Therrien launches campaign platform
Green waste, ridesharing and other new ideas in candidate’s plan
Diane Therrien says that if elected mayor, she’ll encourage a ridesharing program (such as Uber), bring on a smartphone parking app and push for a green bin program to divert kitchen organics from the landfill site. Those proposals were contained in a policy platform she launched on Tuesday.
Therrien, a Town Ward councillor, is running against Mayor Daryl Bennett in the election on Oct. 22.
In a news release, she states that she’s been out speaking with thousands of people as she campaigns.
“People are telling me they want change,” she states in the platform. “The people of Peterborough are ready for a new voice. They expect more.”
For Therrien, that means encouraging a rideshare program – such as Uber or Lyft – to come to the city, or else developing a made-in-Peterborough solution to sharing rides.
She would also encourage a bike-sharing program, the platform states, as well as expansion and connection of trails and bike lanes.
Meanwhile, she’d look for a “viable” green bin program, the platform states.
The city recently lost a $7million grant from the provincial government toward $15-million project to build a local composting facility and offer curbside pickup of organic waste.
Although that project has been shelved, Therrien’s platform says she’d look for a way to offer a green bin program it all the same – thereby diverting about 20 per cent of waste from the Bensfort Rd. landfill site.
Mayor Daryl Bennett hasn’t formally released a policy platform.
At a campaign kickoff party held at the Peterborough Naval Association hall earlier this month, he said his entire platform was contained in the brochures that volunteers were handing out.
Respecting the Taxpayer is one plank of his platform; property tax increases in Peterborough have been held to three per cent
or less since he's been mayor, the brochure notes.
He also supports the idea of strong public consultation, he notes, "but recognizes that council should not avoid its responsibility to make decisions in the interest of the overall community — not just special interest groups."
The brochure also states that Bennett looks forward to fulfilling new goals such as construction of a new state-of-the-art sports and entertainment centre.
Therrien’s platform touches on the same topic.
Therrien promises in her platform to look for “a viable solution for a new multi-use convention and community sports centre that will be financially sustainable and provide economic spin-off for local business.”
She also proposes to pursue the idea of a ranked ballot for the 2022 municipal election, and to reduce speed limits on residential streets from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr.
There are also policies to help alleviate homelessness: Therrien wants to enhance the rent supplement program, for example (city funding that helps people who are about to be evicted because they can’t pay their rent).
“We need a mayor who understand day-to-day challenges of Peterborough residents, who commits to being available and accessible to all and who is able to work collaboratively with partners at all levels to ensure a healthier, more vibrant future for Peterborough,” Therrien states in a news release that accompanied the platform.
“I am that person.”