By Pepper Parr
May 14th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Add another name to those that will be on the ballot for the ward 2 city council seat.
Roland Tanner, a member of the Shape Burlington committee and also a member of the committee that was set up to monitor what Shape Burlington managed to achieve; in hindsight it doesn’t appear to be very much.
Both Tanner and his wife hold doctorates and operate a research company
Roland Tanner, ward 2 candidate
Tanner contributed to the Burlington Engagement Charter process and Save the Waterfront campaign to oppose the re-zoning of Old Lakeshore Road for high-rises.
Roland is a member of the Burlington Downtown Refugee Alliance, a collection of Burlington churches and citizen groups who have sponsored a family of Syrian refugees to settle in Burlington and assist them with their transition to Canadian life.
Tanner said that he is “running to tackle the challenges facing Burlington Ward 2 where citizens increasingly feel the way the city is changing is beyond their control, especially in the downtown core. As 24 storey buildings threaten to become the new normal in downtown, Burlingtonians fear the things they love about their city will be lost.”
Tanner is keen to emphasize his campaign is about promoting positive solutions to the current problems, not simply pointing out the challenges.
“I was part of the Shape Burlington Committee in 2010 which called for City Hall to ‘re-invent itself” by welcoming innovative new ways of bringing citizens into the decision-making process. Unfortunately, despite the subsequent Engagement Charter, I don’t feel we are any further forward in bringing about a genuinely engaged community. Engagement isn’t about more town hall meetings, it’s about making citizens partners in the process of shaping our city, along with City Hall staff, non-profits, businesses, and yes, even developers. City Hall must listen, engage and empower its citizens to build a truly innovative community of which we can all be proud,” said Tanner in his nomination announcement.
A man worth watching.
Phillip, check out the new candidate running for the ward 4 council seat.
If you check her Facebook page you will see that she is gaining support daily.
With Craven gone, Ward 1 is in need.
Right now we have an acclamation in the making consisting of 1 person that I have never heard of, never seen at meetings or saying or writing anything, and he has no platform or introductory statement of the issues, and why he is running.
Looks opportunistic to me. I’m involved and he is a non-person to me.
Sorry, but just saying.
Well Tom, with the power of the interwebs you can figure out who people are:
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2988689-ren-papin-aims-to-represent-conservatives-in-burlington-during-fall-provincial-election
Good to see well credentialed candidates with broad perspectives are stepping up to the plate. Agree it would be nice to spread this amongst Wards. Should be a very interesting race with a lot at stake.
Well put, Joe! I’m impressed that some excellent candidates are stepping up to help to make Burlington an excellent place to live. Best of luck to all.
It’s exciting to see many people run in each Ward, shows that people care and are engaged in the process. Looks like there will be room for at least one more and all of us can put our best foot to continue Burlington in the right direction.
Hi Stephen, Phillip, Glenda, Penny. Thanks for your comments. We have four good candidates in the race and it’s going to be a fun 5 months or so. For myself, Ward 2 is where I live and the only place I’d feel comfortable running, but I think a really good conversation with candidates and citizens between now and October will be a great process for everyone.
Best regards,
Roland
Totally agree with you Stephen. Let’s see if some of the candidates running in Ward 2 will either step away or as you indicated run in another Ward. Ultimately do what is best for the residents.
Good suggestion Stephen.
There are some great prospective candidates coming forward in Wards 2, 3 and 6, and kudos to them for stepping forward. However, my fear is that those favouring a “lower and slower”, more moderate approach to intensification could end up splitting the vote.
It would be nice if we could persuade a couple to consider running next door in Ward 1.
This seems like a continuing problem, although less so than in wards where an incumbent is running. I live in Ward 4 and I hope a strong opponent steps forward to challenge Dennison–well past his “best before” date.