Candidate Stephen Wright brings financial know-how to campaign
He’s taking his second shot at a Northcrest Ward seat
If Stephen Wright, candidate for Northcrest Ward in the city election of Oct. 22, knocks on your door and you mistake him for Olympic gold medal sprinter Donovan Bailey, that’s understandable.
Both have Jamaican roots and the likeness is uncanny, though Stephen’s roots go back some generations. His grandparents came first to New Brunswick and then to Manitoba. He grew up in Calgary and earned a degree in political science at the University of Manitoba.
What he brings to the table, in his second bid for a Northcrest seat, are 15 years in the city, and long experience in the field of taxation, which would be a very helpful quality for the financial fate of citizens and taxpayers.
Full disclosure of my bias here. I lived and thrived in Jamaica for three years and came to treasure the literature, the music, the cuisine, the sports, the sense of humour and the gregariousness.
Wright worked for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, known as a “big voice for small business.” He can tell me that property taxes here have risen 28 per cent over 15 years. “Property taxes have increased at a faster rate than income has increased,” he says.
Since his work has largely taken him out of Peterborough and has involved lobbying policy-makers at all levels, he is aware that our council has never mounted a mission to the province for economic development as a municipality. He wants to add more vigour to that aspect of governance.
Municipal governments can’t, by law, deficit-finance their budgets, nor surplus- finance them. This means that what council decides to fund, it must take from taxes. Really judicious decisions are needed.
Wright also hopes to improve the traffic flow from south to north but protect Jackson Park. “Why would you destroy a natural asset like that when you have it?’ he asks.
His constituents have long been worried about traffic, both cottage traffic and other, using residential streets because there is no wider thoroughfare. Long-term planning should develop Chemong Road and County Road 19 by means of road widening and some appropriations as needed.
He smiles as he says, “I would give every member of council a map of Peterborough and county and urge them to think about possible future scenarios, especially amalgamations. We need public engagement; there are many smart ideas out there.
“Growth is coming, it is actually here, with housing developments. Developers fees are way too low,” he says.
His ward has 11,000 voters and 25 polls. There are three seniors' homes in Northcrest so seniors’ issues concern him. Ease of transportation and good access to health care are among them.
The father of six, who works from
“Despite overwhelming opposition to the sale of PDI, council decision to move ahead with the sale, irrespective of the wishes of residents.’
STEPHEN WRIGHT
home and is advised in this campaign by respected political veteran Peter Adams, is concerned about youth unemployment. New green technologies interest him.
There is also the issue of the sale of PDI. “Despite overwhelming opposition to the sale of PDI, council decision to move ahead with the sale, irrespective of the wishes of residents. That raises a number of questions for me.
“In the fiscal year 2019-2020, where will we get the lost revenue from it? Will Hydro One cover a portion of the costs of maintaining the Riverview Park and Zoo? Will there be two separate utility bills coming to the home, one from Peterborough Utilities for water, and one from Hydro One for electrical distribution? Or will the PUC continue to bill for both corporations, adding an administration fee?”
Wright adds: “There is now an opportunity to reverse the decision as the Ontario Energy Board is reviewing it.”
He concludes our conversation by pondering public service. “I think public service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on this planet.”
Learn more at www.electstephenwright.ca.