiet time; the pace will quicken as soon as the Labour Day holiday is over. Calderbank was identified as the “developers” candidate in 2018 when she ran for the ward 2 council seat. She wasn’t trounced but she certainly didn’t win. The Gazette interviewed Calderbank during the 2018 election; we weren’t all that impressed.  It could easily be taken as a political statement. We heard a young woman who certainly had career aspirations but not much more than that say she wanted to be Mayor but didn’t appear to have much in the way of a plan or a vision for the city. She runs a successful private marketing business and has several media related jobs. She serves as the media point person fo the Halton Region Police Services Board as well as the Ontario Police Services Board. One of her clients is the Food4Life non-profit organization where we learned a number of months ago that they had contingency plans in place for marketing support in the event that Calderbank filed nomination papers. We certainly got h impression from that source that Calderbank was going to be a candidate – and it wasn’t going to be for a Council seat. She has very strong support with several families that could and would put a lot of weight behind a campaign. She has a very good working relationship with Cogeco. All the pieces needed to launch an election campaign exist. It could happen – but it has to happen before 2:00 pm on Friday the 19th – that is when nominations close. Should Calderbank run for the office of Mayor it will be one heck of a race. Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council. Related new content
July 21st, 2022 BURLINGTON, ON Lifted from the Kimberly Calderbank LinkedIn page Everyone has an opinion. BUT, why let the opinions of others deny you a life that will make history? What are YOU holding back on because you are afraid of what other people will think, say, react? Do you know how often I hear people say, “But what about…?” WHO CARES! I am 100 percent guilty of always wanting to people please, always wanting to be sure I have taken everyone’s opinions and thoughts into consideration. The other day, a gentleman said to me “…it’s been a while… what are you doing with your life…?”
For the past 4 years, I have been building quietly a plan, working on my purpose, and pulling together what I feel will be my legacy. Mark it down, TODAY is the day that I stopped letting the opinions of others stop me, I let the positive in, and I put my first step forward in a life that WILL MAKE HISTORY (big and lofty, but just watch me).
July 12th, 2022 BURLINGTON, ON
Is this the first step[p into entering the race for the ward 2 council seat? The line in an item on the LinkedIn platform read: Is Kimberly Calderbank getting ready to get back into politics ? Looking to hire a Coordinator. I never saw the Yellow Robot operation as a not for profit – it is certainly a going concern. The background story might be that Kimberly Calderbank is bringing in some administrative help to free up the time she will need if she decides to challenge Lisa Kearns for the ward 2 city council seat.  It will be a much smaller list of candidates in 2022 In the years since the 2018 municipal election Kimberly has grown professionally. She serves as the media lead for the Halton Police Services Board and for the Ontario Police Services Board. She does media for the Food4Life and was a Cogeco commentator during the Sound of Music parade. Kimberly Calderbank has an itch for public service. This may be the year she makes a move. She once told this reporter that she wanted at some point in time to be Mayor of the city.
September 15th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington is a vibrant city. We have a beautiful waterfront, scenic parks, safe neighbourhoods, great schools, access to some of Ontario’s top festivals and events, and successful businesses. Unfortunately, what makes Burlington such a desirable place to live also makes it expensive. We have seen house prices and rents skyrocket in recent years to the point of making our city un-affordable, especially for first-time home buyers, newcomers to Canada, young families, and seniors.  Spencer Smith Park – there was a time when it was weed filled space. It took foresight and community involvement to get this park to where it is today. Right now, the average price of a detached house in Burlington is about $1 million, up 13 percent over this time last year. The average price of a town home is $578,000, up 6 percent from last year. The average price of a 2-bedroom condo is $434,000 which is actually down 5 percent which could possibly be attributed to a recent increase in supply. What exactly is the definition of affordable housing? One figure often used by Councillors and city staff when referring to “affordable” units in new developments is about $362,000, but this definition is rather meaningless, because for someone with a family income of about $50,000, the affordability threshold is almost half that. A more reliable definition of affordable housing is housing with a market price (for purchase or rent) that is affordable to households of low and moderate income, spending no more than 30 percent of their gross household income on housing, without government assistance. For a household of three or more people with a gross family income of about $130,000, the maximum purchase price for a home considered to be affordable would be $456,000 (based on a maximum monthly home ownership cost of about $3,300). As residents of Burlington, you and I both know that you can’t buy many family homes here for that price, and a detached house under $500,000 would be hard to find. A significant challenge to Burlington’s housing affordability is that we are running out of property on which to build new subdivisions with detached houses while maintaining and protecting our agricultural areas.  Half of the city’s land mass is the Escarpment where other than three settlement areas residential development is not permitted. Municipal, regional, and provincial policies, such as land use policies set out in Official Plans, help ensure an adequate range and mix of housing for complete and healthy communities while fulfilling the provincial mandate to “grow in place”. These policies can also provide us with some tools to address affordability. One tool municipalities could decide to use is inclusionary zoning. This enables cities to set out guidelines for affordable housing units to be built in residential developments of 10 units or more. Another policy tool is Section 37 of the Planning Act. If a property owner wishes to build something that does not comply with zoning regulations, such as height and/or density limits, the owner may voluntarily agree to provide “community benefits” in exchange for approval—benefits negotiated by councilors and planning staff. Lately, it seems there hasn’t been enough thought put into exactly which types of benefits would be as valuable to the Community as the extra height/density is to builders. For example, a recent community benefit listed for one of the development proposals at Brant and James took the form of discounts on condo units. Considering the high price of units, a $50,000 discount would unlikely make a dent in affordability. We can do better than that. How about allocating Section 37 funds to Halton Region to be used for the provision affordable housing or to go towards the building of purpose-built rental housing? We have a huge opportunity here to collaborate and negotiate with builders and grassroots, community-led organizations such as the Halton Community Benefits Network, in consultation with residents, to determine which community benefits are most needed. Our councilor should be consulting with residents before these proposals even come to the table, not after, to determine community priorities. At election time, candidates will tell you that we have been growing too fast and over developing. However, regional housing stats prove otherwise. In 2017, only 594 new units were added in the entire city of Burlington—a low number compared to Oakville which added about 2300 new units, and Milton which added over 1100. In addition to the tens of thousands of detached homes we already have in Burlington, we’ll need to add more apartments, condos, and town homes.  A proposed back to back townhouse development. A denser urban area does not necessarily mean less expensive housing but very often, it can. Increasing the supply of homes for purchase and for rent while providing a wide range of housing options are both essential to affordability. Town homes are especially needed in Burlington as a more affordable housing option (both for purchase and for rent) for families. Only 2.2 percent of new builds in 2017 were town homes, while nearly 87 percent were apartment/condo-type units. We will need to shift this balance if we’re serious about attracting more young families to Burlington. Burlington is growing from a suburban to an urban Community. As much as we’d like things to stay the same, we must consider the needs of all members of our community, now, and in the future. The challenge of managing and sustaining our city’s rapid growth is also an opportunity to improve the quality of life for many residents, especially in terms of affordability. Let’s continue to attract new residents to our welcoming, vibrant, and inclusive community with diverse neighbourhoods and affordable housing options for everyone who would like to call Burlington home.
November 1st, 2023 BURLINGTON, ON
Friday, November 17, 2023, the Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) presents REVEL: The Ultimate Art Bash! This “extraordinary” night of contemporary art, thrilling entertainment, and a unique culinary experience, set to captivate all of your senses. Event Details Date: Friday, November 17, 2023 Time: 7 pm – 12 am Location: Art Gallery of Burlington
The event is hosted by Kimberly Calderbank, host of Community Cultures YourTV Halton, and partner of Burlington’s Yellow Robot Media & Design firm. To elevate the revelry, REVEL will showcase immersive installations created by a stellar lineup of artists, including Omar Badrin, ORXSTRA (Alex McLeod and Tala Kamea), Tyler Matheson, Christopher Reid Flock, Diana Lynn VanderMuelen, and Stefana Fratila. These talented artists will bring their unique visions to life through sound, light, projections, and captivating live performances. DJs and Musical Guests DJ Cindy AO will set the mood with a selection of chill tracks, while Luckystickz will breathe life into the Sybil Atteck exhibition, adding to the magic of the evening. The Shoreline Room will also become a dancefloor with music by DJ Grandmother Sago and DJ Sahra Suda. Artist and Tarot Reader  Kiera (Kiki) Boult, local artist and Tarot reader. Kiera (Kiki) Boult, local artist and Tarot reader will be reading futures for a select number of people in a rare and mystical experience. Live Auction Professional auctioneer Don Stewart will be auctioning off fabulous, priceless, and curated experiences for all to enjoy the best arts, culture and entertainment in the region. Culinary Art with Local Star Chefs, Restaurants, Wineries and More REV up those taste buds because both food and drinks are included with the cost of admission. The ticket includes a top-notch evening of exclusive dishes created by local chefs, including Chef Matteo from Spencer’s on the Waterfront, the Wandering Locavore, Vic Caterers & Bakery, Jonny Blonde, and Christy’s Gourmet Gifts. Mixed drinks, wine, beer and non-alcoholic cocktails will be provided by Arterra Wines Canada, Maverick Distillery, and Nickel Brook Brewing. Tickets- $200 per person. Click HERE to order
August 9th, 2022 BURLINGTON, ON OPINION In ten days we will know who the candidates for city council are going to be and have a pretty good idea what the next council is going to look like as well.  Kelvin Galbraith: Could be in trouble Ward 1 was a given. Kelvin Galbraith has a high school teacher campaigning against him thinking that he can continue as a high school teacher and serve as a council member at the same time. There appears to be a change. Robert Radway now realizes that he can get a leave of absence from the Board of Education but that will not apply to his first year as a Councillor. Radway said he has a plan in place that will allow him to perhaps do some teaching and still serve as a member of Council.  Lisa Kearns: Probably has the finest mind on this council – needs to work on some issues. Lisa Kearns should prevail in ward 2 – candidates do keep coming out of the wood work but Kearns has earned the right to a second term. A real race for the seat will test Kearns in a way that will make her very uncomfortable but she will be better for it. Rory Nisan has proven to be a disappointment for many – apparently not those working with him for re-election and certainly not for the Mayor. She now has a new lap dog.  Rory Nisan: biggest disappointment Jennifer Hounslow has a chance but she is pushing a rock up a hill – but Councillors that disappoint consistently do lose. and on that level Rory Nisan has proven to be a disappointment. The Gazette supported Nisan in 2018 – mentored him a little, urged him to get a copy of the Procedural bylaw and know it well. He certainly did that – took a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner that found Stolte had broken a rule.
Paul Sharman will be acclaimed in ward 5.
Rick Greenspoon has his work cut out for him but he seems more than able to take the seat. While there are many that don’t like what Mayor Meed Ward has delivered – Anne Marsden just does not have what it takes to be a Mayor. What she might manage to do is significantly reduce the Meed Ward vote enough to smarten up Marianne.  These are the people you elected in 2018. Time to think about how many you want to serve you again. So what will that deliver? Meed Ward as Mayor Galbraith in ward 1 Kearns in ward 2 Ward 3 could be a surprise Stolte in Ward 4 Sharman in ward 5 Greenspoon in ward 6 We might want to revise these suggestions after nominations close. In the weeks ahead we will interview and spend time with each of the candidates. The options will be clearer on the 19th which is when nominations close. There is a hope out there that Kimberly Calderbank will take a run at the Office of Mayor. Calderbank is a strong strategist and there are some very respectable people who will support her. The process of filing a nomination is cluttered – you have to make an appointment with the city Clerk. Should Calderbank file papers the news will have been flashed to the Mayor before the ink is dry on her papers. Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
March 25th, 2021 BURLINGTON, ON OPINION Political leadership is something that has to be grown. They don’t just fall off a tree like a ripe apple. Public service is seen as honourable with good salaries and wonderful benefits. The current city council has a very young group of people. They had an exceptionally steep learning curve and at least two have yet to get to the point where they are competent. They may never get there.  If Lisa Kearns jumps to Queen’s Park – that opens up the ward 2 seat. The ward 2 council seat is now in play – that will become official when Lisa Kearns comes out of her political closet and confirms that she will carry a Liberal flag come the 2022 provincial election. She will do so when it is to her advantage. Question then is – who will replace Kearns? Kimberly Calderbank has said she will run again. Roland Tanner has realized that he would have been a terrible Councillor and has decided to stick to his information technical pursuits. His 905er podcast does not appear to be any better than his description of how he would do as a politician. The word abstemious might apply. There is a young man in the city who appears to be grooming himself for a shot at the ward 2 council seat. David Vandenberg, studied political science at McMaster, served as campaign manager for Rick Goldring in 2018 – that didn’t turn out very well – more the candidate than the campaign manager.  Name a charity group that needs help – and David Vandenberg will be there. Vandenberg gets involved in organizations focused on helping other people. He is currently part of the Wellington United Church Meals Ministry that prepares take-out meals. It grew out of the Friday Night Community Dinners that were cancelled due to Covid19 issues. The giveaway sign that David Vandenberg was going to throw his hat into the ring was the Burlington Dave podcast that Vandenberg hosts four times a year. Vandenberg explains his podcast pursuit this way:  The Vandenberg score card “Burlington is full of folks of all ages who strive every single day to create a virtuous, equitable and compassionate community. Reflecting on over a decade of local engagement, I have had the privilege of learning about our community, the heroes within it and the landscape in which we live – here in Burlington, Ontario. “I hope to highlight some of our local heroes, business champions, and heritage and community issues through this blog. Vandenberg introduces himself to people who visit his Facebook page this way: “If we have not met before, thanks for popping by! If we know each other, welcome back! My name is David Vandenberg. I am a passionate community leader and speaker in the Halton Region. My deep commitment to innovative community and city-building inspired me to work in the advocacy space for local organizations.  Vandenberg on a Zoom call “I am a recent McMaster Grad who now works as the Operations Manager of the Meal Bag Program at Wellington Square United Church. Outside of work, I love to capitalize on our proximity to hiking and biking trails, sit on boards of local charities and advocate for issues and people that are close to my heart. “Building bridges is what I do. I truly believe that when we work together in our community, we can drive a bigger social impact. I hope you enjoy hearing about some of the incredible people, businesses and stories I have to share with you here in Burlington.” That is about as political as a profile can be.  David Vandenberg with his Mother Our first reaction to young Vandenberg is – Good Luck to you, young man. Your heart appears to be in the right place. We would like to see situations where you worked hard, got promotions and added responsibility. Were placed in situations where you gained what the soft liberal set call “lived experiences”. There was a quote you put up on the Facebook that impressed me.
If that is the way you think, if you really have that level if realpolitik you just well might grow into a credible and effective politician. Goodness know the city could use more of those. Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
August 12th, 2019 BURLINGTON, ON
Elections are the way the public gets to choose who will lead them – who will make the critical decisions; who will determine the tax rate. Money plays a large part in how those men and women get elected. Who they were and who they donated to is of public interest. Provincial legislation requires the City Clerk to not only administer the election but also to sign the documents that declare who the winner is and receive reports on who spent what. When that data became available two Burlington residents who concern themselves with civic affairs began to pour over the campaign contribution reports that were filed with the Clerk and the document the Clerk provided to city council.
When questioned by the Gazette, they explained; “We have been looking very carefully at the financial statements of all candidates for council for the Burlington 2018 election. One of the things we noticed was that the audit committee received a report from the Clerk on June 4, with an Appendix of all contributions over $100 for all candidates. We immediately saw that this list seemed much too small and could see that there was a lot missing. We then went through all the candidate financial statements posted on the City website, created our own list and then compared the two. They were not a close match. We know that errors do occur and that our analysis is only as accurate as our source data, in this case the candidates’ audited financial statements.” The two put together a letter to the City Manager, the Mayor, Council and the Clerk setting out their concerns. In their July 30th email they said: “Under the Municipal Elections Act, the duties and responsibilities of the Clerk are summarized as: (b) preparing for and conducting a recount in the election; (c) maintaining peace and order in connection with the election; and (d) in a regular election, preparing and submitting the report described in subsection 12.1 (2). 1996, c. 32, Sched., s. 11 (2); 2009, c. 33, Sched. 21, s. 8 (7). We believe that the Clerk is the critical steward of the most fundamental of our democratic processes, the election of our municipal representatives, and that such responsibilities should be discharged with care, diligence, lack of bias and a regard for maintaining an accurate public record. In fact, the record is both incomplete and misleading. We are unaware of any competing or undisclosed policy that informed the structure of the record as presented and would appreciate learning if such is the case. Otherwise, we note the following that we consider to be serious flaws in the record, requiring explanation and correction. 1. The total amount of contributions on the Clerk’s Report adds up to $313,588.52. On page 11, there is a line that simply says “Supplementary List”, $3,950. Adding that undocumented amount in, the total would be $317,538.52. In our review of all candidates’ financial statements, our total is $550,134. (Note our total includes a few donations that were returned, which may not be required to be included). 2. The entire list of Mayor Meed Ward’s contributions is missing. 3. Several of Ward 2 councillor candidate Roland Tanner’s contributions are missing. (Maria Adcock, $1200; Karina Gould, $200; Robert Loney, $250; Ed McMahon, $200; Jack O’Brien, $500). 4. One of Ward 2 councillor candidate Kimberly Calderbank’s contributions is missing (Mark McCrory, $400), as is one of Ward 3 candidate Gareth Williams (Collin Gibbons, $200). 5. Both of Ward 6 councillor candidate Xin-Yi Zhang’s contributions are missing as are the lone contributions of Ken White, Tayler Morin and Greg Woodruff. 6. None of the mayoral or councillor candidates’ own or spousal contributions are included. 7. Several first names are missing, even though they appear on the relevant candidate Forms. 8. Some names are transposed and therefore do not appear correctly and wouldn’t be easily found. For example, the second name should read Abdelaziz Guergachi, not the reverse. In that same entry there is another random name there also, Leila Tijini. Why? 9. In some cases there appear to be double entries which are there in error because they only appear once on all candidate forms, or cases where entries appear three times when they should appear twice. (E,g., Lynn and Chris Anstead, $200; Doug Brown, $200; Nick and Diane Leblovic, $250; Edda Manley, $300; David and Linda McKay, $200; John and Bonnie Purkis, $300; Mary Woodward $1,000; Stephen Woodward, $1,000). 10. Some names are spelled incorrectly, though we note Rick Goldring’s list of names and amounts is in some cases practically illegible. 11. Entry for Schuler should say “Michael” as first name and the amount shows $700. $200 was returned so this should say $500. 12. Looking at the candidate forms, there are errors that we would have thought should have been flagged by the Clerk to be corrected. Perhaps this is not the Clerk’s purview and it is instead up to citizens to look at the documents and raise these things instead. If so, that seems like a flawed system. In any event, such things include: no dates of contributions received are listed (as required) on any of Mike Wallace’s contributions; post office boxes being listed as addresses where Full Addresses are required; the very illegible form submitted by Rick Goldring as noted above. We believe that these errors are serious enough that the record, as presented, does not provide an accurate and true picture of the 2018 Campaign financials. As such the public record, in this instance at least, is too flawed to remain uncorrected. We would request that either you provide an explanation of why the statements presented to the Compliance Audit Committee are accurate, addressing the deficiencies noted above, or correct the record and resubmit noting publicly the reason for the resubmission.” Crosby and Smith got a response from the City Manager, Tim Commisso, almost immediately. He referred the matter to the City Clerk. The Mayor also provided a quick response supporting the need for an investigation and correction if required. The City Clerk, Angela Morgan, replied to Smith and Crosby on July 31st indicating that their concerns would be reviewed. Then, on August 6th, she made a more fulsome reply:  City Clerk Angela Morgan going over the results of the 2010 election. “Lynn and Blair, thank you for your e-mail and detailed review of the candidate financial document attached to the Clerks report that was considered by the Election Compliance Audit committee on June 4. The Municipal Elections Act requires the Clerk to prepare a report for the election compliance audit committee, this report is limited to reporting on contributors who contributed more that $1200 to any one candidate or more than $5000 to all of the candidates for Council. “To prepare the report, I reviewed all of the candidates financials individually and highlighted those that had over-contributed, this information was included in individual reports to the committee which were included on the agenda for the June 4th meeting (which can be found at) https://calendar.burlington.ca/Event/Index/aaba4276-79ae-4619-9ffb-aa5c00bd7ec1. “Following that review, staff combined the lists into one large list to present to the Committee as information. This was done through copy and paste from the candidates lists and therefore, any spelling of names is identical to the spelling on the candidates paperwork. In reviewing the attached listing, I did note that the list of contributors to Mayor Meed Ward’s campaign was not included in the final list although it was reviewed by myself in preparing the report on over contributions noted above. In addition, contributors are listed multiple times on the list because they contributed to more than one campaign, so they are listed each time they were found to have contributed (i.e. if they contributed to 4 campaigns, they would be listed 4 times), in some instances, it is the same contribution amount. The list does not include the amount that an individual candidate or their spouse contributed to their own campaign as this is outside the scope of my review. “We have reposted an amended list to reflect the contributions that were missed from the original posting. This did not affect the overall conclusion in my report which indicated that 2 contributors, contributed more than $5000. “This review is a new provision in the Municipal Elections Act and as a result, this is first time this list was prepared. We are learning from this election and will be making some improvements in 2022 to ensure the report and its attachments are completed in a more user friendly manner. Thank you again for your comments.” Smith and Crosby were not satisfied with the response they were given and responded to the Clerk on August 7th: “Thank you for your response yesterday to our email of Tuesday, July 30th. It helps to explain some of the anomalies that we noted in the material presented to the Compliance Audit Committee on June 4th but, unfortunately, not all. It also raises a rather serious new issue.  Angela Morgan, City Clerk 2018 We understand the duties of Clerk, as specified under the Municipal Elections Act, are only to produce a report of contributors who were in violation – and there were only two (2) by your reckoning. It is somewhat confusing then that the Appendix to the report presented to the Compliance Audit Committee was so extensive going to 11 pages and including contributors who were completely ‘out of scope’. If the intent was to provide a complete and comprehensive picture of all contributions made during the campaign, the numerous errors and omissions that we noted undermined that purpose. The list has now been changed consistent with some of the corrections and additions that we suggested were needed. However, it is still inaccurate. For example, the following errors, omissions and oversights still remain: • though Mayor Meed Ward’s entries are now included, there are still about five missing, and some of the dollar amounts are incorrect • there are still a few names transposed (these names are not transposed on the candidate forms) • there are still 8 instances of missing first names, all of which do appear on the candidate forms • the entries we noted that were missing from Kimberly Calderbank’s and Gareth William’s forms are still missing • we understand some people donated multiple times and their names should appear more than once; however, there are eight entrees that seem to be doubled in error • though the missing Roland Tanner entries have now been added, Karina Gould was incorrectly listed as Maria Gould and Robert Loney’s surname is misspelled • there are several names misspelled and contrary to your explanation, they are not misspelled on the candidate forms (again with the caveat that Rick Goldring’s form is almost illegible); we are referring to names from other candidate forms  Sample of the form required to be completed. • how can one be certain the Mike Wallace contributions were donated in the proper time frame (May 1 – December 31) when he did not include any dates as required? Is this not a rather serious contravention? The corrected list is now available on the City website – https://calendar.burlington.ca/Event/Index/aaba4276-79ae-4619-9ffb-aa5c00bd7ec1  The form the Wallace auditors submitted: There are no dates shown. However, it is included as a part of the original agenda package of the June 4th meeting of the Compliance Audit Committee. As such, it gives the impression that it is the list originally presented and approved by that committee. It is not. So, the public record has been altered with no indication that such is the case and that the report that was actually approved by the Compliance Audit Committee is not the report that is presented on the City Website. We believe that this is tantamount to altering the public record after the fact and is a serious contravention of appropriate information protocols. We believe that the amended report should be resubmitted for approval. Indeed, one should never be able to unilaterally change the public record. There should always be some form of independent approval and notification process. What was the approval and notification process involved here and was Council aware? Additionally, there must be some indication that this is not the original report approved by the Committee and the reasons for the re submission and re posting. If you recall, we had requested that the report be resubmitted with the reason for the re submission clearly stated. Such has not occurred and this is unsatisfactory. You say “This review is a new provision in the Municipal Elections Act and as a result, this is first time this list was prepared. We are learning from this election and will be making some improvements in 2022 to ensure the report and its attachments are completed in a more user friendly manner.”  Lynn Crosby and Blair Smith, both Burlington residents with a passion for open and transparent civic government. Crosby was trained as a para-legal; Smith served as an Assistant Deputy Minister wit the Ontario government., Our request had nothing to do with “user-friendliness” and everything to do with accuracy and data integrity. Both were lacking. We remain concerned with the apparent absence of due diligence and appropriate oversight. It is also, perhaps, a happy coincidence that your report of donation violations was accurate despite the absence of the Mayor’s donors; in part a function of the fact that Mayor Meed Ward, unlike the other candidates, would not accept donations from individuals associated with the development industry. Regardless, the original errors of accuracy and oversight now pale in comparison with the apparent ability of the Clerk’s Office to alter the public record without notice or notation. We would appreciate an adjustment to the public record clearly stating that the list, as published on the City website as part of the agenda package, is a corrected one, not the original version. Attached for comparison are the original and amended versions of the list. As of the time of publication, we are advised that there has been no response from the City Clerk. However, the Mayor responded with clear direction, indicating that she recognized the need to maintain the integrity of the public record, that the existing record should be annotated to note that is has been amended, that all amendments should be appropriately marked and that any further corrections needed to the record should be so noted. For Crosby and Smith the fundamental issues remain. They explained; “We are concerned with the competence and integrity of the Clerk’s Office. People will probably think that we are “stirring the pot” or nit-picking but, perhaps, they don’t truly understand the role of the Municipal Clerk and its importance. Arguably, the Clerk is the most important link between the provincial bureaucracy and that of the city or town. Not the most important official or the most influential bureaucrat but the most essential and integral connection between the two levels of governance. “Amongst many other roles, the Clerk is the official records-keeper of the municipality with a duty under the Municipal Act “to record, without note or comment, all resolutions, decisions and other proceedings of the council”. So, errors in this duty are serious and have impact. The appendix that was originally submitted as part of the agenda package for the Compliance Audit Committee on June 4th was seriously flawed. The number and nature of the errors was shocking, as was the obvious lack of oversight. “The fact that the appendix was not a statutory “requirement” does not mitigate the issue. More serious, however, is the fact that the Clerk’s Office has now apparently revised the public record without due notice or notation. Quite simply, this is a completely unacceptable contravention of information practice and protocol, particularly for one entrusted with maintaining the integrity of the official record. The public record must always be historically and contemporaneously accurate. It reflects the information material that elected officials used at the time to make decisions affecting all citizens and interested parties. How else can those officials be held accountable? If allowed to present an amended record as if original then the Clerk’s Office has been permitted to ‘change history’ and give a different picture of the decision-making process than actually occurred. “If this is acceptable information policy and practice within the City of Burlington, then it needs to be changed immediately. And perhaps we need to look at what else is accepted practice that contravenes the tenets of open, transparent and accountable government.” OPINION: Salt with Pepper
October 23rd, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
While not official Official – the following are the results of the 2018 municipal election.  Mayor-elect Marianne Meed Ward Marianne MEED WARD, 23360 votes 46.04% Marianne Meed Ward will be the new Mayor to be sworn in on December 3rd at the Performing Arts Centre. It looks as if two of the incumbents, Jack Dennison and Blair Lancaster have lost – the ward 6 vote is very very close – might need a recount. What kind of a Council will Meed Ward have to work with? It will be Kevin Galbraith in ward 1, Lisa Kearns in ward 2, Rory Nissan in ward 3, Shawna Stolte in ward 4, Paul Sharman in ward 5 and Angelo Bentivegna in ward 6. In an exclusive interview with the Gazette Meed Ward stressed how critical it was for the next city council to collaborate and work as a team. With the only hold-over from the old council being Paul Sharman, she should be able to put together a Council that will work well together. Sharman will not have anything in the way of support. We can expect to see some of those 6-1 votes with Sharman on the short end of the stick; a position he was quite willing to assign to Meed Ward. It will take at least a year for the new members of council to find their footing. In that year they are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. The numbers on a ward by ward basis are as follows:  Kevin Galbraith Ward 1 The Craven machine just couldn’t pull it off. The Chair of the Aldershot BIA, Kevin Galbraith defeated the Executive Director Judy Worsley who had the Craven ability to win behind her.  Lisa Kearns Ward 2 Lisa Kearns earned the win. She was up against a sterling candidate. Her performance as an ECoB delegator may well have won the seat for her.  Rory Nisan Ward 3 The surprise here was how soundly Rory Nisan  Shawna Stolte Ward 4 The only ward with a straight one-on-one race, the Roseland community finally got what they have been longing for. It will be interesting to see how Shawna Stolte grows into the job.
 Paul Sharman Ward 5 The high number of candidates let Sharman hold Were the city using ranked balloting, Ward 6  Angelo Bentivegna Kinsey SCHURM, 954 votes, 12.41% What do we know? With just 39 votes between Lancaster and Bentivegna there will probably be a re-count – so don’t count Lancaster out yet. Would ranked balloting have given the seat to Lancaster? The voter turn out was much lower than many expect; the prediction was that the turnout would be above 50% – it was a disapointing 39.7? of the eligible voters.
October 1, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
The city is in the bottom half of the ward level debates between the candidates running for a seat on City Council. This evening there will be six people on the stage at the Burlington Baptist Church on New Street that moderator is going to have to manage in what is planned as a two hour event.  Lisa Kearns
 Roland Tanner There are some clear lines developing as to how candidates have aligned themselves with the top issues during the debate.  Michael Jones with his daughter There are some very strong contenders; there are others that are struggling to create a profile and there are candidates the city has heard very little about. Ward 2 has always been seen as the core of not only the geography of the city but where political activity has been rich at least ever since current council member Marianne Meed Ward became a member of council in 2010. Meed Ward has taken a big political risk and thrown her hat into the ring and challenged the incumbent Mayor for the chain of office. Will the energy she brought to the ward and city council become part of a new council or will she leave the political stage in Burlington and move on to something else?  Walter Wiebe  Gerrard Shkuda And who in ward 2 will fill her two inch stilettos? The city is about to hear what the six candidates have to say. It could well be a defining debate for the city.
When the political history of the city is told someone is going to have to explain why the three incumbents running for re-election chose to avoid taking part in the debates. History will record if there is going to be a price paid for the decisions they made. This evening we get to hear from the people who want to lead ward 2 at city council. Related news content: Mike Allen has figured out what the ward 2 issue is.
September 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Michael Jones Lisa Kearns Gerard Shkuda Roland Tanner Walter Wiebe Mark Carr will moderate the ward 2 debate.  Mark Carr – moderator for the ECoB municipal election debates. Mark Carr is the on air host for Cogeco TV program The Issue. He has been doing public television work for more than 20 years. He has been involved in political life as campaign manager for four successful provincial and a federal elections. He ran for public office and served as a city Councillor and Regional Councillor for ward 6 in Burlington. He served as Chair of the Burlington Planning and Development committee and Budget and Strategic Planning committees. He is the recipient of Ontario Public Service Award in 2010 and 2017 and Medal of Volunteerism, from Government of Canada. He is the Executive Director for a not-for-profit agency. He has volunteered his time with Community Cares Halton (Police Services) Board of Directors, Oakville Dispute Mediators, Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Bereaved Families of Ontario and Board of Directors, Sustainable Development Committee. Mark has moderated debates for several years iat both the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Mark is an honours graduate in Communications and Conflict Management from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel/University of Waterloo and is a long-time resident of Burlington.
Citizen engagement was a key issue. Residents felt that Council was not listening to their concerns regarding their vision of what they would like their Burlington to look like. ECoB set out to educate and inform residents. They held an event for anyone wanting to run in the October 2018 municipal election and built a to scale Lego based model of what the city would look like with developments that were approved and planned. The city administration said there wasn’t time to have this 3D model built – so ECoB did it. They then set out to hold debates in each of the wards in the city, something that had not been done before as well as a debate for those running for the office of Mayor. The organization is funded by donations from people who attend meetings. Pure grass roots organization.
September 14th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Walter Wiebe advised the Gazette earlier in the week that a developer told him that he had an ‘exclusive agreement’ to place lawn signs on his land. Walter was told this after he mistakenly thought he could place signs anywhere they did. A candidate who asked not to be named asks: “ If that is true, I believe it amounts to a corporate donation of advertising services, and is contrary to Ontario elections law. Placing lawn signs on commercial property is already a grey area … unless you claim that the signs have no value, how do you justify commercial property providing lawn sign space under the new law? It further implies a formal agreement between developers and property interests to help Kim Calderbank, Rick Goldring which will not do any of them any good in Ward 2. Both candidates are struggling to find locations on residential property in Ward 2. In my opinion it is a serious political misjudgement, as well as step across the line from a ‘grey area’ to a clearly illegal area. If commercial properties wish to donate lawn sign space to all candidates equally, that would be a different story. Candidate Weibe appears to be making the most of the issue. https://twitter.com/Walter4Ward2/status/1039982989365714944 Roland Tanner, a candidate for the ward 2 seat said: “I find it very disappointing in the current municipal climate that some candidates are alleged to have entered into agreements with developers and commercial property owners. The candidates should clarify immediately whether the allegation is true. The legality of any such an agreement, which can be argued to amount to an illegal corporate donation of advertising services, should be addressed by the city. My campaign does not request or want any sign locations on non-residential property, least of all property owned by developers, as it is essential voters know I represent their interests above all else. Regardless, residents can already judge for themselves which candidates are able to get support from residents, and which candidates depend on wealthy developer backing for personal donations and sign locations.” Just where is the city Clerk on all this? Missing in Action?
July 24th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
The number of candidates running in wards 1 and 2 is impressive. Both are wards where the incumbent has either announced retirement or has plans to go on to bigger and better things.  As a Standing Committee chair, Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven is as good as it gets. Handling delegations and accepting the ideas of other people – not as good. But he won elections. Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven has opted for retirement and, as of today, there are ten people wanting his job. Jason Boelhouwer, Vince Fiorito, Kelvin Galbraith, Arlene Iantomasi, Kevin Lee, Garry Milne, Tayler Morin, René Papin, Marty Staz and Judy Worsley  Marianne Meed Ward is looking for an upgrade from Councillor to Mayor. In Ward 2, incumbent Marianne Med Ward has declared herself a candidate for the Office of Mayor. Seven people are taking a run at the seat: Kimberly Calderbank, David Cherry, Michael Jones, Lisa Kearns, Gerard Shkuda, Roland Tanner and Walter Wiebe There are several candidates that will get votes from family and close friends and that will be about it. Candidates have to get out and convince people that they are the best choice and can best represent the citizens. Burlingtonians are much more primed for change this election. One can expect higher voter turnout. Dates and times are being worked out, several of the events will take place in local schools.
For those who have looked at the list of candidates and wonder if they have even a hope – the time to drop out is this Friday, July 27 at 2 pm. Some might remain in the race just to see their name on a ballot. The Gazette expect to interview all the candidates.
May 30th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Another name will be on the municipal election ballot for the ward 2 city council seat. Gerard Shkuda, filed nomination papers earlier this week. His contact information will be posted at a later date joins:  Kimberly Calderbank Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Michael Jones  Lisa Kearns Lisa Kearns  Roland Tanner Roland Tanner This gives vote splitting a whole new dimension. In the 2014 election there were 10 candidates in ward 6 – the incumbent took the seat. Ward 2 is one of those situations where the incumbent has vacated the seat to run for Mayor – so it was wide open with no heir apparent in place. A gong show now.
May 21st, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
Few more names now on the list of those nominated. A new one in ward 1 for a total of three in that ward now. There are now five candidates in ward 2, 3 in ward 3, 2 in ward 4, 2 in ward 5 and 3 in ward six. There is at least one more candidate thinking about running in ward 4 or maybe ward 5; lives on the border between the two wards. Nominations close July 27th. Last day for a candidate to file or withdraw a nomination is Friday, July 27, 2018, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Any really serious candidates will want to be on the ballot immediately after the provincial election which takes place June 7th. While candidates in wards 2 and 3 are out on the streets every day – the reality is that the provincial election, a pivotal one for the province, is taking up all the oxygen. The Gazette will begin reporting on the municipal race in more depth after the next provincial government is determined. Mayor Rick Goldring Marianne Meed Ward Mike Wallace Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1 Jason Boelhouwer Marty Staz René Papin Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2 Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Michael Jones Lisa Kearns Roland Tanner Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3 Lisa Cooper Rory Nisan Gareth Williams Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4 Jack Dennison Shawna Stolte Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5 Paul Sharman Xin Yi Zhang Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6 Angelo Bentivegna Blair Lancaster Ken White Regional Chair (nominations are filed with the Region of Halton) Gary Carr Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2 Leah Reynolds Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6 Andrea Grebenc Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4 Richelle Papin Margo Shuttleworth Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5 Amy Collard
Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee Arlene Iantomasi Maria Lourenco Conseil scolaire Viamonde (nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton) Pierre Girouard Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
May 16th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
The interest in running for city council is coming along nicely.  City Clerk Angela Morgan oversees the rules that apply to the running of the municipal election. When ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven announced his retirement plans Rene Papin had his nomination plans in the hands of the city Clerk faster than we thought possible. did Papin have advance notice? Some Gazette readers are asking – Who is Rene Papin? He has been looking for opportunities to get elected to something. Want to know more about Rene – here’s a link. Marty Staz a real estate agent filed his nomination paper yesterday. Other than that – there is nothing knew. People are wondering when the school board trustee for wards 1 & 2 is going to make her intentions known. Leah Reynolds was expected to run for the ward 2 city council seat – but that race is getting nice and busy – four candidates have filed papers – some solid choices amongst the four. As of the close of business at city hall yesterday the following are the people running for office. They have until Friday, July 27, 2018, at 2:00 p.m to withdraw should they look at the list of people running for the office they want is something they cannot overcome. The Gazette will begin reporting on the city council and school board candidates once the provincial election has taken place on June 7th Mayor Rick Goldring Marianne Meed Ward Mike Wallace Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1 Marty Staz René Papin Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2 Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Lisa Kearns Roland Tanner Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3 Lisa Cooper Rory Nisan Gareth Williams Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4 Jack Dennison Shawna Stolte Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5 Paul Sharman Xin Yi Zhang Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6 Angelo Bentivegna Blair Lancaster Ken White Regional Chair (nominations are filed with the Region of Halton) Gary Carr Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2 Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6 Andrea Grebenc Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4 Richelle Papin Margo Shuttleworth Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5 Amy Collard Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee Arlene Iantomasi Maria Lourenco Conseil scolaire Viamonde (nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton) Pierre Girouard Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
May 12th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
What a day it was. A second member of council opts for a pension cheque and new names pop faster than you can say Jack Rabbit. A name with credibility and depth is said to be making a trip to the Clerk’s office to register as a candidate for the ward 2 seat. Sources tell the Gazette that Roland Tanner, former president of the Burlington provincial Liberals at one point, is going to register his nomination papers for Ward 2 on Monday. Rene Papin got his nomination papers for the ward 1 seat in faster than we thought was possible. Did he have advance notice? Papin has been a Conservative for as long as we can remember – he was hoping to be the candidate for the provincial seat but the constituency wouldn’t have him and, being the good party member he is, – he didn’t push for the nomination. He should have. A loyal reader who gets us via Facebook said: “Wow, new councillors for Wards 1, 2 and 3. Perhaps a new mayor. Perhaps changes in wards 4, 5 and 6. The newest nominations are shown in red. Can we expect to see any withdraws as the field in some wards thickens? Will the expected Tanner nomination in ward 2 help the school board trustee make a decision ? The list as of the close of business is as follows: Mayor Rick Goldring Marianne Meed Ward Mike Wallace Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1 René Papin Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2 Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Lisa Kearns Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3 Lisa Cooper Rory Nisan Gareth Williams Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4 Jack Dennison Shawna Stolte Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5 Paul Sharman Xin Yi Zhang Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6 Angelo Bentivegna Blair Lancaster Ken White Regional Chair (nominations are filed with the Region of Halton) Gary Carr Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2 Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6 Andrea Grebenc Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4 Richelle Papin Margo Shuttleworth Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5 Amy Collard Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee Arlene Iantomasi Maria Lourenco Conseil scolaire Viamonde (nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton) Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
May 9th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
A few more people met with the city Clerks who accepted their nomination papers and their deposit and placed their name on the list of people who want to represent the public at city hall or on school boards. Two of the seven members of Council have yet to file nomination papers: Councillors Craven of ward 1, and Councillor Lancaster of ward 6 have yet to indicate they plan to seek re-election. Ward 3 Councillor Taylor has said he is leaving politics and will not seek re-election. The Mayor, Rick Goldring has filed his nomination papers. Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward has filed nomination papers and will run for he Office of Mayor. Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison filed his nomination papers and is actively seeking re-election. There is a handful of young people with very impressive profiles and experience seeking public office which augers well for the city. There are also a few with little in the way of experience and not much in the way of talent to bring to the table who have filed nomination papers; we are a democracy and anyone who meets the requirements of the Municipal Act can run for public office. Wards 2 and 3 are going to have active contests and there might well be an active contest in ward 6 Jack Dennison faces a newcomer in ward 4 There are a few more people who have appointments with the clerk next week The Gazette will provide this report each week day and show the latest nominations in red. There were no new nominations filed during the 4th of May
 Boundaries for each of the six wards in the city. Mayor Rick Goldring Marianne Meed Ward Mike Wallace Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1 No one has filed nomination papers to date. Rick Craven the incumbent has yet to file. Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2 Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Lisa Kearns Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3 Lisa Cooper Rory Nisan Gareth Williams The incumbent John Taylor announced that he is retiring after 30 years as a member of the municipal council. Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4 Jack Dennison Shawna Stolte Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5 Xin Yi Zhang Paul Sharman 5070 Spruce Avenue 289-337-2297 paul@paulsharman.ca
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6 Angelo Bentivegna Angelo Bentivegna 905-973-6923 Angelo.Bemtivegna@gmail.com www.AngeloBentivegnaWArd6.ca
Regional Chair (nominations are filed with the Region of Halton) Gary Carr Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2 The incumbent Leah Reynolds has yet to file nominations papers. Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6 Andrea Grebenc Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4 Margo Shuttleworth Richelle Papin 3134 Terraview Ct 904-331-7608
Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5 Amy Collard Collard has been acclaimed in every trustee election she has run in. Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee Arlene Iantomasi Maria Lourenco Conseil scolaire Viamonde (nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton) Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
May 4th, 2018 BURLINGTON, ON
As of the close of business at city hall on May 3rd, the following people have filed nomination papers. The Gazette will provide this report daily and show the latest nominations in red. There were no new nominations during the 3rd of May
Mayor Rick Goldring
Marianne Meed Ward
Mike Wallace
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1 No one has filed nomination papers to date. Rick Craven the incumbent has yet to file. Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2 Kimberly Calderbank David Cherry Lisa Kearns Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3 Lisa Cooper Rory Nisan Gareth Williams The incumbent John Taylor announced that he is retiring after 30 years as a member of the municipal council. Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4 Jack Dennison Shawna Stolte Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5 Xin Yi Zhang The incumbent, Paul Sharman, has yet to file nomination papers Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6 Angelo Bentivegna The incumbent Blair Lancaster has yet to file nomination papers. There is an additional new face who is expected to file nomination papers Regional Chair (nominations are filed with the Region of Halton) Gary Carr Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2 Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6 Andrea Grebenc Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4 Margo Shuttleworth Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5 Amy Collard Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee Arlene Iantomasi Maria Lourenco Conseil scolaire Viamonde (nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton) Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
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Kimberly Calderbank is a candidate for the Ward 2 city council seat. She is one of ten people seeking the job. 
By Staff
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Shawna Stolte should retain her seat. There are those who have issues with the Integrity Commissioners reports and the sanctions they handed out – the Gazette will comment on just what that is all about in the near future.
Angelo Bentivegna faces a stiff contender. His less than 50 seat plurality in 2018 and the serious dissatisfaction on the part of a lot of people in Millcroft over the attempts to build on golf course land have not helped.
Kimberly Calderbank, Michael Jones, Lisa Kearns, Gerard Shkuda, Roland Tanner and Walter Wiebe are the nominated candidates.
The 2018 election is believed to be the first time there have been debates in every ward in the city. There are many who have chosen to see the really hard work done by ECoB – Engaged Citizens of Burlington as somehow partisan and that they have somehow rigged the debates.
Kimberly Calderbank
