Huron Expositor, 2014-10-22, Page 3Candidate meetings
wrap up in Seaforth
Whitney South
Huron Expositor
Seaforth Arena was the final
stop for the Huron East candi-
date meetings on Oct. 9, which
had been held all across the
municipality in order to give
residents a chance to ask ques-
tions of those running for
council.
During their opening state-
ments, incumbent councilors
Bob Fisher and Nathan Mar-
shall, along with newcomer
Neil Tam, expressed why they
hoped to be elected to council,
representing the Seaforth ward.
Coun. Nathan Marshall was
the first to address the crowd,
expressing how much the past
four years had meant to him.
Not only had he welcomed and
enjoyed the chance to serve the
people of Huron East, he
explained, but he also got a
chance to learn a lot about the
community as a whole.
Tam said, though he would
not be able to speak a lot about
past council issues, he believed
in order to have a thriving com-
munity council needs to be able
to support all citizens across the
wards.
Coun. Bob Fisher opened by
saying his last eight years on
council had been very reward-
ing and how he has enjoyed
taking part in all the improve-
ments seen around Huron East.
He added he would like to see a
dedicated and safe lit crosswalk
implemented in both Seaforth
and Brussels.
After each candidate's open-
ing statements, the moderator
allowed members of the audi-
ence to pose questions to any
candidate they wished, while
the other candidates were also
given a chance to respond.
One of the first questions of
the evening saw the incumbent
councilors were asked how they
feel Huron East had benefited
from not accepting the Nexterra
vibrancy fund, considering the
reduction of funding the
municipality has seen from the
provincial government.
Coun. Fisher said he hoped
the offer could be revisited and
added there would most likely
be more offers coming in the
future.
Neil Tam said though it was
difficult for him to comment on
the matter considering he
wasn't a part of council at the
time, if he were elected he
would explore the situation
further.
Coun. Marshall explained he
had voted in favour of the fund,
as it would have benefited the
community, especially consid-
ering the projects are continu-
ing to move forward, regardless
of whether or not the fund was
accepted.
The councilors were asked
how they hoped to attract more
businesses to the area, as well
as encourage young families to
settle here.
Coun. Marshall said he
believed Huron East's eco-
nomic development officer
should try to bring different
businesses to town, as well as
find more industrial land to
offer, in order to build some
industry in the municipality.
He went on to add the area
would benefit from seeing
some 'new blood,' which he
believed starts with economic
development.
Coun. Fisher said he wanted
to see more land being used for
residential, industrial and com-
mercial growth. He added the
problem with new businesses
finding store space downtown
is that it's a slow process and
many of the available spaces
are too small for their needs.
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Tam said he agreed with
many of the candidates' state-
ments, but that another avenue
the municipality could pursue
was the ability to capitalize on
bringing in rural research insti-
tutes, as well as academics to
the area.
The question was posed
again, this time with specific
emphasis put on attracting and
keeping young families with
children in the area.
Coun. Marshall said the fact
there is a splash committee
shows councilors and residents
are interested in attracting and
keeping young families in the
area. He went on to say if the
municipality could get more
youth involved in town, it
would in turn attract more
youth to the area.
Coun. Fisher added how
important it was to let the world
know Huron East is open and
available, and how success is all
about planning.
Tam added although it was
important to bring in and keep
young families, he would be
careful not to devote everything
to just one demographic. He
said he'd like to see more com-
munity events, which would
benefit everybody throughout
the community.
The municipality's voting
system went live on Oct. 10,
and residents can cast their
vote anytime until Monday,
Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. Votes can be
placed by either Internet or tel-
ephone at any time during that
period.
For those eligible electors
who do not have access to
either a computer or telephone,
a computerized voting kiosk
and telephone is available for
voting at the municipal office
during regular hours 8:30 a.m.
until 5 p.m. Monday to Friday
up until Oct. 27.
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014 • Huron Expositor 3
II15 Southwestern Ontario Hospital'
Foundations join together for i
Health Care
es
"If we all give a little,
We all get a lot"
Her
We applaud all of the businesses and people for your gift
from the heart.., for the heart of our community
THANK -YOU
to everyone for opening your heart to help
make Radiothon 2014 such a success!
All proceeds go towards the purchase of essential new
medical equipment for our local hospital highlighting:
• New Zoll Defibrillator
• X-RAY digital Portable Retrofit
We couldn't have done it without you!
The Organizing Committee of the Seaforth
Community Hospital Foundation.
..44 Our
Radiothron
Goal
$50,000
Radiothron
-"Ilkm 2014
$27,500
Draw
Winners
Norlene Bennewies
Trish MacGregor
John Snell
Ken Papple
Brian Nigh
007 — Amazing Race Team
Sport Fury — Amazing Race Team
Round House — Amazing Race Team
Radiothon pledges are continuing to be
received until Nov 30th
and can be sent to:
Seaforth Community Hospital Foundation
24 Centennial Drive. Box 99
Seaforth, Ontario NOK 1WO